Florence travel guide — where to stay, what to do, and where to eat in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
Top spas
Curated picks for treatments and day spas.
Four Seasons Hotel Florence - Spa
The spa at Florence's Four Seasons occupies a 15th-century Medici palazzo set within 4.5 hectares of private garden — the largest private garden in Florence. The treatment rooms are housed in Renaissance frescoed rooms where Florentine nobility once entertained. Signature treatments use products from the historic Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella (est. 1612), the world's oldest pharmacy, located 1 km away in the city centre. The spa includes a heated outdoor pool, hammam, and quiet relaxation garden among cypresses and medicinal herb beds.
Signature treatment: Florentine Nobile facial using Officina di Santa Maria Novella heritage products in a historic frescoed room
SPA Excelsior - Hotel Excelsior Florence
The spa at the Hotel Excelsior occupies the cellar of a 19th-century palazzo on the Arno riverside, steps from the Ponte Vecchio and Uffizi. The interior design channels Florence's Renaissance heritage with warm stone, vaulted brick ceilings, and locally sourced stone treatment surfaces. Signature treatments use Tuscan ingredients including polyphenols from Chianti Classico grape seeds — a powerful antioxidant derived from the same Sangiovese grapes that produce the region's great wines. The rooftop terrace has views over the Arno and is available to spa guests.
Signature treatment: Tuscan Vigna body treatment using Chianti Classico grape polyphenols in a vaulted brick cellar
Fonteverde Terme Lifestyle & Thermal Resort
Fonteverde is Tuscany's most complete thermal resort, perched on a hilltop above the ancient Roman thermal village of San Casciano dei Bagni near the Lazio border. The resort draws on four sulphurous springs of 42°C natural thermal water recorded since Roman times and first developed under Medici patronage in the 17th century. The 38°C outdoor thermal pools are open year-round and set within Tuscan countryside views of volcanic hills. Treatments integrate the thermal water with Tuscan fango (volcanic mineral mud), Etruscan healing traditions, and modern therapeutic protocols. A full-day visit including lunch and thermal pool access is available to day guests.
Signature treatment: Tuscan Thermal Journey: thermal pool immersion, sulphurous mud pack (fango), and thermal water massage over 3 hours
Wellness retreats
Multi-day immersive experiences.
Grotta Giusti Thermal Spa and Resort
Grotta Giusti is one of Italy's most extraordinary spa experiences: a natural thermal cave formed by a subterranean lake at 34-36°C. Guests descend into the ancient stalactite grotto — named after poet Giuseppe Giusti who once owned the villa above — for sauna-like thermal immersion in the three zones of the cave (Paradiso, Purgatorio, and Inferno, reaching up to 34°C and 100% humidity). The experience is deeply relaxing and genuinely unusual: a natural Tuscan equivalent of a hammam, formed by geological forces over millennia. The villa above has a thermal swimming pool, treatment rooms, and accommodation.
Where: Monsummano Terme, Pistoia Province (40 km from Florence)
Terme di Saturnia Spa and Golf Resort
Terme di Saturnia in the Maremma is one of Italy's finest thermal resort experiences, using the famous 37.5°C sulphurous springs that have flowed from a volcanic vent since antiquity. The free public cascatelle (waterfall pools) just outside the resort attract travellers from across Europe, while the luxury resort itself offers private thermal pools, comprehensive spa programmes, and a golf course set in the rolling Maremma landscape. A long day trip from Florence (3 hours south) or an overnight stay as part of a southern Tuscany itinerary.
Where: Saturnia, Grosseto Province (3 hours from Florence)
Signature treatments
Local specialties worth seeking out.
Items
Yoga & meditation
Studios, classes, and meditation centres.
Yoga in Tuscany Retreats
Several Chianti agriturismo estates offer structured yoga retreats, from weekend sessions to week-long immersive programmes. Most are set in converted farmhouses with views over vineyards and the surrounding hills. The combination of yoga practice with wine country scenery, Tuscan cooking, and olive harvest in autumn makes for an exceptional retreat experience.
Wellness travel tips
Get the most from your wellness experience.
Book spa treatments at least one week ahead in Florence city spas — popular time slots (morning and late afternoon) fill quickly
Italy's thermal spas (terme) offer genuine medical-grade balneotherapy overseen by doctors — many treatments are fundamentally different from cosmetic spa treatments in hotels
The free public thermal pools at the Saturnia cascatelle are open 24 hours and free of charge — bring a swimsuit and towel only
Thermal water from Bagno Vignoni (Val d'Orcia) is 51°C at source — the historic 16th-century pool in the village piazza is not for swimming but is an extraordinary sight
Florence's Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella (Via della Scala, 16) has sold herbal wellness products since 1612 — a visit to the shop is itself a wellness and historical experience