Travel podcasts for city break fans. All the historical and cultural background you need to enjoy your visit.
Episodes
Wednesday Aug 26, 2020
Wednesday Aug 26, 2020
Bath's 18th century building boom left a legacy of lovely crescents and squares which are still today the most impressive areas of the city. This episode takes a look at how they came to be built, at the design ideas behind them and at what life was like inside, for the wealthy owners and also for their servants.
Useful links
https://museumofbatharchitecture.org.uk
https://no1royalcrescent.org.uk
Wednesday Aug 19, 2020
Wednesday Aug 19, 2020
It's over eleven thousand years since Bladud is said, thanks to his pigs, to have discovered the healing properties of the waters in Bath. This episode looks at stories of people bathing and 'taking the waters' in the city over the centuries, with a particular focus on the medieval and Georgian periods, then bringing things right up to date at the 21st century Thermae Bath Spa.
Useful links
https://www.romanbaths.co.uk
https://www.thermaebathspa.com
Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
This look at life in medieval and early modern times in Bath centres on a visit to the Abbey and to the streets around it. Find out why the coronation of Edgar, in Bath Abbey in 973, was so crucial for English history (and for all coronation services in the thousand plus years since then) and hear what to look out for on a visit. Learn too about daily life in the city long before the Georgians and their elegant manners changed things radically.
Useful links
Wednesday Aug 05, 2020
Wednesday Aug 05, 2020
Nowhere in the UK will you see better preserved Roman baths than in the city of Bath! This episode centres on them and on the adjoining museum and explains what you can see there and what they tell us about the life of the Romans who built them: their advanced engineering skills, the key role the baths played in their social and business lives and something about their beliefs and customs.
Useful links
https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
Wednesday Jul 29, 2020
Wednesday Jul 29, 2020
Our introduction to Bath, which many people think is the UK's most elegant city, will give you an overview, geographically, historically and culturally, and an introduction to the remaining 13 episodes: the places you will visit, the stories you will hear and the characters who have influenced the city over the centuries.
Wednesday Jul 22, 2020
Wednesday Jul 22, 2020
Four more city break ideas to tempt you. This week, a US West Coast city known for its very particular vibe, and Germany's oldest university town where you can walk in the footsteps of philosophers and visit a jail built specially for students. We're also featuring a suggestion for a visit to sunny Cyprus and another to a UNESCO World Heritage site in south-east Asia.
Wednesday Jul 15, 2020
Wednesday Jul 15, 2020
This virtual visit to Paris takes you on a tour of websites, YouTube videos and books which will bring the spirit of the City of Light alive for you even if you can't go there right now. Tour beautiful Paris by day and then by night, find out how to market-shop and then cook like a French chef, cherry-pick from gallery websites and videos on the best baguettes, cheeses and patisserie the city has to offer. Enjoy extracts from the writings of authors who will bring aspects of Paris alive for you. It's the next best thing to an actual visit!
Wednesday Jul 08, 2020
Wednesday Jul 08, 2020
Among this week's five inspiring city break ideas you will find a smart new city in South East Asia, a picturesque canals-and-cobbles city in northern Europe and our first ever suggestion from North Africa! Plus, new ideas from an old favourite and an Italian coastal resort which is a big hit with British visitors. Plenty of choice!
Wednesday Jul 01, 2020
Wednesday Jul 01, 2020
This virtual visit to Seville takes you on a tour of websites, YouTube videos and books which will bring the spirit of the city alive for you even if you can't go there right now. Find out - or reminisce - about the enticing blend of medieval and moorish architecture in the Alcazar and the art-deco splendour of the Plaza de Espana. Take a little tour of highlights at the Museo de Bellas Artes or the tapas restaurants in the city centre. Hear what writers who travelled to the city had to say about its food, its Arabic roots and its bullfighting traditions.
Wednesday Jun 24, 2020
Wednesday Jun 24, 2020
Five more inspiring city break ideas, mainly suggested by listeners. There's one of the planet's brashest neon-lit entertainment centres, then there's the UK's smallest city, plus (what some would call) the home of football, a former East European capital with a long and chequered history and a well-known 18th Century centre of enlightenment. Surely something for everyone!