This year marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of England’s most popular novelists. Jane Austen transformed the world with stories detailing societal restrictions and class disparities among the 18th-century English landed gentry. From Pride and Prejudice to Northanger Abbey, Austen’s legacy endures, whether that be through new generations falling in love with her writing, or the countless screen adaptations of her stories.
Each year, Austenites flock to locations all across southwest England, where the novelist spent most of her life. From Hampshire, where she was born, to Bath, where she spent time in her young adulthood, Austen left a legacy with an indelible mark. It’s no surprise then that many of these places are crafting celebrations this year. Here are three places hosting special festivities in honor of Jane Austen.
The Grand Regency Costumed Promenade at the annual Jane Austen Festival holds the Guinness World Record for the “largest gathering of people dressed in Regency costume.” Each year, more than 1,000 people turn up in Regency costume to march the streets of Bath.
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Immersive exhibits and Regency-era costume balls in Somerset
The Jane Austen Centre has several immersive exhibits that take visitors on a journey through the writer’s life. Along the way, chat with one of the Centre’s many tour guides, who are all outfitted head-to-toe in Regency-era garb. The Centre will host three Austen-inspired events throughout the year.
On May 31, a nautical-themed costume ball inspired by Austen’s Persuasion is scheduled. On June 28, there will be a seaside-themed ball inspired by Austen’s unfinished novel Sanditon. At the end of the year, the Centre will throw a yuletide birthday ball at the Pump Room to commemorate Austen’s actual date of birth on December 16. It also hosts its annual 10-day Jane Austen festival from September 12–22, 2025, featuring guided walks, theatrical performances of Austen’s works, and a 1,000-person Regency-costumed promenade around Bath’s historic streets.
The Holburne Museum, meanwhile, has a new exhibit called Illustrating Austen, which runs until January 2026 and features drawings of Austen’s many characters and how visual interpretations of her work have evolved.
No trip to Bath is complete without a walking tour with one of the expert guides at Strictly Jane Austen Tours. Get to know the city on foot, with a guide in Regency wear, and see places where Austen lived, worked, and played. Austen had a complicated relationship with Bath, which is explored at No. 1 Royal Crescent’s latest temporary exhibition, “The Most Tiresome Place in the World": Jane Austen & Bath. This collection of letters and the manuscript for The Watsons, an unfinished novel she wrote while living in the city, showcases Austen’s many frustrations with Bath’s stifling social scene. The exhibit also provides an intimate look at how the writer struggled with class restrictions during the Regency period.
Where to stay
To embrace all things Austen, stay at the Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel. This Small Luxury Hotels of the World property offers a Heritage Afternoon Tea with scholars like Dr. Gabrielle Malcolm from the Jane Austen Centre discussing Austen over treats that the writer herself might have once consumed, like scones and Battenberg cakes. For die-hard Austenites, look into booking a stay during the hotel’s Austen programs this year. The six-day programs run April 7–12 and October 13–18. During these two weeks, visitors will have access to exclusive talks, like “Beauty and Cosmetics in the Time of Jane Austen” by author Sarah Jane Dowling. Guests will also be transported back to Georgian-era England through a series of activities, which include a day trip to the village of Lacock (featured in the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Pride & Prejudice), Regency dance workshops, and an embroidery class.
Jane Austen lived in this cottage in Chawton between 1809 and 1817. In that time, she wrote all six of her finished novels.
Photo by Dmitry Naumov/Shutterstock
Historical house tours in Hampshire
Check out Jane Austen’s House in the village of Chawton in East Hampshire to see the cottage where Austen lived for most of her life and wrote all six of her published novels. Be sure to catch the museum’s newest permanent exhibition, Jane Austen and the Art of Writing, which connects Austen’s creative process to her childhood home and domestic life through a collection of manuscripts, family heirlooms, video, and audio installations.
For a better sense of Austen’s impact on the literary landscape, visit Chawton House, the Elizabethan manor house originally owned by Austen’s brother, Edward. Austen lived in a small cottage on the estate’s grounds in her young adulthood, and would spend hours with her brother and his family here. The manor house was converted into a museum, and is now home to many of Austen’s personal possessions, as well as work by women writers across the United Kingdom, including Mary Wollstonecraft and Elizabeth Blackwell.
While in Chawton, follow in Austen’s literal footsteps on a stroll along the Jane Austen Trail, which runs for 1.8 miles between Alton and Chawton. Start on Alton High Street, where Austen would often shop and play with her sister Cassandra, and then stroll down the streets of Chawton village, where Austen lived for most of her life.
While in Hampshire, make time for a trip to the home where Jane Austen spent her final days at No. 8 College Street in Winchester. In honor of her 250th birthday, Winchester College has opened the home up to the public for the first time. From June to August 2025, the home will feature a special exhibition on Austen’s life in Winchester, replete with a film exploring her final days and several artifacts left behind after her passing.
Where to stay
Book a stay at Tylney Hall, a Small Luxury Hotels of the World property in the village of Hook for Old World charm, water gardens, and quick access to all of Hampshire’s Austen attractions. The Grade II Victorian-style mansion has 113 rooms in period decor. Staff are available to guests for guided tours of the property’s sprawling gardens, with incredible vistas of the rolling Hampshire countryside that Austen herself once saw.
Live out your Pride and Prejudice dreams in Derbyshire
Several historic manor houses and estates across Derbyshire and the Peak District served as the sets for both the 1995 BBC television adaptation and the 2005 film adaptation of Austen’s most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice.
If Colin Firth stirred your spirit as Mr. Darcy in the 1995 BBC television adaptation, head to Lyme Park, the Italianate palace where the iconic reunion scene between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy was filmed. Afterward, head over to the Old Bull Inn in the historic village of Longnor, which was used as the backdrop for Lambton in the same adaptation.
Those who prefer Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy can find many of the 2005 film’s sets here. Moodily reflect on a love lost at Stanage Edge, where Elizabeth daydreamed of Mr. Darcy, stroll over to Chatsworth House, famous for being the set for the Pemberley estate, and walk the grounds at Haddon Hall, the backdrop for several of the movie’s garden scenes.
Where to stay
The Cavendish Hotel in Baslow is on the Chatsworth Estate and is a short walk away from Chatsworth House. The hotel’s 28 rooms and suites are decorated with a country house charm. Its on-site restaurant, the Gallery, features classic British fare and countryside culinary staples by executive chef Adam Harper, with decor that honors the Chatsworth Estate’s storied history. Guests can enjoy private access to the estate’s grounds and catch fantastic views of the Pemberley estate set, a mere 20-minute walk from the hotel.
