2025 marks a very special year for Bath and its famous former resident Jane Austen, born in 1775.
From dressing up with fellow Jane Austen fans as one of her much-loved characters, learning more about Jane’s connection to Bath with special talks, tours and trails, exploring Bath locations used in screen adaptations of Jane’s novels, or staying at one of the city’s most luxurious hotels on a Jane Austen themed package, here Visit Bath highlights ways to celebrate 250 years of one of the world’s most renowned authors - follow in Jane’s footsteps and imagine the Regency-era Bath she vividly brought to life on the pages of her novels.
* Events, experiences and celebrations will take place throughout 2025, and further information and updates will be added to visitbath.co.uk.
Festivals, Events, Performances and Exhibitions
The Jane Austen Festival 2025
Friday 12 – Sunday 21 September 2025
On 16 December 1775, Jane Austen was born in Hampshire. To celebrate this momentous year in Austen history, the Jane Austen Festival will be holding extra special events throughout 2025 and the September Festival. The Grand Regency Promenade will take place on Saturday 13 September.
Festival - 2025 - 250th Anniversary Year - Jane Austen Centre Bath
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Image: The Jane Austen Festival
Jane Austen 2025 Balls
The Jane Austen Festival will hold three balls next year – a Persuasion nautical-themed ball on 31 May, followed by a Sanditon seaside-themed ball on 28 June, the first time the festival has hosted two summer balls in its history. The third will be a special Yuletide Birthday Ball on Saturday 13 December at the Pump Room Restaurant.
Festival - 2025 - 250th Anniversary Year - Jane Austen Centre Bath
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Image: The Jane Austen Festival
The Jane Austen Centre
Learn about, dress like and even eat like Jane Austen at the interactive and immersive centre dedicated to the author, which looks at her life and the impact of Bath on her writing. No visit is complete without ‘Tea with Mr Darcy’ in the Regency Tea Room.
Regency Tea Room at The Jane Austen Centre - Visit Bath
Miss Austen Investigates with Jessica Bull at Waterstones Bath
2 April 2025
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, an evening will be held with Jessica Bull, author of the devilish mystery Miss Austen Investigates.
Miss Austen Investigates with Jessica Bull at Waterstones Bath - Visit Bath
'Austens at the Abbey' Exhibition & 'Austen After Hours' at Bath Abbey
5 April - 27 September 2025
In celebration of Jane Austen's 250th Birthday, Bath Abbey is presenting a new exhibition about Jane Austen and her family and the fascinating links between herself and the people commemorated in Bath Abbey.
The Abbey will also be running a special 'Austen After Hours' tour, with costumed guides bringing history to life as they introduce you to the 18th century residents of Bath. From an American millionaire to an innkeeper, doctor, actor, and musician, their fascinating stories are all linked to the Austen family. Enjoy a drink as you step back in time and experience the Abbey in a whole new way.
Austens at the Abbey Exhibition at Bath Abbey - Visit Bath
Austen After Hours at Bath Abbey - Visit Bath
Austen's Arcadia at Theatre Royal Bath
17 April 2025
Hear from Jane Tapley about Jane Austen's quiet life as an unmarried vicar's daughter, her personal struggle for independence, and how her novels finally gathered momentum and appreciation after her death.
Austen's Arcadia at Theatre Royal Bath - Visit Bath
‘The Most Tiresome Place in the World’: Jane Austen & Bath
5 July – 2 November 2025
In 2025 No.1 Royal Crescent will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth with a new temporary exhibition, ‘The Most Tiresome Place in the World’: Jane Austen & Bath.
Jane Austen had a complicated relationship with Bath. The scandals and shallowness of the city fuelled her cynicism and wit, and nothing escaped her scathing pen. And yet she wrote very little while living in the city. Letters, contemporary responses and the only manuscript she wrote in Bath will reveal the highs and lows of her time here, as this exhibition exposes how turbulence and loss cast a long shadow over Jane Austen and Bath.
The Most Tiresome Place in the World: Jane Austen & Bath at No.1 Royal Crescent - Visit Bath
Death Comes to Pemberley at Theatre Royal Bath
5 - 9 August 2025
The world premiere stage adaptation of P.D. James’s best-selling novel comes to Bath this summer, a tale of love, betrayal, and intrigue in Regency England.
Death Comes to Pemberley at Theatre Royal Bath - Visit Bath
Emma at Theatre Royal Bath
11 - 20 September 2025
The 250th anniversary of Bath’s favourite writer is celebrated in fitting style with a new stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s comedy of manners.
Emma at Theatre Royal Bath - Visit Bath
Jane Austen: Fact or Fiction with Gill Hornby at Theatre Royal Bath
18 September 2025
Gill Hornby, author of three novels based on Jane Austen themes and a biography for young readers, will be in conversation with Jane Tapley as part of this year's Jane Austen Festival.
Jane Austen: Fact or Fiction with Gill Hornby at Theatre Royal Bath - Visit Bath
Illustrating Austen at The Holburne Museum
September 2025 – January 2026
The Holburne Museum will offer audiences the chance to see the artwork behind their favourite Austen novels. Centring around Austen’s stories and the characters she created, Illustrating Austen will demonstrate how our favourite characters came to life on the page and have evolved through the years, reflecting the changing times and new audiences.
An Audience with Lucy Worsley on Jane Austen
Thursday 27 May 2025
Acclaimed historian Lucy Worsley leads us into the life of one of English literature's most cherished figures. For these live, beautifully illustrated talks, Lucy discusses the world of the beloved author of timeless classics such as Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion.
The Forum Bath : Lucy Worsley 25 (bathforum.co.uk)
Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) at The Theatre Royal Bath
14-18 April 2025
Direct from its triumph in the West End, the award-winning Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) is a unique and audacious retelling of Jane Austen’s most iconic love story. Men, money and microphones will be fought over in this irreverent but affectionate production.
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) at Theatre Royal Bath - Visit Bath
Austen Lost & Found with The Natural Theatre Company
Dates throughout 2025
Bath’s Natural Theatre Company will be performing their immersive ‘Austen Lost and Found’ theatre show throughout the year using the city itself as a stage. Join them for witty walkabout performances exploring Jane’s life, creative ideas, and adventures.
Austen Lost & Found - Natural Theatre Company
Jane Austen Week at Topping & Company
23 - 29 June 2025
Topping and Co. is thrilled to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth with a week of captivating literary events dedicated to the iconic author and her enduring legacy including talks from Gill Hornby on her book Elopement, Hillary Davidson who will delve into Austen’s wardrobe and share her expertise on Regency fashion and Kathryn Sutherland will explore Austen’s world in 41 objects including contemporary memorabilia inspired by her legacy.
Jane Austen Week at Topping & Company Booksellers - Visit Bath
FilmBath Screening: Pride & Prejudice at Bath Abbey
Saturday 13 September 2025
Step into the world of Jane Austen and experience the timeless romance of Pride and Prejudice like never before, in the breathtaking setting of Bath Abbey.
Tours and Exhibitions
Walk in the footsteps of Jane Austen with Visit Bath’s free audio walking tour
Focusing on Jane Austen and her life in Bath, the tour takes in the highlights of the city and includes extracts from Jane Austen’s novels and letters, which describe Bath as it would have been in its Georgian heyday. The tour takes approximately one-and-a-half hours but stop at any point to visit a museum or go into a café or shop.
In the Footsteps of Jane Austen: A Free Audio Walking Tour - Visit Bath
Jane Austen and Austentatious Bath with In and Beyond Bath
This special day tour curated by In and Beyond Bath will take in locations in the Cotswolds, Lacock and Bath connected to Jane. The 8-hour itinerary includes lunch and a cream tea. Available Monday – Friday throughout 2025 as a group or private tour.
Expert guided tours of Jane Austen’s Bath with Strictly Jane Austen
This curated guided tour of the city Jane Austen made her home brings Regency Bath to life and, thanks to Strictly Jane Austen’s experienced and knowledgeable guides, provides a unique and fascinating insight into Jane's life and times.
Strictly Jane Austen: Expert Guided Tours of Jane Austen's Bath - Visit Bath
Photo Tours of Bath – The Jane Austen Bath Photo Tour
This tour focuses on Jane Austen’s various lodgings in Bath, the places mentioned in Northanger Abbey and the locations used in various films of her novels. The tour will also take in other historic and picturesque buildings en route.
Photo Tours in Bath - Visit Bath
Sydney Gardens Jane Austen Trail
Explore Jane Austen's relationship with the Georgian Pleasure Gardens. Jane lived just across the road at No 4 Sydney Place between 1801 and 1804 and wrote of Sydney Gardens in letters and two of her novels (Persuasion and Northanger Abbey).
Jane Austen Trail in Sydney Gardens - Visit Bath
Food & Drink Experiences
Jane Austen Afternoon Tea at The Pump Room Restaurant
Jane Austen and her characters always found that one "should be very glad of a little tea" (Mansfield Park, 1814). Tea meant rest and pleasure, and its absence would be a severe disappointment. It was a ritual that brought families together, could make or break marriage contracts, and made dull events all the more exciting!
What better way to celebrate her 250th birthday than to indulge in The Pump Room Restaurant's Jane Austen Afternoon Tea, uniquely inspired by her life and the era in which she lived and wrote?
Image: The Pump Room Restaurant
Sally Lunn's
Sally Lunn's is one of the oldest houses in Bath (c.1482) and serves one of the most famous local delicacies – the original Sally Lunn bun. According to legend, Sally Lunn, a French refugee, arrived in 1680 and established her bakery. No Jane Austen inspired trip to Bath is complete without indulging in a bun!
Sally Lunn's Historic Eating House - Visit Bath
Afternoon Tea at Roseate Villa Bath
Experience a quintessentially English tea tradition with touches of modernity with an afternoon tea at the Villa. A Jane Austen blend tea accompanies freshly baked scones, cakes and sandwiches all made by Roseate Villa’s fabulous house baker.
Afternoon Tea at The Roseate Villa - Visit Bath
Afternoon Tea at The Pump Room Restaurant
The Georgian Pump Room has been the social heart of Bath for more than two centuries and is where Jane Austen regularly visited during her time in the city to ‘take the waters’. Take a seat under the chandelier, enjoy a delicious afternoon tea and sample the spa water from the fountain, whilst listening to classical music from the Pump Room Trio and pianist.
The Pump Room Restaurant - Visit Bath
Jane Austen-themed accommodation and packages
The Gainsborough Hotel and ECT Travel Jane Austen 250 exclusive events and experiences
Two six-day programmes 7-12 April and 13 -18 October 2025
Literature enthusiasts from around the globe are invited into Jane Austen’s world in the luxurious surroundings of The Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel. The programme will include talks covering a range of topics from 'Beauty and Cosmetics in the Time of Jane Austen' by author Sarah Jane Dowling to ‘Gaming & Gambling and the Games Austen’s Characters Play’ with Dr Leigh Wetherall Dickson, a visit to the village of Lacock, whose picturesque streets were seen in the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of ‘Pride & Prejudice’ while other activities include a Regency dance workshop, an embroidery class, a celebratory dinner and an indulgent Jane Austen themed Afternoon Tea.
For those looking for a fully immersive experience, Strictly Jane Austen is also able to arrange for guests to enjoy all these experiences in full Regency costume which will be delivered to the hotel at the start of the programme.
The Gainsborough Bath Spa - Visit Bath
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Image: The Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel
Austen 250 Package at The Queensberry Hotel
Stays between 4 April - 23 November 2025
Celebrate Jane Austen's 250th birthday year with The Queensberry Hotel's special Austen 250 package, including a two-night stay, two complimentary tickets to The Jane Austen Centre, and a Jane Austen tote bag.
Image: The Queensberry Hotel
Georgian Getaway in Bath at The Francis Hotel
Immerse yourself in the ambiance of the Georgian era with The Francis Hotel’s enticing two-night experience. Explore the Georgian townhouse museum No.1 Royal Crescent and The Jane Austen Centre and be captivated by the journey through the history of Bath, tracing the footsteps of Jane Austen. Afterwards return to the hotel for a Bridgerton cocktail and a traditional afternoon tea.
Georgian Getaway in Bath | The Francis Hotel
Image: The Francis Hotel
Mr Darcy’s Abode – Bath Luxury Rentals
Among Bath Luxury Rentals’ portfolio of charming Georgian townhouses is Mr Darcy’s Abode. This chic boutique self-catering property provides the perfect pad for a group stay in Bath marking Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, with seven bedrooms, four luxury bathrooms, a spacious kitchen and cosy snug.
Bath Townhouse Rental | Large Luxury Townhouse @ Bath Luxury Rentals
Hotel Indigo Bath – Literary Hideaway Rooms
The city centre boutique Hotel Indigo Bath, set amongst 11 Georgian townhouses, features Literary Hideaway Rooms with walls of novels from many of Bath’s famous authors including Jane Austen, a writer’s desk, and a unique design, which creates the perfect setting for guests to lose themselves in a good book or inspire a masterpiece themselves.
Hotel Indigo Bath - Visit Bath
Jane Austen Experience at The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa
Step back into Regency-era Bath with the hotel's exclusive Jane Austen anniversary package. Following a restful night in luxurious accommodation and a sumptuous breakfast, join a captivating two-hour private walking tour, exploring the very streets where Austen lived, frequented, and set scenes from Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.
Led by an expert Blue Badge-qualified guide from Fred Mawer Tours, the tour will reveal places where Austen and her family lived and frequented, and that appear in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. You'll also discover locations used in TV and film adaptations of Austen's works and learn about what Bath was like around the time the novelist lived in the city. After the tour, enjoy a Jane Austen-themed afternoon tea in Montagu's Mews, bringing the flavours of Regency England to life.
The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa - Visit Bath
Beyond Bath
Combine Bath with a visit to Austen's former house in Winchester, her resting place in Hampshire, and Chatsworth House in the Peak District – used in the 2005 adaption of Pride & Prejudice – for a Jane Austen inspired trip around England.
Bristol is also twelve minutes away from Bath by train, and was where much of the recent TV adaptation of Austen's unfinished story, Sanditon, was filmed.
Sanditon filming locations in Bristol and beyond - Visit Bristol
For further information and inspiration on Jane Austen 250, go to https://austen250.co.uk/.
How to celebrate Jane Austen's 250th birthday in Bath - Visit Bath
ENDS
For further images contact emma.frayling@visitwest.co.uk
Notes to editors:
About Visit West: The VisitEngland accredited official Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) for Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. It supports the visitor economy of the region which is worth £2.13billion and supports 41,000 jobs. Visit West operates the Meet Bristol & Bath Convention Bureau and the Visit Bath and Visit Bristol consumer websites. https://www.visitwest.co.uk/.
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