How to Take the Cure to Europe: Part 2

Next to the Germans, the Swiss take the prize for bathing. Switzerland's numerous ancient mineral springs, and its reputation as the leader in experimental medical treatments almost leave one comfortable with the idea of a Swiss mineral-water enema.

On the southern shore of Lake Neufchatel, Yverdon-Les-Bains is less than an hour's drive from Geneva. Stay at the Grand Hotel Des Bains, a modern hotel wrapped inside an exterior built in the 18th and 19th centuries. Besides its own pool, the Grand Hotel features covered access to the Centre Thermal, the main thermal pool in town.

Known to the Romans as Aquae Helveticae, Baden is a medieval city just 15 miles from cosmopolitan Zurich. Besides a little sightseeing, there isn't much to do in Baden besides soak in the mineral-rich water, and that's the whole point. Try the year-round outdoor thermal pool near the banks of the Limmat River, which runs through town. Regular trains to and from Zurich.

One of the few major springs in Europe not discovered by the Romans is Bad Ragaz, which was found in the 13th century. Situated in the foothills of the Swiss Alps, the year-round resort is approximately 55 miles from Zurich. At the bathhouses of the Tamina-Therme, the mineral waters flow in at a constant 98 degrees. The spa is fed by a spring that pours through the Tamina gorge, the setting for the story of Heidi, whose crippled friend Clara was said to be cured by the waters. You will find top-notch accommodations and dining at the stately Hotel Quellenhof.

Italy

Ever since Emperor Augustus was famoussly cured of a liver ailment after taking in the cold waters at a bath believed to be in Chiusi, the Italians have been nutty about water. There are hundreds of thermal baths in Italy, made possible by the constant bubbling and coursing of volcanic magma below underground springs. Water cures are considered a legitimate form of medical treatment in Italy. As with other countries in Europe, the state pays for therapeutic spa vacations-most of the visitors are Italians. Roman statesman Agrippa built the first free public bathhouses in Rome in 25 B.C. (Unluckily, lead was the only material available to make pressure-withstanding pipes, and may have caused widespread poisoning of the Roman population.) At its peak around 100 A.D., Rome had 926 public baths fed by 750 million liters of mineral water per day. The vast, extravagant ruins of the emperor's Baths of Caracalla, Diocletian, and Ironically, if you want the real spa experience, you cannot really find it in Rome, you have to go to the country.

In Tuscany, mid-way between Pisa and Florence, lies Montecatini, a resort town once popular with famous Italian composers Leoncavallo Puccini, Rossini, and Verdi. A true tourist destination, there are over 200 hotels and five major spas in Montecatini. The Renaissance-style Terme

Tettucio is best known and offers a complete array of treatments, including thermal baths, inhalation therapy, mudpacks (a local specialty), and massages. Those with internal afflictions can try three types of water, strong (purgative); medium (laxative); and weak (just salty). For a diversion, explore the neighboring medieval hilltop village, Montecatini Alto, reachable by cable car; or see Michelangelo's David at the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence, only 25 miles away.

For a Dantean experience, visit the Grotta Giusti, five minutes away from Montecatini. There are three underwater caves, fed by a bubbling subterranean river, that get progressively hotter and are appropriately named Paradise, Purgatory, and Hell. Air temperatures up to 93 degrees and 100 percent humidity are supposed to detoxify a person-if you survive. Visitors from Houston should feel right at home. Not just a bottled water, San Pellegrino is a lush, Lombardian retreat. Roman-era springs feed the 19th-century bathhouse and the famous bottling plant, where carbonation is added. Sample as much of the uncarbonated stuff as you want at the pump room above the cure center.

In the heart of Tuscany, the Saturnia volcano warms miles of the acrid, rotten-eggy Saturnia River and its pools and waterfalls. The water, which flows at constant 98.6 degrees, attracts swimmers and bathers year-round. At night, fare il bagno nudo e nella voga! If changing clothes in the car isn't your thing, stay at the full-service spa Terme Di Saturnia, conveniently located between Rome and Florence.