A Winter Escape to Abano Terme: Soaking in Italy’s Oldest Hot Springs

Abano Terme is the oldest spa town in Europe, and that’s where we enjoyed a couple of winter days dipping into hot baths.
In winter, when Europe feels permanently damp and cold, sinking into steaming mineral water feels like a small miracle.

I love hot springs so much that I’ve seriously considered turning them into a travel theme of their own – chasing warm mineral baths around the world and soaking in as many as possible.
Outdoor natural springs are my absolute favorites, but hotel spas work just fine too, as long as there’s hot mineral water to sink into.
This time we did it in northern Italy.

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If you prefer to read in Finnish, continue here / Jos luet mieluummin suomeksi, jatka tänne: Abano Termen kuumat kylvyt lämmittävät Italian talvisäässä

In addition to hot springs (and Japan), Italy is one of my lifelong loves — a country I return to again and again.
And yet, until now, I had never dipped into Italian mineral waters.

Most of my travel in Italy happens during the summer, when hot baths don’t exactly feel essential. In the cold, humid winter months, however, they are wonderfully warming.
One December, we were waiting in Milan for work contacts arriving from Padua. We were debating whether to head closer in advance. Then Ismo spotted a name on the map right next to Padua: Abano Terme – and the decision was made almost instantly.

What on earth is Abano Terme?

As the name suggests, this is an old spa town. Terme means spa in Italian.
More precisely, Abano Terme the oldest spa town in Europe, where people have been coming to heal their ailments for over two thousand years. The Terme Euganee area, where Abano is located, is said to be the largest health tourism destination in Europe.

I’m slightly embarrassed to admit I’d never even heard of the place before. Clearly, there was only one thing to do – go and see whether it lived up to its reputation.

Abano lies at the foot of the Euganean Hills, about ten kilometers southwest of Padua. It’s a small town of around 20,000 inhabitants, with good train connections – as is usually the case in Italy.
There are no natural outdoor springs you can freely soak in here, but the spa hotels offer plenty of choice.

The neighboring town of Montegrotto is very similar, and together the area is marketed as Thermae Abano Montegrotto, especially to health tourists.

Abano Terme: Where pain and battle wounds are washed away

Over the centuries, Abano Terme has been known by several names. The roots of the name come from Greek: à ponos – “away from pain.”
The thermal mud of Abano is especially famous for its healing properties and is believed to ease conditions such as rheumatism and osteoarthritis.

The Lombards even managed to destroy Abano’s baths once in the 6th century. Luckily, they were rebuilt, larger and stronger, during Abano’s period of autonomy in the 12th century. The spa industry remains economically important to the region to this day.

According to legend, Hercules’ warriors recovered from their battle against Geryon in the hot springs of Aponus – and never wanted to return to Greece afterward.

Why Abano Terme is perfect for a winter escape

Winter is an ideal time to visit Abano Terme. Northern Italy enjoys relatively mild temperatures, while the contrast between cool air and steaming mineral water makes bathing especially pleasurable.

Just before Christmas, the town is noticeably quieter, with fewer visitors and a slower pace. Hotels often offer better value outside peak spa seasons, and soaking in outdoor pools feels all the more indulgent when the air is crisp and fresh.

Where to bathe and where to stay

Abano Montegrotto is a popular holiday destination, and accommodation prices reflect that. Outside peak season, however, hotel rooms can be found at a significant discount.

True to the spirit of work trips, just after we had booked a *spa hotel, our contact informed us that all the interviews we’d requested for newspaper articles would be scheduled for the following day.

Luckily, we’d been clever and booked two nights, even though the hotel was well over our usual budget, around €100 per night. That way, we had time to soak both on arrival day and again the following evening after work.

From a budget traveler’s perspective, there’s one important detail when choosing accommodation. We initially considered a modest guesthouse costing just a few dozen euros per night, as it also had a mineral water pool. We figured luxury wasn’t necessary — as long as we could soak in hot water, and surely it all came from the same source anyway.

Thankfully, I read the reviews carefully. Disappointed guests revealed that pool access came at an extra charge. For two people, the combined cost of the room and bathing would have totaled around €100 – exactly what we ended up paying for the far superior *Hotel Terme Formentin, where access to the baths is included, as it generally is in spa hotels here.

Hotel Terme Formentin

We chose *Terme Formentin based on reviews as well. It was praised as one of the best, with many loyal guests returning year after year after trying other hotels.

We were very happy too, though a few minor complaints could be made. Then again, accommodation in Italy is generally quite expensive, and this hotel is officially only rated three stars — so luxury shouldn’t really be expected.

The rooms are clean, renovated annually, and reasonably spacious by Italian standards, with balconies. The bathrooms are gloriously large.
I could have happily lived in our bathroom alone!

Terme Formentin is located right in the heart of Abano’s pedestrian center, on Via Pietro d’Abano, opposite the taxi rank. Another plus: it’s a private hotel, owned by the Bernardin family for three decades.

There was a small mix-up when booking a massage — something that can happen anywhere, especially given our limited Italian. The treatment itself, however, was carried out professionally.

We usually avoid hotel restaurants, but spa holidays encourage staying within the same walls, without the need to dress up and head out. Even though we were technically on a work trip, we decided to stay in and try the hotel restaurant after bathing on our first evening.
That was a mistake.

Expectations for food in Italy are always high, but – or because – here the cuisine felt more like a retirement sanatorium. The generous breakfast buffet, however, was excellent – this is definitely not a coffee-and-cornetto kind of place.

Hotel Spa in Terme Formentin

I had expected the bathwater to be hotter, but then again, Italians probably don’t favor temperatures quite as scorching as the Japanese do.

Bathrobes and the (mandatory) swim caps were provided free of charge, even though the website suggested they should be paid extras. Italians, it seemed, tended to bring their own gear. We didn’t have time to try the paid spa and wellness center with saunas and mud treatments. Aside from the complimentary soaking and a massage, our schedule didn’t allow more.

Hotel Terme Patria

Another hotel we considered was *Hotel Terme Patria. If we return to Abano, we’ll likely try it next — if only for comparison.

This time, we chose Formentin because Patria’s prices had climbed into the several-hundred-euros-per-night range as Christmas approached. That said, there’s no reason we wouldn’t happily return to Formentin as well.
I especially loved their large outdoor pool. Just before the Christmas season, the hotel was wonderfully quiet, and Ismo and I were often soaking there completely alone.

Peace and Roman food

As with many places dependent on tourism, Abano Terme’s small center consists mainly of a tourist information office doubling as a souvenir shop, a few clothing boutiques, a taxi stand, and a handful of restaurants, and not much else.

The surrounding area does offer pleasant terrain for light hiking, though we didn’t have time to explore due to work commitments. Most visitors come here to enjoy the baths and treatments, so there’s little need for additional services.

If you’re looking for nightlife, this is not the destination for you. There are no nightclubs here, and in my opinion, that’s a good thing. For a restful holiday, Abano Montegrotto is an excellent choice. It also works well as a two-day stop on a longer Italian itinerary.

Culinary ambitions are better fulfilled elsewhere. As mentioned, while the hotel food was perfectly edible, it didn’t do justice to Italian cuisine.
On our second evening, however, we got it right. We sought out restaurants popular with Italian visitors and escaped the hotel’s Christmas party in favor of Osteria Cacio e Pepe.

Osteria Cacio e Pepe

Naturally, the house specialty cacio e pepe had to be tested — especially since it’s one of my favorite pasta dishes. It was perfect, and the owner was clearly proud of his pasta, as any Roman restaurateur would be.

The lamb we had as a main course was excellent as well. In true Roman fashion, limoncello was served on the house.

We were lucky: the restaurant is genuinely popular, and we managed to get the only free table without a reservation. Everyone who arrived after us was politely turned away. In fact, there wouldn’t have been space for us either, but since there was about a squaremeter of extra room in the dining area, a single additional table was set up using terrace furniture.

The choice couldn’t have been better, and we enjoyed a long, indulgent meal until we were thoroughly stuffed. Fortunately, the walk back to the hotel was short and flat – ideal for rolling ourselves home.

Of course, in this region one should really be eating something other than Roman food. But I happen to love Roman cuisine, and northern Italian dishes don’t quite win me over in the same way.

After all, the dozens of local meals I ate on this trip easily make up for one indulgence from Lazio.

How to get to Abano and Montegrotto

Abano lies along the Bologna–Padua railway line and is easy to reach by train. The journey from Padua takes about ten minutes, and from Venice around forty-five.

Local trains stop at both Abano and Terme Euganee–Abano–Montegrotto stations, while faster trains usually stop only in Montegrotto.
From either station, a taxi to town costs around €15.

Walking is also an option. It’s a few kilometers from Abano station to the town center, and about six kilometers from Montegrotto.

There’s often a grain of truth in legends – one could happily soak in Abano’s mineral waters for much longer. We continued, however, toward Venice rather than heading to our back-then-home, which was once part of Eastern Rome.

Hopefully, we’ll return one day — if not to Abano, then to another of Italy’s thermal spa towns.
For cold winter days, Italian hot springs are hard to beat, and Terme di Saturnia remains high on my bucket list.