Dine Elegantly At One Of England's Most Historic Restaurants Featuring Famous Spa Water

If you're a history buff and you're planning to visit England, you certainly have a lot of activities to choose from. You can immerse yourself in the mysterious places of the prehistoric world at Stonehenge. You can visit Stratford-Upon-Avon where William Shakespeare lived. You can learn about the Viking invasions at Lindisfarne and York. However, if you want to soak up two time periods in a single day, you should visit Bath, which sits in Somerset, about 115 miles from London. 

Here, you'll find an incredibly well-preserved Roman bath house that's almost 2,000-years-old, as well a historic restaurant that was the Georgian era's place to see and be seen. So much so that Jane Austen (who dined there) used it in her novels "Northanger Abbey" and "Persuasion." That restaurant is The Pump Room, and, like Austen and "A Christmas Carol" author Charles Dickens, you can enjoy a meal there, along with its famous spa water direct from the restaurant's fountain (above). 

This lovely spot is right next to the Roman Baths, and while the rich and famous once ate there, you don't have to be a celebrity, and there is no dress code these days. (It's still pretty fancy, and you can, of course, dress to the nines.) You can even pay it a visit for under $25 per person if you're visiting for brunch or a bakery selection, while sampling the spa water that the Georgians thought would benefit their health. 

The spa water at The Pump Room has 43 minerals and a pretty unusual taste. It comes from rain that fell millenia ago in the Mendip Hills, and comes out of the ground at 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Though the Romans once bathed in these waters, as people have done for thousands of years, it was the Georgians who started drinking it. The Pump Room was built in the 18th century, and while the water was once unsafe because of old pipes, a new bore hole was created in the 1980s so you can enjoy it today. 

Though you can simply walk through The Pump Room for free, if you plan on dining, it's a good idea to make a reservation. The morning bakery option will get you lovely tea or coffee and cake or scones, and the brunch has beverages, along with dishes like eggs, salmon, or avocado and tomatoes. (They can accommodate dietary restrictions.) Afternoon tea is closer to $50 a person, and has items like poached salmon, cheddar rarebit, cocktail sandwiches, and dessert. They also host events like Burns Night to celebrate Scottish poet Robert Burns, complete with haggis.

Before or after, you can enjoy the romantic scenery around Bath, a filming location for the Netflix series "Bridgerton." Next door are the Roman Baths, one of the only two in the world that still have hot mineral water. (You can taste the water in there as well from a fountain, but you can no longer bathe in it.) You'll find out what life was like for the Romans who lived in the area, walk in the same places and on the same stones they did, and learn about the goddess Sulis Minerva who was worshiped here.