Birch House

The Roman Baths are well-preserved Roman thermae in the city of Bath. A temple was built on the site in the first decades of Roman Britain, and the bathing complex grew up around the natural hot spring over the following centuries.

Tip: Book tickets in advance on the official website, romanbaths.co.uk, as advance prices are lower and it is the only genuine ticket seller.

Bath Abbey is a parish church of the Church of England and a former Benedictine monastery. Founded in the 7th century, it was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries and restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 1860s. It is one of the most significant examples of Perpendicular Gothic architecture in the West Country, and is particularly noted for its fan vaulting.

Tip: Look up at the west front sculptures of angels climbing Jacob's Ladder, then head inside for the fan vaulting.

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, a World Heritage Site and one of Britain's best-known landmarks. The outer ring of huge sarsen stones, topped with lintels, was raised in the third millennium BC. It sits within a landscape dense with burial mounds and other Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments.

Tip: Pre-book your ticket before you travel.

Avebury is one of the great marvels of prehistoric Britain. Built and altered during the Neolithic period, the henge survives as a huge circular bank and ditch that encircles part of Avebury village. Inside is the largest stone circle in Britain, originally of about 100 stones, which in turn encloses two smaller stone circles. Together with Stonehenge, it forms a World Heritage Site.

Tip: Start at the Alexander Keiller Museum to learn about the monuments before you set off. Paths can be uneven and muddy.

The Holburne is the city's first public art gallery, housed in the Grade I listed former Sydney Hotel at the end of Great Pulteney Street. The collection grew from Sir William Holburne's bequest and includes work by Gainsborough, Guardi, Stubbs, Ramsay and Zoffany, alongside silver, porcelain, maiolica, miniatures and Roman glass.

Tip: Tickets can be bought online ahead of your visit, and last admissions are half an hour before closing.

Dyrham Park is a baroque country house set in an ancient deer park near Bath, now cared for by the National Trust. The house was built in stages in the 17th and early 18th centuries and has interiors with a strong Dutch influence, including Delftware, Dutch Masters paintings and an Anglo-Dutch state bed.

Tip: Leave the car in the main car park and head down to the house; a shuttle runs from the car park to the bottom of the hill if the slope is too much.

The Royal Crescent in Bath is a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping curve. Designed by John Wood the Younger, it is a Grade I listed building and counts among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture in the UK. The stone façade, about 150 metres long, has 114 Ionic columns and looks much as it did when first built.

Tip: Walk round to the road behind the crescent to see the mixed rear, a striking contrast with the uniform front.

Bristol Zoo Project is a wildlife conservation park in South Gloucestershire, run by Bristol Zoological Society. It covers a large site, and its areas are designed to link ecosystems and conservation programmes around the world. Current areas include Bear Wood, Benoué National Park and Discover Madagascar.