The Great Spa Towns of Europe

As a "summer resort" for the imperial family, Baden near Vienna enjoyed increasing popularity throughout Europe as early as the 19th century. Today, the spa town is still one of Austria's most popular holiday destinations.

The golden age of the Belgian spa town began earlier than in Baden-Baden. In 1717, Tsar Peter the Great took the waters in Spa and was "cured". This event was the starting point for the town's international recognition.

The Bohemian spa town is characterised by its spa landscape with spacious parks. These are home to many springs, each with fountain houses and pavilions, which are connected by long, flat paths and invite you to take a stroll.

Karlovy Vary is a town with a rich cultural and natural heritage. The historic spa buildings are open for balneological treatments and the spa town captivates with the beauty of the surrounding spa landscape.

Marianske Lázně was conceived as a sophisticated spa town at the end of the 18th century. The spa town is therefore particularly in harmony with nature and one of Europe's most important centres for balneological therapies.

Vichy is the most renowned and best-known spa town in France. It served as a model for spa towns throughout France. It is located on a plain by the River Allier. The river, which is up to 200 metres wide, characterises the picturesque image of the town, which spreads out along the river.

The Rhineland-Palatinate spa town of Bad Ems has achieved Europe-wide fame and, as a meeting place for emperors and kings, has been the venue for the so-called "diplomatie thermale" many times.

Once the "Summer Capital of Europe", today the European Capital of the Art of Living - Baden-Baden combines great history with modern lifestyles. Today, as in the past, life is celebrated here between magnificent architecture, blossoming parks and relaxing thermal baths.

The Lower Franconian spa town is known in particular for its saline springs, its rich architectural heritage of classicism and the early 20th century, and as a renowned health centre.

Montecatini Terme is the most famous spa town in Italy, a country so rich in thermal springs. The Tuscan spa town is also an extraordinary testimony to the last great flowering of the European spa tradition in the early 20th century.

Bath is recognised as one of the earliest and most influential spa towns in the Great Spas of Europe series and is an important part of understanding the development of the European spa phenomenon. Bath is the only city of the Great Spas of Europe to have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1987.