The mineral-rich northern town that is officially one of Europe’s most underrated spa breaks

When you’re craving a weekend of full blown rest and relaxation, the last thing you want is for huge crowds to disturb your zen. Yes, Bath’s famous Thermae Spa and Budapest’s Szechenyi Baths are both lovely, but they’re also constantly packed with people. So, Time Out’s travel experts have put together a lost of Europe’s best lesser-known spa destinations for when you next need a good old uninterrupted pamper. 

You could go to the Saturnia Hot Springs in Italy, the Greek island of Evia or the Sky Lagoon in Iceland, but there’s really no need to go that far. For some of the best and most underrated R&R that Europe has to offer, just head to Harrogate.  

Harrogate’s history of pampering the people of Britain goes way back. The Yorkshire town was a popular spa destination during the Victorian era, when people would flock to bathe in its mineral-rich spring water. But its medicinal, therapeutic sulphur waters were actually discovered way before that in the late 1500s, and its first public bathing house was was built in 1663. 

While the town’s Royal Baths no longer operate, its pièce de résistance is its nearly perfectly preserved Turkish Baths, which are almost 130 years old. Those baths are in fact Britain's most fully restored Victorian Turkish Baths and one of only seven across the country that remain. They’re decked out with beautiful Islamic arches and screens, walls of bright glazed brickwork, arabesque painted ceilings and terrazzo floors that were laid by Italian experts. 

Mixed and single-sex sessions at the baths cost between £27-£37 per person for up to three hours. Those tickets give visitors to the eucalyptus-infused steam room, three different heated chambers, the invigorating plunge pools and the frigidarium. For those of you that have never come across a frigidarium before, it’s basically just the relaxation room where you start and end your spa experience. 

If you want an overnight spa break in Harrogate, we recommend checking into the Grade I-listed Rudding Park Hotel. This place really tests how far you can take your relaxation. It has multiple saunas, a luxury steam room, a heated hydrotherapy infinity pool overlooking the gardens, an indoor pool, freshwater baths and a sunlight therapy room. There’s also a sprawling menu of spa treatments and rituals, from sound meditation and sauna whisking to mud rasul and salt scrubs. 

The full list of the most underrated spa towns in Europe.

Plus: these are the best wild saunas near London. 

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