The Jane Austen Centre

If you're looking for a serious, highly detailed museum experience, this might not be it, but it's not a bad thing. The Jane Austen Centre is an entertaining and whimsical tribute to Jane Austen's life and work, not to be taken too seriously. The entire experience is made special by the staff, who are incredibly invested in their roles. Each of them adopts a name from Austen's novels. Their presentation on Austen is entertaining and full of energy. They make it clear that the goal is fun, not a dry lecture, and they are happy to answer any questions you have about Austen's life, showing a genuine passion for the subject. The interactive elements, like getting to dress up in period costumes and try your hand at writing with a quill, add to the charm. It's a lighthearted and engaging way to step back in time. The small gift shop is also worth a look for unique souvenirs.

We started our trip there - what a way to start. My kids surprised me with a trip for my birthday. The host and staff were amazing - they made the experience real. They dressed the part and their subtle ways of talking was refreshing without being cheesy. Thank you for a lovely day.

✨ A must-visit for any Jane Austen fan! ✨ I absolutely loved my visit to the Jane Austen Centre - from the moment you step inside, you’re welcomed by wonderful costumed actors who bring the Regency era to life. The introduction talk was so engaging, and seeing the Jane Austen waxwork made it feel like she was right there with us! I adored dressing up in Regency costumes and trying my hand at writing with an authentic quill and ink - such a charming touch. And the perfect finish? Relaxing upstairs in the beautiful Tea Room with delicious treats. A magical experience I’d highly recommend! 💕📜🎩☕️

Definitely a Austen lover's place to visit. Informative and fun... delightful character players who were wonderful! Delightful vintage tearoom ... High teas were amazing! Highlight getting to dress up for photos! Highly recommend

We came for the ‘Mr Darcy’s Afternoon Tea’. Glad we called and made a reservation beforehand. The sandwiches, scones, and tea were delicious! The cakes were pretty dry. Nice, quick service and a fun environment. All the staff in the house were kind and happy to chat.

Very well done. ‘Lizzie Bennett’ at the front desk in the gift shop was extremely helpful and gracious. The information was just enough. Dressing up and writing with a quill was fun! Mr. Darcy’s Tea was exquisite! Loved our visit and would highly recommend.

Loved being immersed into Jane Austen’s world for a while. Having hands on experiences was great - letter writing, costumes, perfumes etc. Staff are knowledgeable and fun

I love the whole Jane Austen experience. From the moment you enter, all your favorite book characters come to live, and greet you. The tour was so much fun, ending the museum experience with a try it on regency outfits! The museum experience was so interactive. After touring the museum, I had tea in the regency tea room. It was fantastic. The staff was really polite and helpful. The tea room is adorable! This whole experience made my day ❤️ Thank you for making my Jane Austen dreams come true!

The Centre is very interesting. Staff dressed in costume were very friendly and helpful. The Tea Room was beautifully set and and the choices of teas was outstanding.

I enjoy Jane Austen literature and have learned quite a bit from her period novels. This museum located near the Royal Crescent, offers a little bit of information on Jane Austen's life and life in Bath generally. Very interesting whether you are an Austen fan or just generally enjoy learning about an areas history. We took a brief tour of the property and were allowed to wander a bit on our own. The building itself is very interesting as are the static displays of clothing and at the time of our visit, the enclosed transport chair used to carry invalids to 'take the waters'. We also visited the Regency tea room upstairs and had a lovely time with waitstaff in period costume and a wide variety of teas to choose from. This is an excellent stop when in Bath to get a feel for life when Bath was the place to be to take in their healing waters.

I thought the history of the family tree and the portrait of Jane was very interesting along with the videos and exhibits they had of her time in Bath and the regency period clothing and lifestyle. Appreciated the video recreation and the fun costume dress up and quill ink pen writing. However, I think the price of admission was very steep for what you got. Yes, it is their Gay St residence, so you get to see the inside of the house, but I walked out of there in a short amount of time feeling like they could have done more. Obviously, if you are a diehard fan, you have to go. I didn't feel like it was worth the £16.95 admission fee.

If you like Jane Austen and/or regency history, you have to visit here. They have so many artifacts that anyone with either of those interests can enjoy. My favorite part was that the volunteers/staff were dressed in period-appropriate clothing with name tags of the different characters. They have a membership that supports the cause and gets you free international shipping if purchasing a certain amount or a discounted admission to the museum, tea room, and in person shop, and their shop has a great selection of Jane Austen-themed items. I enjoyed my sun hat from their shop during my trip to protect my head. We had the Tea with Mr. Darcy afternoon tea sitting. Overall it was good. I would possibly do it again, although it would not necessarily be my first choice. It wasn't bad, just not a standout. The desserts were a little too sweet for my liking. However, if you like tea and the Regency era, you have to try the Regency blend. It is a blend that was common in that time that Jane herself probably would have enjoyed, and it was quite an experience to try a blend with that much history. It is very strong, but good if you like strong tea or perhaps normally drink coffee.

this is a small but delightful gem of a history experience if you're a jane austen fan. i learned so much about her life, her family, and the regency time period from the guided and self-guided portions of the tour! i also really loved the interactive areas: writing with a quill and ink turned out to have more of a learning curve than i expected, and dressing up like jane austen for a cute photo op turned out to be even more fun than i expected! our guide was an older man with glasses and i'm so upset i'm forgetting his name--he was excellent and a wealth of knowledge. the admission ticket also gives you 10% off at the store and restaurant. lots of adorable merch to choose from if you're looking for a souvenir!

The Jane Austen Center is a fun and immersive experience. The staff are friendly and it's fun to see what book character they're are portraying. For the guided part of the tour, we had Mr. Wickham present to us. The self-guided part of the tour is at your own pace and had a lot of information about Jane. We also participated in afternoon tea, which I would recommend if you have some time to spare and relax. If you're a Jane Austen fan I would highly recommend visiting!

The museum is extremely tiny and there are very few actual items from Jane Austen's life. The entire museum took me about 40 minutes. The high tea was very good, though. There was plenty of food and everyone was very nice. There is a great selection of sandwiches and sweets. The tea was very good too. I would recommend going to the high tea more than I would recommend the museum, even though I am a huge Jane Austen fan.

What fun! A lovely break from sightseeing in Bath. Warm, cozy and welcoming with a delicious selection of sandwiches, scones, treat and tea. Beautifully served by ladies in period costume. Highly recommended.

This is purely coming from a Jane Austen die hard fan but I found this place to be delightful. I'll admit it's pretty small and won't take long to get through, but for a big fan it's worth a visit. I was so excited to find a free slot during our time in Bath on our day tour when it looked like we wouldn't be able to fit it in. Not much is known about the author so I wondered what they would have on display. I actually learned a lot from the brief tour and the rest are a mix of movie/book related exhibits or about what life would've been like for Jane in Bath. The only thing I wish I'd had time for was trying on some of the period dresses. But I'd used up my husband's patience at the Mr. Darcy lifesize figure picture spot and he was giving me hangry eyes so I had to skip it. Ok I also would've liked to do the afternoon tea service as well if I'm honest. I'm so glad we came, though and my mom, also a mega fan, loved the Christmas ornament I got her from the adorable gift shop (discount on purchases with an admission ticket!)!

I had contemplated visiting The Jane Austen Center for our stop in Bath but wasn't sure if hubby would be on board so I put it on the back burner. While in Bath though, Hubby himself suggested we check it out so after a morning at the Roman Baths, we walked over to the Center. At the Center, we were greeted by a gentleman in Regency costume, I totally forgot to check his name tag though. I wonder if it was Mr. Collins...heehee. I posed with the almost life-sized statue of Jane Austen and proceeded into the gift shop area to purchase tickets for the tour. I immediately noticed the adorable "I heart Mr. Darcy" tee on display. I told myself we'd come back after the tour. We went upstairs to wait for our tour guide while watching a little introduction film. Our guide, Charlotte Collins (teehee) showed up and gave us Jane's familial background. We were then led through a large room with lots of Regency artifacts, like clothing and accessories as well as artists' renderings of Jane herself. There was a cute interactive station that explained the language of fan holding. At the gift shop, I had grabby hands and hubby was so sweet to indulge me. I bought the tee, a tote, postcards, etc. If you're an Austen fan, this is definitely a cute and novel place to visit in Bath. It's not a huge place and I can see how people may be disappointed if they were expecting lots of actual Austen items, but you have to remember, Austen lived in the late 1700s, that was a loooooong time ago. This place is more of an informational tour of Jane's family and beginnings as well as Regency time clothing, doings, homage to Austen in the form of stamps, etc. I even heard that Austen would be minted on the 20 pound note, l can't confirm if that was 100% true though but how awesome would that be? The Center is located near Queen's Square, where Austen and her family apparently lived for a while. A cool little tidbit of history. We walked by and checked it out.

Jane Austen Centre is more like an ode to Jane over an actual historical site where Jane lived or worked. It offers a documentary about the yearly Jane Austen festival which has 100s of people dressing in period piece & this happens every Sept There are a couple of rooms w/ period furniture & clothing along w/ a 15 min schpeal of Amanda Root talking about Bath being the inspiration for Persuasion & Northanger Abbey. The funniest part is the gift shop where there are tons of Jane Austen references from the serious rare & out of print books to a huge oil on canvas of Mr Darcy - aka - Colin Firth. It's the same portrait of him we see in Pemberly as Elizabeth is touring it w/ her aunt & uncle.....right before the infamous lake scene (whew lawdy!)

We have just returned from a wonderful weekend at the Jane Austen festival. As part of our weekend, we had a Regency afternoon tea and tour at the Jane Austen Centre. The tour was absolutely amazing - we were all highly entertained by Mr Knightley, an incredibly knowledgeable and funny man. We loved every minute of his performance! We were fortunate enough to have Mr Knightly conduct our walking tour the following day, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves as he enthralled us with his humorous stories and ready wit. We would not hesitate to highly recommend the centre, but especially Mr Knightley, who should have a regular walking tour. We would go on it again! He is a real asset to the centre.

I should say right off the bat that I had an unpleasant experience with a member of staff that seriously affected my visit at the museum. Being Canadian and pretty inexperienced with the currency, I fumbled to get the correct amount of change when buying tickets. The cashier literally huffed and rolled her eyes at my girlfriend and I , and loudly kept asking if it was one ticked or two. I get that we all have bad days, but to try your hardest to make your annoyance as apparent as possible was a bit much. We had also been in Bath for less than an hour at that point, so it wasn't a great welcome. The museum itself was nice- I was under the impression that it was the house that the Austens had stayed in, which it is not. It's just a bit down the road from her former residence. You can tell a lot of passion went into creating the museum, and the tour guides really knew their stuff! There isn't many real artifacts from Jane's life though, mostly replicas or regency-era artifacts. Not worth the £12 unless you're a mega fan, in my opinion.

I don't recommend the 12 pound tour - it seems as though there's not too much to see or learn. However, the staff are all dressed in Regency costumes and the gift shop has a good number of items for the Austen fans in your life, as well as expensive and inexpensive versions of her books (the most important things you should pick up, if you don't already have them).

Fabulous information center (not exactly a museum... not many actual artifacts) that details Jane Austen's life, particularly her ties to Bath. One of my favorite little exhibits explained in today's terms what it meant to earn 100 up to 5000 pound a year. The short film about Jane in Bath narrated by our favorite villain "Wickham" was also a nice surprise. And of course, the opportunity to dress up a bit in Regency clothes was also fun. "Captain Wentworth" was able to explain to us the possible origins of the bicorn hat! And be still my heart... the gift shop. If I didn't have suitcase limitations.... So many wonderful gift ideas. My only suggestion might be to consider selling the Darcy miniature from Pemberley. That would be perfect travel size! Lastly, do not miss an opportunity for tea in the Regency Tea room. If you're lucky, as we were, you'll get the table right under Mr. Darcy's portrait. Don't forget to revisit Northanger Abbey before you arrive!

I didn't actually go to the Centre nor on the walking tour they offer, but I wanted to let everyone know that the City of Bath has a free audioguide that you can d/l, along with info on 'Jane Austen's Bath' or 'filming locations' since those seem to be the highlights of what the Centre's walking tour has to offer anyway. Of course, I don't want to take away their business, and this is simply legit info that's provided by their city, but by all means take the tour if you're a hardcore Austenite. free audiogude: http://visitbath.co.uk/janeausten/audio-tour/ Jane Austen specific portion: http://visitbath.co.uk/janeausten/audio-tour/individual-chapters Bath filming locations map: http://visitbath.co.uk/dbimgs/Bath_Movie_Map_A4.pdf just in case anyone takes issue, the centre already has 3-stars, so I'm not detracting from their ratings.

Missed the final tour by less than a minute. They sold tickets to the people in front of my family and wouldn't allow us to purchase tickets for their final tour. The staff was then very rude to my wife when she asked why we couldn't join the tour. No apology after we had traveled all the way from London to see their Centre and take their tour. Recommend that Jane Austen fans take the tour in London instead of wasting your holiday traveling to Bath.

I think I probably would have enjoyed the Centre more if I weren't such a Jane Austen fan (creating impracticable expectations).

I was looking forward to visiting this place when we decided to spend a weekend in Bath. Being a fan of Jane Austen I was interested to see what the centre had to offer and what I could learn about her and her work. It's a pretty small museum, very pleasant, but nothing that new in particular for you to see. The thing that did make it a little bit awkward was the fact that Austen had not really liked Bath herself, so a lot of it was dancing around the fact that she didn't think Bath was that great.

This place is okay if you just like Jane Austen and her works and are not a Jane Austen scholar. I'm definitely more of a casual fan and so found the tour informative. We had a couple of people in our group who were true fans and, according to them, all of the information given in the videos can be easily found online. Oh well, I thankfully didn't visit Wikipedia before coming here so it was all new to me. Plus the girl giving the tour was on point, very nice, and of course had that sweet British accent you can't get from Wiki The highlight for us was the costume room. We're a goofy group and had way too much fun cosplaying! Thankfully no one was directly behind us because we kind of hogged the costumes for a chunk of time! The ink pens were annoying, but cool (could never write a novel with those things!). The gift shop is well stocked and not too expensive- get yourself a tote bag and some books! It's a small museum- very small. Honestly, the stairwell that takes you upstairs to to the main ticketing area can get wicked cramp, especially if a large group is going down to the museum. We must have gone on a busy day because there was a log jam with about a dozen people coming down from the Tea Room, a group heading down to the museum, and our group coming up the stairs to buy tickets. There's nothing really fancy here, no original manuscripts or really any items that actually belong to Austen. It's more of a view into her life in Bath, how people dressed and behaved in those days, and some basic information about her life. It was fun for me because I was with some fun people, but not sure if it was worth the 7 pounds (hooray for student discounts-even if I am a student from the US!). It's not worth going more than once, but it's a cool place to check out while in Bath.

I see that Yelp has categorized this experience as an "Art Gallery" which is kind of odd because I saw no art today. The Jane Austen Centre is part museum and part biographic theatre--that is, the life of Jane Austen and her family is the focus of the presentation. My family is nuts for all things Jane Austen, and this was our first visit to Bath (we are American), so this activity was both informative and enjoyable for us. But understand plainly, this is not an impressive museum exhibit nor is it an exhaustive theatrical portrayal of Austen's life. But it WAS worth our time and money...and anything you choose to do in Bath will be incredible.

I was surprised by some of the reviews of the Jane Austen Centre. I found it to be a fascinating little place run by people who genuinely do care, and very atmospheric and interesting. The talk was given with humour and panache and the filmshow was very interesting. There were lots of interesting little facts and displays and I found the on-site tea-room lovely - and the service was warm and very friendly. It isn't a huge exhibition but then considering it's based in a standard Bath townhouse, I'm surprised that some of the people reviewing here expected any more - how could you expect it to be larger when you saw the building before you went in?! Recommended to any Austen fan.

This house is located just a 10 minute walk outside of Bath. The cost was 12 euros, which was way to much for the amount of things to see. If you are a Jane Austen fan, you would probably like it, but there were only a few rooms, a few pictures, and some memorability to see. I was a little disappointed at the price vs. the tour. Glad to check that off my bucket list because I won't be back.

The other reviewers are right on about the somewhat hokey nature of the Jane Austen Centre, but I'd like to add a mention about the tea shop. It's fair, and tourists will have fun here knowing they are doing a touristy thing (my husband and I did). But don't hope for authenticity. Also, the gift shop is perfect for bringing home a souvenir to your Austen-obsessed sister.

Decided to visit this heritage place and found it fascinating. You get a guide tour by some lovley young girls dressed in its period. It gives you an insight into her life, work and what kind of person she was. If you are a fan then this is worth a visit. Had fun trying the outfits.

The Jane Austen Centre, like other reviewers have mentioned, is nothing to write home about. They give an informative "lecture" before the tour, which is informative, but quite dull, and most Austen-ites probably already have a pretty good idea about Ms. Jane's historical past. Then we approach the museum/tour portion. While I found some dresses and fashion tips of that era fascinating, I found myself just speeding through it. It just didn't hold a lot of interest for me. I have heard the walking tour is a lot more memorable and interesting. Maybe that's the route I'll go next time! For anyone interested I say (and it does kill me to say this) but just skip paying the entry fees and purchase something in the gift shop. Maybe even go into the tea shop and have some scones and tea, instead! Or make the entry fees really, really cheap (like £2).

Despite passing a pleasant afternoon at the Jane Austen centre, I cannot allow it any more than two miserable Qype stars. If you know anything at all about Jane Austen, there will be little to learn from the talk and 'exhibition' and you will waste £6 or thereabouts. While the talk we were treated to was pleasant and vaguely interesting this is not groundbreaking research and frankly you could pick up more by reading a few chapters of any decent Austen biography. The exhibition consists of some costumes from a recent (or forthcoming - couldn't quite work it out) Austen TV adaptation and frankly is really disappointing. What is much more fun is the upstairs tea room. Despite the slightly curt service (is this obligatory in English tea rooms?) we passed a very pleasant tea time here, sipping, among other things, Regency and Gyspy Caravan tea and nibbling on delicious scones. We were too full up to try any of the gloriously titled cakes - next time I won't be able to resist Mrs Bennet's Lemon Drizzle Cake. My advice - skip the sham of a museum and just take tea upstairs in the powder blue third floor tea room. Much more civilised.

Surprised at the harsh reviews here. £6 is not a lot to pay to gain admission to a charming centre run by dedicated and interested staff. Compact and crammed with facts, costumes and artefacts, both those who enjoy Jane Austen's work and those unfamiliar with it will find this a little gem. There's also an old fashioned tea-room above that's worth a visit for coffee and cakes before you leave.

Only average, perhaps a dedicated Austen fan would get more out of a trip to this place. £6 is quite pricey for such a small museum. I was not expecting much considering what I thought was a poor Austen statue outside the museum, and sad to say the museum itself is very small. Maybe this review is harsh as it is obviously tended to by a dedicated bunch of austen fans rather than a large company but not much here at all really for the casual visitor.

My girlfriend is a huge Jane Austen fan. This was a great spot for us to explore and learn more about Austen and her life. It starts with a video and then a guide tells you about Jane and her life. Then you go through a detailed exhibit downstairs. This ends with the ability to dress up in period appropriate garb and take pictures with Mr. Darcy. A fun experience for all, even non-Jane fans. Also inexpensive entry.

Hm. Well, I was about to write a very happy review when I read something to the right of my text box that says, "Definitely screams tourist trap"... Which made me think for a moment. I thought, "Well, that doesn't sound good. Tourists are crappy." And then I thought, "... Actually, wait a minute. I was a tourist." And THEN I thought, "Eff it. No one gets to tell me whether or not I enjoyed something." I admit, I'm not a Georgian era historian. I also admit that I'm not a Jane Austen expert. The extent of my knowledge on these two subjects comes almost exclusively from Jane Austen's novels, various BBC period dramas, and a single page in my 11th grade history text book. Which, to be fair, couldn't have been very comprehensive. Does that make me stupid? No. It makes me uninformed. Does THAT make me stupid? Also no. You want to know what you get when you go here? I'll tell you. You get to tour a very old house that looks suspiciously similar to a house that Austen once lived in. You get a short presentation about her life, possibly by the same very charming young lady that gave the presentation to us, possibly not... And then you get to go down to a basement where you'll see some reproduction Georgian clothing. Then you get to wear a costume and take a picture. If my memory serves me correctly, my husband and I were the only ones who chose to partake in the costume/photo portion of the tour, though... Which, I think, goes to show just how boring some people really are. What's the point of being an adult if you can't travel to England on your honeymoon to put on a bonnet and top hat and take a picture in front of an afternoon tea backdrop for posterity? There's no point. NO POINT. You might as well turn in your adult card and call it a day. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that this place is very cute. Like most things in life, you'll get out of it what you put in to it. I had fun here, and I'm now the proud owner of some mighty nice memories because of this museum. Also, there's afternoon tea on the upper level. Success!

I visited this shop a couple years ago while studying abroad in London. One of the only souvenirs I brought back with me was a teapot from this shop, which, upon arriving home, I promptly dropped on the ground, shattering the lid. I recently decided to just take a chance (a whole two years later) and e-mail the shop, asking if they could send me a new lid. I even offered to pay for shipping since I live in America. I got an almost instant reply from Matthew at the gift shop saying he would pop it in the post for me that night and that there was no need to pay for shipping. A week later, I got the lid in the mail. I couldn't be happier with their customer service or my beloved, whole teapot. Thank you, Jane Austen Centre gift shop!!

Bath's fixation on Jane Austen's time in the town is amusing given the fact most her personal correspondence detailing living there described how much she hated it. But I guess all your tourist traps can't be Roman based ;) It's cute and kitschy. There's no ifs and or buts about that. When I worked nearby at the Royal Crescent, I always smiled when I passed the costumed men and women trying to drag tourists inside. When I finally did visit, they were very cordial, funny, and took their parts seriously. Giggling, I let them lead me in, loving the cheese factor of the place. We didn't spend too much time in the museum part of it, other than deciding not to buy any of the overpriced copies of Austen's books. If I'd had the money, there were some really interesting books and knick knacks in there. However, the main objective of the visit was to go to the tea rooms because I had never had an afternoon tea. Of course, this wasn't exactly the place to do it, but I really enjoyed the experience nonetheless. The only downside was the American and French tourists. They filed in and out, wearing hideously casual tourist clothes and insisted on speaking in very loud tones despite the cramped quarters. It really hampered the fanciness factor I was trying to draw out of the afternoon (Note: I don't hate Americans- I am one- but for some reason the obnoxious ones decided to visit that day). Then again, this place is a major tourist trap so I guess I have no room to complain. I could have gone anywhere else for tea. Anyway, if you go, try to get a table by the window. It affords nice views of the Georgian architecture lining Queen Square Park.

I have been here twice the first time in 2017 during the bicentenary of Jane Austen's passing and again last weekend. I brought my wife along to see the Jane Austen Regency Parade which we absolutely loved. Then we came to the Jane Austen Centre at No 40 Gay Street as this was her first visit (Jane lived a while at No25 not 40). She also lived in Trim Street, Sidney Place and several over short lets until going home to Hampshire. She was excited about coming to Bath but after her father died and the financial situation changed for the worse. For me Jane is vital I absolutely adore this wonderful woman. The the only thing draws me to the centre is the wax figure of her. It is the closest image of her we will ever get. This was due to forensic studies and comparisons from portraits of her brothers. The Jane Austen Centre is sadly spoiling it's chances to be an absolute must visit because of the high admission charges and the eye wateringly expensive tea room. When I saw the menu I was totally gobsmacked and had to make a quiet exit downstairs. The shop is expensive too but at least you can actually walk out with something in possession. I do love the atmosphere but feel there is something missing. You could find yourself at the end of your visit before you have realised it has actually started. I love everything about Bath it is a beautiful city in fact it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Jane lived and loved this vibrant city but do go to Chawton, Steventon, Winchester, Lyme Regis and Godmersham to name but a few of the places associated with our Jane.

Didn't have the time to buy the tour but did really enjoy the Tea Room. Great treats and tea. Reasonable with the little discount we got and definitely tasty. Nice service. Good gift shop but a bit expensive.

I have to admit that the best part of the Jane Austen Centre is the tea room upstairs and the shop inside the centre itself. The exhibit itself was a little bit of a let down. I had read some reviews to this effect so I was prepared. But this location is great - in a historic Georgian townhouse and, like I said, win win with the shop on the ground floor. I loved that everyone was dressed in simple Georgian fashion. Everyone was pretty helpful too and didn't seem to dislike their job. As a devout Austen fan this was a must-do for me in Bath, but the tour that the Centre provides was my main enjoyment.

Kind of funny that Austen didn't think too highly of Bath in the end, yet this museum is located here. Probably more like a 3 for the amount of information available, but it was an enjoyable enough visit and I'm feeling generous. Definitely plays on the popularity of the 1995 BBC series, with the Mr. Darcy painting from Pemberley in the gift shop and Adrian Lukis narrating a short film. There is a tea room but we did not partake. (I wasn't sure how my husband would feel about trying afternoon tea for the first time in a place where staff dressed up in costume, haha -- nor how I would feel, come to think of it -- so I booked that at a regular hotel in London instead.) There were biscuits in the regular museum that you could try, though. Your willingness to indulge in and enjoy the goofier, for-fun things here will probably make or break your experience. These goofier things include dressing up in costumes (they'll take a photo for you); writing with ink and quill; and a new wax statue interpretation of what Jane Austen may have looked like (apparently, the entire family took exception to her sister Cassandra's portrait of Jane, claiming that it looked matronly, severe, and generally nothing like her, so an FBI forensic artist drew a sketch based on shared / familial characteristics and written descriptions). Probably more a place for fans or for someone who is really chill and down for these things than for someone really wanting to learn more than is already commonly known. Probably will not inspire someone who didn't particularly care for Austen to begin with to care now, either.

If you can't stay for the tour and the exhibition, a visit to the Jane Austen Gift Shop is just as satisfying. You can buy the very first book Jane Austen ever wrote which is a short history of England with no specific dates. There's also some gorgeous souvenirs with famous quotes from the novels, thimbles, writing paper, coasters, tea towels. There's even first edition copies of the books, and whole sets too.

The tour is comprised of a speech regarding Austen's life which was fine, poorly printed and framed photos of possible portraits of Jane Austen, things that possibly resemble stuff from Jane Austen's time period, costumes to dress up in, photos from Austen inspired movies, and a short video. Not worth the steep price for admission. No actual artifacts of Jane Austen, not the house she lived in, and really nothing of interest here whatsoever. You could easily find more information online and save your money. There are better things to do in Bath.

In contrast to other reviewers i found this an interesting place to visit. Anyone with a strong interest in Jane Austens works should find something of interest here. A pleasant way to while away some time. Do check out the tea room too - very tasty! Recommended.

I had high expectations of the Jane Austen Centre as I am a big Austen fan but alas it wasn't very interesting at all. The costumed speakers made a great effort and were engaging and interesting but the exhibition itself just fell a bit flat and wasn't nearly big enough so that my companion and I both left feeling disappointed and with a sense that we had wasted our money. I don't think it took us more than half an hour to see everything, which is a shame.

The Jane Austen Museum is pretty cool, although my favourite part was the 'Partial History of England' I bought for about 70p at the gift section. Just be thankful you're not a dead famous author of great literature: you too would be having your dim shade embarrassed by thousands of people being privy to your pre-teen wibblings, however humorous. The film about Austen's life in Bath seems to run continuously: a fact we only twigged to after we'd been sitting there for what seemed like two hours. Oops! The section of artefacts from Bath life of the period was standard stuff, really, okay if you're mad keen on museums in general. Altogether worth a visit, though.

skip the centre and go for the walking tour instead. the walking tour starts in the center of town by the abbey and the roman baths. you get your tickets at the KC changer, and they are 6 GBP. the walk takes about 1.5 to 2 hours, and you go all over town. our guide told us all the significant places in town, along w/ how jane austen saw them in her day. 2 of her books took place in bath, so you see all the places that are mentioned in the books (northanger abbey and persuasion). this is a nice walk that lets you get your bearings, and then you can decide where to see in more detail afterwards.

This tour wasn't exactly what I had expected. Our tour guide was funny and very informative however, she did get into the architects who built the town and some other boring history about the town itself. I did appreciate it don't get me wrong, I just imagined it'd be about Jane Austen and her stays and it was but Austen didn't stay here for long she came to Bath on like two holidays I believe. She did take us to the crescent and my gf who came here by herself one time had a hard time getting the correct directions to the crescent which she forgot the name and no one understood what she was describing lol. Nevertheless, our tour guide took us here and other places, where the movies were filmed and where Austen stayed. The number 13 building where Austen stayed was under construction so that was a bit bummer. In the end, I would recommend this tour because you see Bath and learn information about it some you may or may not care about, but little things that are interesting. The tour is supposed to be 2 hours but ahe went longer if we wanted to continue. We of course did and I loved that!

The museum is very small, I loved the Jane Austen family history presentation part, it was very informative. But the rest of the museum doesn't have much to see. There's no actual articles of Janes that I've seen, or any new information, it's too small. I think they could've made the museum much bigger considering how much following Jane Austen has! But the tea room upstairs gets 5/5, so lovely! The food was good, the view, the atmosphere, not too expensive. And the sweet girl serving us was cherry on the top! ;)