Tuscany · Pistoia
Montecatini-Terme
Eleven thermal springs in a Liberty-style park at the foot of the Apennines.
- Best time
- All year
- By car
- 46 min from Florence
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 20,690
Known for
ELEVEN SPRINGS
Eleven thermal springs rising from seventy meters at 24 to 33 degrees, mineralizing into four named waters: Leopoldina, Regina, Tettuccio, Rinfresco.
UNESCO SPA TOWN
One of the eleven Great Spa Towns of Europe inscribed by UNESCO in 2021, alongside Bath, Vichy, Baden-Baden and Karlovy Vary.
GIGIO E GIGIA
The two red funicular cars in service since June 1898, climbing from the spa town to Montecatini Alto in eight and a half minutes.
When to visit
Best · All year
- J11°
- F14°
- M16°
- A19°
- M23°
- J28°
- J32°
- A32°
- S27°
- O21°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Santa Barbara, 4 December
Why come
The spa town sits in the Valdinievole, forty kilometers west of Florence, at the foot of the hills that hold its older twin on the height above. That older settlement predates the town below it: the springs were exploited later, and the modern spa grew up on the flat ground beneath the hill village rather than around it. The two remain connected by the red funicular, so a visitor moves between them in minutes rather than by road.
Each of the four named waters treats a different complaint, drawn from the same eleven springs but separated by mineral content once they reach the surface. The Thermal Park gathers the pavilions that were built to house this water cure, Liberty and neo-Renaissance architecture arranged as a single walled enclave rather than scattered through the town. In 2021 the UNESCO listing grouped the town with other spa towns built for the same purpose, Bath, Vichy, Baden-Baden and Karlovy Vary among them, recognition of a model of spa town that produced this particular layout: springs, park, pavilions, and a hill town kept deliberately apart from the cure below.
Read on
Montecatini-Terme in our articles
The best hot-spring towns within 75 minutes of Pisa6 towns, Montecatini-Terme among them.
The best towns with a World Heritage site within 90 minutes of Florence6 towns, Montecatini-Terme among them.
The best towns you can reach by train within an hour of Florence6 towns, Montecatini-Terme among them.
The best hot-spring towns within 90 minutes of Florence7 towns, Montecatini-Terme among them.
How to get there
From Florence / Pisa (PSA), about 1 hour by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 1h 27m away.
By car from the centre of Florence 46 minutes or Pisa 47 minutes.
Driving in is restricted: there is a limited traffic zone here (ZTL Centro). Check the signs and the times before you drive into the centre.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Florence, Pisa or Bologna?
Coming by train into Prato Centrale? Montecatini-Terme is about 32 minutes away by road.
What to see
Terme Tettuccio
The most famous of the thermal establishments, designed by Ugo Giovannozzi, with Liberty interiors built on the concept of the Roman baths.
Parco Termale
Walled thermal park holding the major spa pavilions, laid out around the eleven springs that surface in the lower town.
Funicolare di Montecatini
The two red cars carry passengers up the hill on rails laid in 1898, the ride lasting eight and a half minutes.
Montecatini Alto
Medieval village on the hill above the spa town, with the Piazza Giusti and the eighteenth-century Baroque Chiesa dei Santi Jacopo e Filippo.
Terme Leopoldine
Spa pavilion named for Leopoldo II of Habsburg-Lorraine, who promoted the development of the springs at the start of the nineteenth century.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Montecatini-Terme fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Caffè Storico TettuccioCaffè
Caffè Storico Tettuccio has a place on Italy's historic-locali register to its name.
Enoteca GiovanniRistorante
One Gambero Rosso fork (77/100), at Enoteca Giovanni.
Grand Hotel & La PaceHotel
A place on Italy's historic-locali register, at Grand Hotel & La Pace.
Signature dish
Cialde di MontecatiniSweet
Thin round almond wafers pressed hot between irons, a sweet tied to the spa town's café tradition.
See every town in our catalogue with a dish of its own.
The Sunday letter
Montecatini-Terme got its letter. One town every Sunday, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Living here
- Population 20,690
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Florence / Pisa, 1 h 1 min drive
- Market day Thursday
- Regional capital Firenze, 46 min drive
Thermal baths in town: Terme di Montecatini, Terme Tettuccio, Terme Leopoldine, Terme Regina, Terme Tamerici, Terme Excelsior.
Common questions
- What is Montecatini-Terme known for?
- Eleven thermal springs in a Liberty-style park at the foot of the Apennines.
- Where is Montecatini-Terme?
- Montecatini-Terme is a comune in the province of Pistoia, in Tuscany, at 27 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Montecatini-Terme?
- Florence / Pisa (PSA), about 1 hour by car.
- Can you get to Montecatini-Terme without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Florence to Montecatini-Terme?
- About 46 minutes by car.
- When is the best time to visit Montecatini-Terme?
- Best All year. August is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Montecatini-Terme?
- The town keeps its patron saint's day: Santa Barbara, 4 December.
- Which other towns are like Montecatini-Terme?
- San Giuliano Terme, Abano Terme and Castel San Pietro Terme.
- How many people live in Montecatini-Terme?
- 20,690 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 27 m
- Population: 20,690
- Surface area: 17.69 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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🏛️ UNESCO
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