Alas, this museum is a rather dull affair.  Text-heavy displays honor the life and work of the ever-popular Austen, but they do so in a fashion far wordier than the novelist herself. Austen visited Bath twice in the late 18th century and lived there from 1801 to 1806, drawing from her experiences in this hoity toity town for her novels Persuasion and Northanger Abbey . The most satisfying part of a visit is the gossipy introductory lecture where you’ll learn that the author came to loathe the city, where she and her mother and sister fell upon hard times. You can take tea in the center’s Regency Tea Rooms.