Hot spring towns
Natural thermal water, with somewhere built to bathe in it.
15 lists
The best hot-spring towns within two hours of VeronaThermal water surfaces all around Verona, in the volcanic mud of the Euganean Hills, along the Trentino valleys and at the foot of the Apennines, and whole towns have been built on top of it: colonnaded bathhouses, hot pools steaming in November, and hotels that still write mud treatments into the price of a room.
The best hot-spring towns within two hours of PaduaThermal water surfaces all around Padua, from the mineral mud of the Euganean Hills to the salt-and-sulphur springs of the lagoon and the alpine spa valleys of Trentino. These are the towns built around the water rather than beside it, most of them reachable in a morning's drive or a regional train ride.
The best hot-spring towns within two hours of BresciaThermal water surfaces all around Brescia, in the Euganean mud pools south of Padua, along the Val Camonica, and at the foot of the Bergamasque valleys, in towns that grew up around their own springs. A drive of a couple of hours reaches sulphur baths, Liberty-era bathhouses and vineyards on volcanic hills.
The best hot-spring towns within two hours of ParmaSulphur and salt-bromide-iodine water surfaces all along the Emilian plain and the first Apennine folds, in towns where the bathhouse, the pump room and the pasticceria all sit on the same street. Within a couple of hours of Parma there are thermal towns that treat their water as everyday infrastructure rather than a spa holiday.
The best hot-spring towns within two hours of RiminiSulphur and salt water rise across the Romagna hinterland and the Adriatic flats, feeding thermal pools in towns of brick porticoes and Apennine stone. Inland spa towns, salt-pan lagoons and Tuscan-Romagnol border villages, all within a couple of hours of Rimini.
The best hot-spring towns within 75 minutes of PisaThermal water rises all along the western edge of Tuscany, in spa towns under the Apuan foothills, in travertine bathhouses near Pisa and in old mining country down the coast. These are the towns built around their own springs, all inside an easy drive of Pisa airport.
The best hot-spring towns within 75 minutes of SienaThermal water surfaces all around Siena, in travertine quarry country to the east and in the volcanic hills of the Val d'Orcia, and the towns above these springs were built around the bathing rather than beside it. Sulphur pools, travertine terraces, pici and Vino Nobile within an easy drive of the city.
The best hot-spring towns within 90 minutes of PerugiaThermal water rises across the hills between Umbria and southern Tuscany, feeding travertine pools, spa towns built from pale stone and bottling plants in the Apennine valleys. All of these towns sit within an easy drive of Perugia, and all of them grew up around their springs.
The best hot spring towns in Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagna's thermal towns run from the Apennine valleys to the salt flats of the Adriatic, each with natural mineral water and bathing establishments attached. A guide to the smaller spa towns, with what to see, how to arrive and when to go.
The best hidden hot spring towns you can reach by train in ToscanaThermal water surfaces all over Tuscany, in travertine basins, in spa towns on branch lines, in pools that stay warm through a wet February. These are the smaller Tuscan towns with natural hot springs that can be reached by train rather than by car.
The best hot-spring towns within two hours of MilanThermal water surfaces all across the Lombard plain and the valleys above it, in river towns of grey stone, spa villages of liberty-style ironwork and lakeside promenades under plane trees. These are the places within easy reach of Milan where the spring came first and the town grew around it.
The best hot-spring towns within 90 minutes of FlorenceThermal water rises warm all year across Tuscany, and the towns built around it sit close enough to Florence for a morning drive. Travertine pools, sulphur springs and old bathing houses, from the Val di Chiana to the coast.
The best hot-spring towns within two hours of RomeSulphurous water rises through volcanic rock across northern Lazio and the Ciociaria hills, feeding open-air pools, mineral springs and thermal towns built around the taps. Reachable from Rome in a morning, best in the cold months when the steam is thickest.
The best hot-spring towns within 90 minutes of BolognaSulphur, salt and iron rise through the plain and the low hills around Bologna, feeding spa towns built of brick and stucco where the bathing season runs from spring into late autumn. Thermal water, mud cures and long lunches, all within easy reach of the city.
The best hot-spring towns within two hours of VeniceThermal water rises hot out of the Euganean Hills, the Garda peninsula and the Adriatic lagoon flats, and these towns were built around it: mud treatments, sulphur pools, trachyte houses and a long winter season when the steam sits over the roofs.