Tuscany's Grand Spa Town of Belle Epoque Elegance
Montecatini Terme is a spa town in the province of Pistoia, in northern Tuscany, known for its thermal waters, its Belle Epoque and Liberty-style architecture and its long tradition of taking the cure. Its parks and bathhouses form a single, walkable composition, and in 2021 the town was inscribed by UNESCO as part of the Great Spa Towns of Europe. Between the pale colonnades and the formal gardens, the pace is deliberately gentle: guests stroll, sip, soak and linger over coffee beneath the plane trees, exactly as visitors have done here for generations.
The centrepiece is Terme Tettuccio, a neoclassical hall of marble, frescoes and loggias where the spring waters are served in an elegant pump room, with an orchestra tradition that has long made it a social stage. Nearby, Terme Excelsior and the grand Terme Regina carry the same architectural confidence. For a hotel group or wellness brand, Montecatini offers a rare ready-made narrative: heritage, ritual and a landscape of gardens that photographs beautifully in every season, with genuine historic depth behind each treatment room.
Funicular Rides, Old Hill Villages and Tuscan Tables
Above the spa quarter, a historic funicular climbs to Montecatini Alto, the medieval hill village with a small piazza, stone lanes and views across the plain towards the Apennines. It is the town's favourite short outing, ideal for an aperitivo as the light turns gold. Tuscan cooking is at its most welcoming here: ribollita, pappardelle with wild boar, schiacciata, cantucci with vin santo and the local cold cuts served with crusty bread. Cafes under the arcades on Viale Verdi make the evening passeggiata a ritual in itself.
The location is a strength. Pistoia, with its Romanesque cathedral and Piazza del Duomo, lies close by, while Tuscany fans out in every direction: walled Lucca, Pisa and its leaning tower, and Florence within easy reach by rail. Visitors planning a wider Italian journey can add Lake Como or Liguria, and a tourist board could use Montecatini to anchor a wellness-and-culture itinerary that sits happily alongside the region's more famous cities.
Read the full Montecatini Terme guide on Visit Travel Group, or see Montecatini.co.uk on Visit Travel Group.