Hi everybody: I will be staying in San Gimignano for a couple of days in October. We will be doing a couple of day trips down and looping around Montepulciano and back to SG. Does anybody know of some nice Thermal Spa that we can pop into for an hour or so en route. I am just interested in the hot pools/waterfalls. Saturnia looks much too far. I am traveling with my parents, and I think they would love it as they have never experienced natural hot springs. Thanks

Try Bagno Vignoni. It's less than an hour south of San Gimignano.

Thanks for the info. I cant find much on it though. Is there an actual organized spa there?

I just did a google search and found a lot of info on the town and the baths. Just click on the translation for the sites. I'm not sure of an "organized spa" in the town, but there are a pool and flowing waters at the very least.

Well, I will say we thought we'd take in a treatment at the Baths in (really outside of) Montepulciano. It was rather amusing. We got there and the parking lot was somewhat empty(we got there at noon). At 1 pm the buses started arriving as did the masses. One needs a doctor's certificate to bathe there. It looked like Lourdes meets La Dolce Vita.

PS: You also might do a "Bagno Vignoni" search on the forum.

robyn, Bagno Vignoni is an interesting stop, but I don't think it's going to be exactly what you are looking for.

There is one main hotel in town and for a small day fee you can use the facilities. There is a large, hotel-style swimming pool, and a smaller area where the thermal water comes into a separate pool. Outside the hotel you can put your feet into a small rivulet of thermal water that flows across the property, and follow it down to some outdoor "showers" which did not seem to be in use when we were there a few years ago.

HI Robyn,

Bagno Vignoni is the town, there is a hotel there called the Hotel Posta Marcucci with a very large hot-sulphur-spring-fed swimming pool. If you're a guest at the hotel the pool is free, if not, you can pay a fee to use it. Marilyn is right--it's not a spa--there's no mud rubs or anything, but it was a fun place to hang out. They have a website: www.hotelpostamarcucci.it

The town itself is tiny--a handful of buildings around a Renaissance piscina built by the Medici.

Patti

Thanks everybody. Laughed out loud at the "Lourdes meets La Dolce Vita" comment! I think what I am looking for is something very close to Saturnia. Maybe we will just have to go there after all if I cant discover something like that on our drive.

Robyn, search slowtrav.com, a non-commercial website where you're sure to find info about thermal baths in Tuscany.