Inspired by the Coliseum, The Circus dates to 1754 and consists of three curved terraces designed by the elder John Wood. The artist Thomas Gainsborough is represented in the Holburne Museum of Art who lived there, as did William Pitt the Elder and Lord Clive of India.

The iconic Royal Crescent, built between 1767 and 1774, consists of thirty classic Georgian honey/calico-coloured townhouses. Number One Royal Crescent is a living museum (Entry £8.50). Other period terraces to swoon over are Lansdown Crescent and Somerset Place.