In the 17th and 18th Centuries wealthy British Families used to send their young men to Europe, on what would become known as The Grand Tour. They used to cross the English Channel, visit cultural and historic hotspots, and visit the thermal towns to take the waters, in the hope they would come back healthier in body and mind. Did it work? Well, Ellen Coughlan is on a journey to find out.

Europe’s historic spa towns range from the ancient, to the opulent, so you would expect them to be serene and glamourous. But as Ellen discovers, it’s also a world where Kings and Kaisers bought their lovers for illicit liaisons, and where casinos have seen fortunes won and lost. Yet, of course, these towns are all about the thermal waters, and their famed healing properties.

Ellen will be delving into exquisite pools in historic towns such as Baden Baden and Mariánské Lázně, getting a little too close to boiling hot springs In Acqui Terme and Wiesbaden, and having a soak in a Kings bathtub in the Czech Republic. She’ll discover the mud baths of Františkovy Lázně, explore underground in Karlovy Vary, and learn why a spa in Montecatini Terme needs over 500 toilets very close by!

Join Ellen Coughlan in the Amazing Spa Towns of Europe.