Europe's Great Spa Towns offer UNESCO-recognized wellness escapes

Wellness tourism is seeing a significant rise, with luxury travel specialist Virtuoso reporting a 28% year-on-year increase in wellness bookings.

Europe features 11 towns across seven countries recognized by UNESCO as the ‘Great Spa Towns of Europe’. These sites were selected for their ‘outstanding universal value’ and unique spa architecture that pioneered urban design centered on medical care and health tourism.

The UNESCO-recognized towns include Baden bei Wien in Austria; Spa in Belgium; Františkovy Lázně, Karlovy Vary, and Mariánské Lázně in Czechia; Vichy in France; Bad Ems, Baden-Baden, and Bad Kissingen in Germany; Montecatini Terme in Italy; and the City of Bath in the UK.