World Heritage Site

UNESCO added The City of Bath as a ‘cultural site’ to its World Heritage List in 1987. The main reasons for Bath's inclusion are its:

- Roman Remains – the Roman Baths and Temple thermal establishment;
- 18th Century Architecture – neo-classical public buildings and set-piece developments such as terraces, crescents, squares and the Circus by Palladian-inspired Bath architects;
- 18th Century Town Planning – its innovative and cohesive ‘garden city’ concept, harmonised with its green landscape setting;
- Social Setting – its role as a destination for pilgrimage and the social aspirations of the fashionable spa culture that created the Georgian city.

In identifying these unique qualities, UNESCO also recognised the importance of:
- the Hot Springs – the only ones in Britain and the reason for the city’s existence;
- the Landscape Setting – the valley of the River Avon whose hills provided the stone to build the city and form the backdrop to the city today.