Plans for Easter: Europe’s best hot springs resorts

With 15 indoor and three outdoor pools, the Széchenyi baths in Budapest are Europe’s biggest thermal medicinal baths. The outdoor pools – with a constant temperature of 37.5º C – are a meeting point for chess fans, who play every day, sitting on the edge of the water.

Iceland has become one of the trendy destinations for travellers in search of wilderness. Although most visit the uber-famous – and very crowded – Blue Lagoon, few know of the geothermal pool in Seljavallalaug, located in the country’s south. Measuring 25m long and 10m wide, it is perfect for enjoying a nice soak in an uncrowded natural setting - Image by Jan Mastnik/Shutterstock

The charming English town of Bath is testimony to its past as a colony of the Roman province of Britannia. Here, you can visit its perfectly preserved Roman baths. Next door is Thermae Bath Spa, a comprehensive hot spring resort offering all kinds of hot springs treatments, saunas, Turkish baths and – best of all – a heated rooftop pool. It’s very easy to get there by train from London or Birmingham.

Starting off the day with the heat of a sauna followed by a dive into the icy waters of a fjord is an everyday occurrence for Oslo’s residents. This can be done at the Sorenga Swimming and Sauna Club, a non-profit organisation that rents out its floating sauna next to the Opera - Image by Becky Zeller

The presence of its hot springs – used since Roman times – has caused Ourense to be nicknamed the "thermal capital of Galicia". Some – like those in Outariz – require payment and offer a full range of services, while others – like those in A Chavasqueira or As Burgas, an hour or so from Santiago de Compostela – are free. As Burgas has a pool right on the street and you can see people swimming outdoors.

Tuscany, in Italy, is home to the largest thermal spa cave in Europe: the Grota Giusti, where visitors can bathe in 36º C hot springs. The cave’s temperature – between 24º and 28º C – creates a natural detox steam. At just one hour from Florence, it’s perfect for treating respiratory ailments.

Opened in Geneva in 1872, the Bains de Pâquis are a sauna and hot springs resort located on a platform on Lake Geneva. At this sauna that is open all year long, in the winter visitors usually combine the sauna circuit with a dip in the lake’s icy waters to finish. In the summer, lounge chairs are installed and the baths become Geneva Beach, attracting a large number of visitors who come to take a swim.