Bath is celebrating 25 since it was recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site with a host of offers, events and celebrations.
Bath is the only entire city in the UK to be attributed with the accolade and ranks alongside locations as diverse as the pyramids of Egypt to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia on UNESCO’s list of areas “considered to be of outstanding value to humanity”.
Bath’s series of celebrations start with family festivities on World Heritage Day (April 22) and continue with special events throughout 2012 including Museums at Night Weekend in May, Monuments by Moonlight, a book listing 25 of the best places to visit and a full programme for Heritage Week in October.
The city will also offer a special welcome to anyone celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in Bath this year.
Bath Tourism Plus chief executive Nick Brooks-Sykes said: “Having World Heritage Status is a tremendous accolade for Bath. Belonging to this very exclusive global club is shorthand for saying that Bath is a ‘must see’ for any visitor to the UK. We will be telling the world of our pride in Bath’s World Heritage status during 2012.”
Bath has more museums than most other UK cities with 17 within a square mile, celebrating everything from the history of the postal service to fashion through the ages, as well as specialist museums about East Asian Art and American history.
However, the city has to maintain the delicate balance between being a thriving and living city and preserving the past.
The Roman Baths alone has welcomed more than 21m visitors over the past 25 years.
Cllr Cherry Beath, cabinet member for sustainable development, said: “We hope people of all ages will enjoy the variety of activities on offer, which rejoice in Bath’s multiple layers of cultural genius. This ranges from Roman foresight and technology in harnessing the only hot springs in the country to how, in the same fantastic landscape setting, the elegant Georgian new town influenced the architectural and social traditions of a nation.”
Dr SimonThurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage recently listed Bath in the Financial Times as one of the ten most alluring World Heritage Cities in which to live with “elegance, sophistication and shopping”.
For information about what’s on and where to stay in Bath: visitbath.co.uk.
