Wide views and warm water: wellness in northern Italy Photo: stock.adobe.com/mmphoto
From our editorial team
When the days are short and the weather looks more like a coat than motivation, warmth suddenly feels like a holiday destination.
Out of the grey and into the warm water: Northern Italy has an unbeatable advantage. Mountains provide the backdrop, spas provide the springs - and many facilities are located in such a way that you can combine a visit to the thermal baths with a stroll through the city, a promenade by the lake or a winter hike without it becoming a logistical sport.
Bormio in Lombardy: three thermal baths
Bormio in winter magic
Photo: stock.adobe.com/ Silvano Rebai
Bormio is the address for anyone who prefers to take thermal water seriously rather than decoratively. The town is located in the upper Valtellina in the Alps - a mountain resort that is not only a winter sports destination, but has also been a spa town with thermal springs for centuries. Here there is snow with mountain air and warm water and steam baths inside - in three very different variations, which you can choose depending on your mood:
- Bormio Terme is the uncomplicated „big“ solution: classic, spacious, with indoor and outdoor areas - perfect if you just want to sit in the warm water for a long time. The day ticket for adults costs 35 euros. (Click here for the thermal baths.)
Dramatic situation, dramatic outlook: the Terme Bagni Vecchi
Photo: stock.adobe.com/ Simone Polattini
- If you like it more dramatic, switch to Terme Bagni VecchiHistorical grottos, niches, levels - more atmosphere than indoor pool aesthetics. A place that looks like it has „grown“ over the centuries: grotto rooms, stone pools, winding levels - and always the contrast of rock, steam and view. Entry prices start at 58 euros for 5 hours or 72 euros without a time limit. (Click here for the thermal baths).
- Terme Bagni Nuovi is the more open sister: more „resort“, more alternation between inside and outside, more strolling from pool to pool. The spa is connected to a hotel, but can also be used without an overnight stay. 5 hours start from 58 euros, without limit from 72 euros. (Click here for the thermal baths.)
Terme Merano in South Tyrol
stock.adobe.com/HartingPhotography
Merano is a gentle version of winter: mountains on the horizon, the city beneath your feet - and a thermal spa so close to the old town that you can easily combine a spa and a coffee house in the same afternoon. The facility is modern and bright, more „light and glass“ than „grotto“.
For adults, a day ticket in the pool area costs 26 euros, combined with sauna 39 euros.
Click here for the thermal baths.
Garda Thermae in Arco in Trentino
Photo: stock.adobe/Andrea Izzotti
North of Lake Garda, where winter days are often clearer than at home, Garda Thermae on Lake Toblino is a warming stop for anyone who likes to mix exercise and relaxation. Modern, straightforward, with time slots instead of „all day or nothing“.
Rates for adults start at 19.50 euros (1.5 hours) and 34.50 euros for the whole day.
Click here for the thermal baths.
Naturno adventure spa in South Tyrol
Naturns is located in the Vinschgau Valley, a few kilometres west of Meran - an area that works well in the cooler months of the year:
Walks in the valley, sun when it comes through and then a quick change into the warmth. The Erlebnistherme is smaller and more relaxed than the large spa resorts around Bormio or on Lake Garda. Naturno is considered budget-friendly compared to large spa resorts: prices for 1.5 hours start at 11.20 euros for adults, 3.50 euros for children and 12 euros for a family ticket.
Click here for the thermal baths.
Terme Berzieri in Salsomaggiore Terme in Emilia-Romagna
Photo: stock.adobe.com/filippoph
If you like spas not just as warm water, but as a stage, you will end up in Salsomaggiore Terme (Emilia-Romagna, near Parma) in one of the most spectacular buildings in the region: the Palazzo Berzieri. The building is an Art Deco/Liberty statement from the spa town era - inside, it looks more like a grand hotel and ornamentation than a „spa of today“. After reopening as the Spa of Wonders, it is precisely this architecture that is part of the experience: you don't just take a bath, you move through a thermal palace.
Depending on the season, entry starts at 54 euros (spa entry for 5 hours). Those who want to stay without a time limit pay from 72 euros.
Click here for the thermal baths.
Sirmione on Lake Garda: Spa & Thermal Garden
Sirmione is something of an elegant shortcut on Lake Garda: old town flair on the peninsula, water all around - and in the middle of it all, a thermal spa that also supports the town beyond the summer season. The Spa & Thermal Garden is less about „thermal baths in the countryside“ and more about warm water with a view of the lake and a clear schedule with time slots: you book a ticket, stay within your slot - and can easily combine your visit with a walk through the old town.
Prices start from €56 for 5 hours and €86 for a day ticket.
Click here for the thermal baths.
Terme Dolomiti, Pozza di Fassa in Trentino
Pozza di Fassa is home to Spa Dolomiti, a facility that uses the Dolomite frame not as a backdrop, but as part of the concept: lots of glass, lots of views to the outside, plus pools and relaxation zones that are designed in such a way that you can constantly switch between warmth and winter air. The hotel works as a „parcours“ - not one large pool, but many stations in a row: panoramic pools, saunas and themed rooms that deliberately play with regional motifs (such as the „Salotto del Loden“). The thermal water comes from the Pucia spring.
