Thermal baths in Tuscany offer you a chance to spend a lazy day soaking in warm waters, completely free of charge.  Such a free outdoor SPA, where you can cover yourself with clay, lie in mineral water, and relax, is nothing unusual in this region, where hot springs are abundant and some of them are free of charge. And others cost a lot.

Saturnia is probably the most popular and picturesque thermal bath in Tuscany. And the most frequently photographed using filters, because in reality, the water there is not as blue as it seems on the internet. Thermal baths in Tuscany are not limited to Saturnia, so this is not the bathing place I’ll be talking about here.

Thermal baths in Tuscany – Bagno Vignoni

From Perugia, where we stopped this time, it takes about 1.30h to get to Bagno Vignoni. From Siena, Bagno Vignoni is about an hour’s drive south – just follow the Via Cassia SR2 from Siena to the end. You will pass San Quirico d’Orcia and shortly afterwards (less than 10 minutes) you’ll find the exit to Bagno Vignoni on the right. Supposedly, there is also a bus from Florence twice a week, but as I haven’t checked, I don’t recommend this form of transport. However, since Italy is definitely a country for tourists with cars, the thermal baths in Tuscany are easiest to visit by car.

At first glance, Bagno Vignoni looks like many towns in Tuscany – a square surrounded by small stone houses – ordinary. But there’s something unusual there – the square is 49 m long and 29 m wide and is filled with thermal water flowing from underground. The Etruscans and ancient Romans appreciated and believed in the healing properties of water with a temperature of about 49 degrees, and that’s exactly  what the water in Bagno Vignoni is like. The town has built its reputation on this belief for centuries, attracting famous and not so famous figures.

And since the Etruscans and Romans were there, they left behind many traces that delight archaeologists and lovers of antiquity.

It’s forbidden to swim in the pool in the square, perhaps to scare off potential bathers, there’s a rather ugly silver sculpture in it. It’s probably supposed to symbolize something, maybe lava from the volcano (but why is it silver), or maybe to add beauty to the square. If that was the intention of the town authorities, it failed. The silver wonder looks stupid surrounded by picturesque houses. Apart from the silver structure, the square is a charming place with restaurants and bars also open for lunch.

The water flows from the pool heads towards the steep slope of Parco dei Mulini. There it falls and creates a waterfall. At the top you can admire the ruins of the mills (hence the name Mill Park) and soak your feet in the hot streams, additionally frying in the sun. There are very few trees in the park, so it’s difficult to find shade there. There’s (or are) a professional SPA in the town offering all kinds of beauty treatments.

As I mentioned at the beginning, some thermal baths in Tuscany are free, so to sit in water full of minerals, you just have to use a natural outdoor pool, as we did. We went down below the town, and there’s a beaten path. After a short walk, we found the first large pool with milky blue water. Looking like a large pool of not very clear, standing water covered with leaves, even if it’s thermal water, it didn’t encourage bathing.

A little higher up there’s a slightly smaller pond; this one was full of people, but we found a place to spend some time splashing in the beneficial minerals. I don’t know if it was enough to smooth my skin and strengthen my hair, for example, but it was still nice. The bottom of the pool is covered with mud with a high content of elements. Dry mud is clay that is used as masks or to make them. They usually cost a lot, but here, voila! Free, and you can roll around in them and cover yourself with clay.

The locals appreciate the thermal waters and covered in the smouldering clay they besieged the shores of the lake.

As the place became more and more populated, we decided to explore more thermal baths in Tuscany and moved to Bagni San Filippo. After a 30-minute drive, we arrived at the place.

Bagni San Filippo.

Hidden in the forest, Bagni San Filippo is much larger, more crowded, and in my opinion, prettier. Like other thermal baths in Tuscany, Bagni San Filippo has been known since Roman times and there you can also visit a regular SPA, i.e. one that you pay for. San Filippo is a small village; we parked in the free car park (some parking spaces are not free) and set off for the hot springs. A path leads to them. The thermal spring in San Filippo is long, but the first pools are right at the beginning of the road, and since there was no room in them, we continued on.

About halfway down the path, you will see a white whale. This is the charming name of the rock, or rather, a formation formed from infiltrating limestone and deposited minerals. The whale is large and small waterfalls flow down it. You are not allowed to walk on the formation; apparently, the prohibitions are there to avoid them, so lots of people were roaming around it.

We stopped a bit further and started hunting for a spot in the crowded spring, or maybe even to claim the small pool all to ourselves. I wasn’t the only one with this idea. The race was on, when after a few minutes, I jumped into the unnoticed mini-thermal pool with my own private mini-waterfall. I didn’t enjoy my own space for long, but it didn’t matter. I had the best spot in the pond, with the water running down my back.

I spent maybe 2 hours, there and it was a very pleasant time. I think it was one of the most enjoyable moments of doing nothing. Pure laziness and relaxation, as it should be sometimes. The water in the thermal pool is 48 degrees regardless of the season.

Bagni San Fillippo is a nice place; the spring itself is rather a shallow river with mini-waterfalls and numerous smaller and larger pools. The thermal baths in Tuscany are saturated with minerals, so the water may stink a bit of sulfur, like in San Filippo, but who cares about a slight odor when you can laze around in a warm spring.

Thermal baths in Tuscany are a great way to spend a day and do something different than running around the charming and similar towns in the region.

Thermal baths in Tuscany and practical tips:

• When it comes to food – bring your own and have a nice picnic or eat at one of the restaurants.
• The free thermal baths in Tuscany are public places, but there is no infrastructure there, like changing rooms, so either arrive in your swimsuit or take a large towel to make changing easier.
• There are no lifeguards and it is good to use common sense, even though both bathing areas are shallow.
• The road to Bagno Vignoni is easy, but Bagni San Filippo is hilly. Comfortable sandals/shoes, not flip-flops, are a better choice.
• Bring a towel and sunscreen. While Bagni San Filippo is in the woods, Bagno Vignoni is exposed and shade is hard to find.
• And remember – thermal baths in Tuscany are usually crowded.