Spa in Bagni di Lucca

Uomo Grasso

Well-known member
My beloved and I will be staying for 5 nights in Lucca this fall. We would like to take a day trip to Bagni di Lucca for a spa treatment, probably just swimming &/or soaking in the spring waters. However, we are having a difficult time finding specific information about how to do this. It doesn't seem there are websites related to specific spas that provide information about visiting for a single day. The only thing we have found are prices for hotels with access to the waters included in an overnight stay. Can you provide us with leads toward specific spas that allow day visitors? Thank you!
 
Most of the spring areas across Tuscany have been taken over by hotels and spa centers, and there are many hot springs in the region. Any town you see with "terme" in the title means it has springs, but you wouldn't know it other than maybe because there is one central establishment over the springs that control access to them. Since you're in Lucca, definitely Bagni di Lucca is the closest and spa treatments can be had at these centers and hotels. It is up to you to choose which "treatments" you want and decide from there.

All the centers work on day passes, since they aren't hotels. You just show up and basically gain access but you can also book special treatments.

As for the hotels, they also offer day passes, look for "day spa" as a sign that they have packages for spending a whole day at the spa without having to stay there.

For example, Hotel Bagni di Lucca has a whole pdf with its pricelist here: https://www.termebagnidilucca.it/admin/img-multimedia/carta-trattamenti-11.pdf - the pdf is from 2018, so it is just to give you an idea of what normally is offered.

The thing is that, right now, they have a notice on their home page saying their pool (fed with the springs) is open (day pass costs €20) as well as the hotel but that the spa center is actually closed. I suppose they are waiting for the season to fully take off.... but it has, at least here in Florence, so maybe their site is just not yet updated???

I would suggest you contact them directly and ask whether the spa and treatments are once available. Fall is still many months from now, so it is likely everything will have reopened by then. So you can't go off from what is available right now.

This hotel is right next to some of the three main "thermal" centers: the Jean Varraud, Casa Boccella and Centro Ouida.
You can read more about the history of the springs and the various establishments on this website, in English (!!!), very interesting: http://www.bagnidiluccaterme.info/en/argomento/Le-terme/Bagno-Caldo-o-Jean-Varraud.html

You should know that I found that only Bagno Bernabò is open as an establishment. Spa centers suffered long periods of closure during the pandemic, having been closed for almost the entire two years.... so many might not reopen at all. But I found news from this fall that this one was slated to reopen by December, which I hope it did.

Are you staying in Lucca at a hotel where you could email them and see if they can confirm whether the spa centers are open? Otherwise, I would suggest heading south instead to San Giuliano Terme, closer to Pisa.
 
Thank you, Lourdes, as always, for your valuable insights. I, too, was only able to find Bagno Bernabò to be currently "open." However, I was not able to ascertain what services they currently offer. I certainly hope other spas/hotels will be able to recover from the recent difficult period.
The idea to look at specific hotels for a "day pass" is helpful. We'll do that to see what we can find.
I appreciate your insights regarding Bagni di Lucca and will look into the links you have suggested. It seems like we might just have to take the trip up there to see what we find. It would surely be an enjoyable adventure, even if we are not able to get into the water. If this were the case, is there a restaurant you might recommend for lunch?
Yes, we would be able to email from our hotel. Bagni di Lucca sounds very interesting, but if that doesn't pan out, we will look into your suggestion about San Giuliano.
Salute!
 
I hope your hotel is able to offer local insight into whether the terme are all reopening now with many travelers coming back to the area. Everyone is very happy to see people again, it was a surreal experience to see empty streets for so long!

I also could not find a list of the services the Bagno Barnabò offers. What I did find was the website for the local tourist office, you can find more details on the town and bathing centers (mostly historical notes) on this site: https://www.bagnidilucca.info/ufficio-informazioni-turistiche/
They likely have MORE information than what we've been able to find online, including actual paper brochures that are never put online.
I discovered that Bagno Bernaò actually only just recently reopened this past April 23rd. Not even a month ago!

As for eating, the restaurant Cavalier Bruno has very good ratings, especially as fas as truffle dishes go. Since you're going in the fall, I would recommend trying lots of truffle dishes for this reason ;-). As you can see from the long list here: https://www.bagnidilucca.info/dove-mangiare/ you will have plenty to choose from once you're there. What we normally do is this: visit the tourist office, talk up the people there (and in any other shops we might stop at) and often ASK them which is/are their favorite places to eat at ;-). It has led to great discoveries, sometimes different than from what you find on online reviews (which are based on different expectations, local vs global travelers :D )

Closer to this fall, if you come back here on the forum to remind me, we can check again and see if there are updates to the spa centers.
 
I did look at the spa at San Giuliano Terme, Lourdes, and found it to be of good interest. Certainly easier to access, so we might do that instead.
I Google-walked up to Bagno Barnabò and found the walk up the hill may be more than my beloved will want to do. She has slight mobility restrictions. (Yes, I read that Barnabò had very recently re-opened and am glad they survived the difficult period.)
I like your thought to ask locals about restaurants in the area when we are there.
Truffles? Yes, my love has already reminded me it will be Truffle Season when we are there... :)
OK, ciao!
 
I am glad you’re coming back to Tuscany! I am sure whatever you end up doing you will enjoy. Especially eating lots of truffle containing dishes ;) Thank you for your continued presence on the forum for all these years :giggle:
 
And, thank YOU, Lourdes, for your continued presence and great assistance throughout the years.
Just so you know, I log in to the forum almost every day, even when not planning a trip, so I can see what's going on in the region. It makes the day more enjoyable to read about the things people are doing over there.
🥰
 
🥰 I am trying to play catch up now, staying up to date on the forum here and updating website and blog, but at the moment, it's just me and it seems I am slower than I used to be and definitely cannot keep up with all of the events that have picked up, as if the virus was no longer among us. But I'm trying, just be patient - I am working on getting a newsletter out soon! :)
 
While it may be a bit challenging to find specific information about day visits to spas in the area, you could try checking out local tourism websites or contacting the Lucca tourist office for recommendations. Another option is to inquire with hotels in Bagni di Lucca directly to see if they offer day passes to access the spring waters without an overnight stay. Some spas may allow day visitors, but the information may not be readily available online. Good luck with your search, and enjoy your trip to Lucca! By the way, if you're looking for Botox treatment in Woodland Hills CA, you could try checking out local cosmetic clinics or dermatology centers in the area. It's always best to do some research and read reviews to find a reputable provider.
 
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