NICOLAS CAGE will be spending the holidays in Bath, England, because he has always dreamed of a Dickensian Christmas.

The actor, a lifelong fan of author Charles Dickens, is turning his back on Tinseltown and the starry beaches of the Caribbean and heading for a winter retreat in the ancient English city.

He explains, "I'm taking everyone to England and I've never done that. I'm going to try and have a Christmas goose. I want to walk around Bath and see how they celebrate the holidays. I've always fantasised about that. "When I'm in Bath I feel like I'm walking around a snow globe. I'm in this contained beautiful historic universe and everybody's really, really nice. "I'm always excited to meet people and say, ‘Are you Bathonian?' I don't need to use a car and I can walk. The architecture is magnificent and I feel like I'm in touch with the past and I feel like I'm time travelling. "I'm going to these other places and I'm learning something. It's helping me grow. It will be the perfect Dickens Christmas. "My wife and (son) Kal-El flew over a week ago and my eldest son, Weston, is flying over for Christmas."