Jane Austen fans have a good reason to explore the southwest of England this year: It’s the 250th anniversary of her birth, and celebrations abound. Hampshire was both Austen’s birthplace and a source of inspiration; as a novelist, she was most prolific in this bucolic setting. Start out at Jane Austen’s House, her former cottage, featuring an exhibition and themed festivals. The Jane Austen Country Fair will liven up Steventon in July, while Southampton is displaying Austen’s traveling writing desk and hosting the irreverent hit show “Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of).” In Winchester, activities include literary readings, guided walks, access to Winchester College and a new statue at Winchester Cathedral, her final resting place. In Bath, the Jane Austen Center is going all out, with dance balls and its Grand Regency Costumed Promenade. Farther afield are sites used as locations for Austen film adaptations — like Stourhead, in Wiltshire, pictured here, which appears in the 2005 version of “Pride and Prejudice.”— AnneLise Sorensen
2025 Travel Destinations: 52 Places to Go This Year
