We live in UK city named world’s BEST place to visit – but we’re fed up of boozy tourists on hen dos fighting in streets
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RESIDENTS living in the UK's so-called best place to visit have revealed they're fed of boozy tourists on hen dos fighting in the streets. With its impressive abbey, Roman Baths and stunning architecture, the city of Bath Spa is steeped in history and a mecca for tourists.
![[Pulteney Bridge and River Avon in Bath, England.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/view-pulteney-bridge-river-avon-744252193.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Six million tourists from around the globe flock to the UNESCO World Heritage Site every year, and The New York Times has voted it the best place in the world to visit in 2025. Literary legend Jane Austen penned some of her classic period dramas in Bath, and this year the city will host its 25th Jane Austen Festival in September.
![[Woman in orange hat and green jacket in Bath.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/bath-city-shopper-lynn-mccradie-962784071.jpg?strip=all&w=640)
But the writer herself might turn in her grave if she could see the dark underbelly of escalating criminal activity which has grown in her wake. While tourists take selfies in front of sumptuous, iconic Regency buildings, criminal gangs, thieves, drunks and drug users are threatening the popularity of the city they feed off.
![[Big Issue seller Holly Fraser in Bath.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/bath-city-big-issue-seller-962784119.jpg?strip=all&w=640)
Big Issue seller Holly Fraser, 49, has lived in Bath for 12 years. “The buildings, architecture and the history have a lot to do with why people think Bath is beautiful but I’m in recovery, so I really struggle here because there are a lot of drugs.
![[Former homeless man selling his poetry in Bath.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/bath-city-former-homeless-man-962801679.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
“The Romanian gangs come here, especially around Christmas, and they buy up hundreds of Big Issues and pose as vendors. I’ve had to go to one member, a girl, and try to buy some off her – I only sell five or ten a week. “Because it’s such a popular area for tourists it attracts crime.
![[People sitting on church steps in Bath, England.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/bath-city-centre-people-drinking-962801603.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
