Last month I traveled by train from London to Berlin and back.
20.07.2023 - 13:19 / wanderlust.co.uk
In July 2021, UNESCO inscribed the Great Spa Towns of Europe onto its World Heritage list, recognising the impact these institutions had on shaping Europe.
Eleven famous historic spa towns across seven countries were recognised. Each one was developed around natural mineral springs and features grand buildings and beautifully manicured gardens.
Every one of them played an integral role in developing culture, politics and medicine – and creating the ideals that still shape Europe.
They are equally fabulous today and remain havens of beauty and tranquillity for the frazzled traveller.
Baden bei Wien was known as the ‘Spa of Emperors’ and was a popular escape for the Habsburgs who popped down from nearby Vienna to take a break from ruling their empire. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Strauß were regulars too, especially when they had a new symphony to finish off.
Today visitors can wander the narrow streets surrounding the spa and admire the 19th-century Biedermeier architecture or lose themselves in leafy Kurpark. The iconic Casino Baden is must-see. Modern spas offer 21st-century versions of original therapies. Or you could follow the trails leading to Kalvarienberg and into the Vienna Woods.
Tucked away in a beautiful valley in the Ardennes, Spa is the original Spa Town and the one that gave the world the name. More than 300 cold mineral springs surround the town and the health-giving properties of their water has been sought after ever since Pliny the Elder wrote in 68 AD that they ‘purge the body, cure fevers and dispel calculous affections’.
Spa was also known as the ‘Café of Europe’ and introduced the concept of gaming to resorts. The Casino of Spa was built in 1763 and remains of the most striking buildings in the town (and is still open for a flutter). Musée de la Ville d’Eaux chronicles the history of the town as a spa. And a new state-of-the-art health centre sits on a hill overlooking the town offer all the latest therapeutic treatments.
If that all sounds a too tranquil, you can always pop over to the nearby Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, host of the annual Belgian Grand Prix.
Part of the ‘West Bohemian Spa Triangle’, Františkovy Lázně is regarded as a ‘new spa town.’ It was built at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries and followed the symmetrical architectural fashion of the time. It is characterised by an inner and outer spa, where eye-catching Baroque buildings are surrounded by a triple belt of parks, with pavilions and springs interlinked by grand promenades.
Twenty-three of the town’s twenty-four springs are still in use today, and a new local mud treatment has become increasingly popular. Visitors can wander the extensive parks and gardens and admire the
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