Fascinating destinations from all over the world
The historic city of Bath in Somerset is world famous for its Roman-built thermal baths, established around 60 CE when the city was known as Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis"). Sulis was a deity worshiped by the Romano-British.
A hub of cultural and culinary pleasures, Baden bei Wien is also a center of health and wellness known for its medicinal springs. It's been a spa town of note since the Roman era.
The mineral water produced and bottled in the town of Spa is exported worldwide, adding extra kudos to this attractive Belgian town tucked away in the Ardennes mountains. In fact, Spa is an eponym for mineral baths with supposed curative properties, the word being used in Roman times.
The curative properties of the spring waters at Františkovy Lázně were known to locals over five centuries ago. An early guest was the German poet, playwright, and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
The Czech Republic's most famed spa destination, Karlovy Vary once boasted no less than 200 spa houses by the end of the 1500s. The city still claims numerous hot springs, which makes it one of Europe's most visited well-being destinations.
Mariánské Lázně is the second largest spa city in the Czech Republic. The first mineral springs were documented here in 1273 and have drawn visitors ever since, following in the footsteps of Strauss, Wagner, and Kafka, among other great cultural luminaries.
This historic spa and resort town in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France was, during the Second World War, the capital of Vichy France from 1940 to 1944. Negative connotations aside, the destination remains famous for its highly prized mineral spring water.
Set on the banks of the Lahn tributary in Rheinland-Pfalz, Bad Ems is located on a cluster of mineral hot springs rich in sodium bicarbonate. The destination is famous for its natural Ems salt, used for drinking and inhalation purposes.
Translated to English, Baden-Baden means "The Baths in Baden." The spa town is built on thermal springs at the edge of the Black Forest in Baden Württemberg, which are known to have been used in Roman times.
Another renowned German spa town, Bad Kissingen has been a leading center of well-being since the 16th century, recording its first official spa guest in 1520. It's been a fashionable resort ever since.
Montecatini Terme claims the most effective hot mineral waters in Europe. The largest and most famous of Tuscany's spa towns, the destination has remained popular for its curative waters since the medieval era.
Situated roughly 250 m (820 ft) above sea level in the beautiful and verdant Serra de Monchique hills, this famous Algarve spa facility has been attracting visitors since the Romans, who rejuvenated tired bones and aching limbs in its soothing springs.
Luso in central Portugal is renowned for the curative properties of its waters, which rise at a temperature of 26.6ºC (80ºF) and gush freely from public fountains in the center of town. Águas do Luso, one of the largest Portuguese companies providing mineral water, is based here.
The Hungarian capital can boast some of the most distinguished spa facilities in Europe. The Széchenyi Baths, for example, is one of the largest medicinal bath complexes on the continent.
Budapest's Gellért Thermal Bath has been in operation since 1918. Built in the Art Nouveau architectural style, it's part of of the famous Hotel Gellért in Buda and is easily one of the most photographed spas in the world.
Reykjavik's Blue Lagoon is an outstanding volcanic geothermal showstopper. It's one of the most popular visitor attractions in Iceland, its hot springs a year-round treat.
The Romans were among the first to recognize the healing properties of the hot springs of Leukerbad. By the early 16th century, a thriving thermal tourism industry had been established, which today only the ski product can rival.
A spa town and ski resort nestling in the mountains of St. Johann im Pongau, Bad Hofgastein is well placed to soothe aching limbs after a day running the pistes.
Sources: (Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases) (Britannica) (Worcester News)
See also: Is an all-inclusive vacation for you?
Worth including on this list as a stand-alone hotel resort, Castilla Termal in the delightful cathedral town of El Burgo de Osma in Castile and León is set in a 16th-century monastery. Its subterranean spa is fed by natural spring waters.
Among the facilities at the Wieliczka Salt Mine near Kraków in southern Poland is an extraordinary subterranean health complex. The spa takes advantage of the therapeutic power of a salt microclimate.
Don't be put off by the muddy complexion of the swimming pool fronting the Terra Nostra Hotel at Furnas, on the Azorean island of São Miguel. The waters positively bubble with warm curative properties, fed as they are by the volcanic springs this Portuguese mid-Atlantic destination is famous for.
Malvern in Worcestershire enjoys a cherished reputation as one of England's most distinguished spa towns. As a child, Franklin D. Roosevelt, later the 32nd president of the United States, was sent to Malvern in 1889 to recover from tuberculosis, the curative waters helping to relieve his respiratory problems.
Another stand-alone spa property worthy of mention is the Arctic Bath. Set on the edge of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, this is a unique floating spa hotel that offers guests the chance to immerse themselves in an ice cold bath taken alternatively with a warm sauna. Arctic Bath is located in Harads, right in the heart of Swedish Lapland.
After Budapest, the most visited town in Hungary is Hévíz, sought out for the largest thermal lake in the world, suitable for bathing, where guests can enjoy year-round well-being dips.
The hammam bath is commonly found across the Middle East and North Africa. These unique bathhouses are also ubiquitous to Turkey. An ancient form of the spa, a hamman is where to immerse yourself in a bathing and cleansing culture that dates back to antiquity.
The village of Saturnia in Tuscany gives its name to an extraordinary thermal spa facility fed by warm sulfurous waters that bubble up out of the ground and cascade down a series of terraces known as the Cascate del Mulino.
The Roman's called their Acqui Termi Aquae Statiellae. Written records of the hot sulfur springs this Piedmont town is famous for date back to this period.
If the name sounds familiar, it's because this is where they bottle the world famous Évian mineral water. Évian-les-Bains is also on the wellness map as a chic spa destination.
It was the Romans who first discovered the thermal delights of Aix-les-Bains, a major spa town hugging Lac du Bourget in southeastern France. Today it's better known for its watersports options, though the Belle Époque atmosphere is still tangible.
Helsinki's amazing Allas Sea Pool serves as a sea spa and an urban oasis for well-being. Fashioned as a Nordic design floating sauna, it's open year- round, even over the frigid Scandinavian winter months.
We've been indulging in spa breaks since antiquity, when the Romans first started using the word, perhaps as an acronym of the Latin phrase sanitas per aquas ("health through water"). In the 14th century after a curative, thermal spring was discovered in Wallonia, Belgium, citizens started naming the source Spa, and a whole new wellness industry was born. Today, a destination blessed with geothermal credentials is commonly known as a spa town—and there are numerous places in Europe offering hydrotherapy as part of their tourism product. But where are the most beautiful and historic spas located?
Click through and immerse yourself in a well-being experience.
Europe's most inviting spa destinations
Where are the most beautiful and historic hydrotherapy centers located?
TRAVEL Relaxation
We've been indulging in spa breaks since antiquity, when the Romans first started using the word, perhaps as an acronym of the Latin phrase sanitas per aquas ("health through water"). In the 14th century after a curative, thermal spring was discovered in Wallonia, Belgium, citizens started naming the source Spa, and a whole new wellness industry was born. Today, a destination blessed with geothermal credentials is commonly known as a spa town—and there are numerous places in Europe offering hydrotherapy as part of their tourism product. But where are the most beautiful and historic spas located?
Click through and immerse yourself in a well-being experience.