Montecatini Terme Map
Montecatini Terme is located in the heart of northern Tuscany, between Lucca and Florence.
Our Montecatini Terme map shows the best hotels, spas and attractions in Montecatini Terme. You might have to zoom in to the map using the controls on the left to see the markers. Mouse over the map markers to see what they represent.
Montecatini Terme Travel Tips
It's not just the waters that make Montecatini one of the best spa towns in Italy, it's the city planning that made it all very accessible. As you can see from the map, the autostrada and rail access is superb.
Essentially, the rivers and springs are underground in Mantecatini, surfacing in what's now a park in which the spas marked on the map are built. These spring fed waters have been known since at least Etruscan times for their curative powers--and modern science proves them correct.
Recommended Places to Stay in Montecatini Terme
There are over 40,000 beds available in Montecatini Terme, so prices are moderated by the ample supply. Try searching for a hotel with our booking box, or try the hotels below; they're highly recommended.
Grand Hotel & La Pace Spa is one of the oldest and most prestigious hotels in Montecatini Terme, a five star hotel with spa facilities inside (It was the first European hotel in 1975 to have spa facilities). You'll enjoy the Liberty architecture (Italy's Art Nouveau) in the common rooms. The spa offers many treatments for both health and beauty. For romantics, there's "Un Amore de Spa", which offers a couple's suite in the spa with hot tub containing therapeutic water, and an aromatic massage for two. It's all a splurge, but take your honey there, ok?
Grand Hotel Tettucio is a top-rated four star hotel named after the spring and spa called "Tettucio". It's a four star hotel, but prices are usually quite reasonable for a place close to the spas.
Parma e Oriente Hotel is the three star budget choice, very highly rated by visitors--and centrally located near the spas.
Of course, with all this luxury, you might want to compliment it by staying in a villa in Montecatini Terme: Montecatini Terme Vacation Rentals.
(Budget lodging in Montacatini Terme is available through Hostelbookers.)
The waters of Rinfresco
Top Montecatini Spas and Sights
Tettuccio Spa - in my mind the top spa in Monticatini Terme in terms of its lavish architecture. You've got to see it to believe it. Tettuccio Spa is essentially about drinking the waters and relaxing to relieve stress.
Easy to access, the spa offers fountains spewing all of the waters of Montecatini's 4 springs--Leopoldina, Regina, Tettuccio, and Rinfresco--plus lots of free therapies while you're there: shopping therapy (yes, shopping is said to increase Serotonin among women--and, unfortunately, adrenaline among men...), there's live music playing all day (music therapy). Guests are advised to stroll the lush grounds after partaking of the waters.
Tettuccio is a classic spa. You pay a day rate (16 € per day) and use the facilities and drink the waters, each of which have different health properties. No messages, baths, or beauty treatments. An onsite doctor can taylor a program for you if you have a specific health issue which might be treated by drinking the waters. Here is what they say about the therapy.
More: Tettuccio Spa Pictures | How to Drink the Waters at Tettuccio Spa
Excelsior Spa has a variety of health and beauty treatments available.Terme Excelsior was once a casino. On the ground floor, there is a large hall for hydropinic therapies; at the first floor you'll find the Wellness Centre and the other two floors house the equipment for mud, bath and inhalation treatments.
Terme Leopoldine is currently undergoing a massive restoration and remodel, and won't be available in the 2010 season.
Terme Redi has lots of very modern equipment for various physical therapies; you'll find 66 rooms for mud and bath treatments, hydro-massages, ozonated bath therapy, masso-therapy and physiotherapy.
Montecatini Alto - The original Montecatini, which you can reach by a funky 1898 funicular from the station near the spas. Lots of restaurants and cafes in Piazza Giusti. This is the historic center of Montecatini, so there are churches and other older monuments to visit here that aren't found in the lower town.
The Waters
The four springs which surface in Mantecatini Terme are Leopolidina (taken for constapation), Regina (restores bile flow from liver to bowels; hepatic and bladder disorders) Tettuccio (liver; lower cholesteral levels), and Rinfresco (diuretic; restoration of mineral levels after excercise).
How to Get Spa Treatments
The best way to get treatments is to ask at your hotel or ask hotels that you're considering. There are often package "wellness" deals. For a taste of the experience, you can enter the Tettuccio Spa for an afternoon as a walk-on.
Montecatini Terme is noted for its Spas and the healing waters which bubble up from the earth in natural springs.
Spa vacations in Italy aren't just for the rich and famous. For years Italian corporations sent their employees to spas like those found in Montecatini Terme for relaxation, revitaliazation and even for some health issues.
Travel Planning
Recommended Map: Firenze e Prato
(Click map to Buy Online)
This provincial map of Firenze/Prato includes the cities of Florence, Pistoia, Prato, Poggibonsi, San Gimignano, Volterra, Montecatini Terme, Pelago, and more.
Content on this page ©2011 by James Martin, all rights reserved.