Where to go for an affordable spa break in Europe

In Europe, countries such as Italy, Hungary, Austria have a long-established bathing culture. There are a multitude of health benefits associated with the hot-cold thermal circuit, with its saunas, pools and steam rooms. While many spas cost a pretty penny, certain wellness breaks on the continent can be surprisingly affordable. If you know where to look, bargains can be found hidden away in Swedish cities or on the shores of Italian lakes. Whether you opt for a day pass and bed down at a nearby hotel or choose to buddy up with a friend to make the stay less expansive, there are plenty of excellent spa and wellness offerings for the cash-conscious traveller. Below, find our pick of the best affordable spas in Europe – for under £250 per person a night.

Aire Ancient Baths, Seville, Spain

Price: Around £52 for 90 minutes

Set in a Mudejar-style palace near the cathedral, these candlelit, orange blossom-scented ancient baths are a blissful antidote to the city's buzz. Book for the 90-minute self-guided thermal tour to experience various baths at different temperatures, plus the steam room and flotation (salt water bath). For the full experience, combine with a treatment, such as the 30-minute relaxing massage (around £80). A 15-minute walk away, contemporary, clean-lined Placido y Grata (doubles from around £185) is a great option for the night.

Website: beaire.com

Yasuragi, Stockholm, Sweden

Price: From around £140 per person, per night

There’s no need to travel all the way to Japan to try the country’s renowned bathing rituals. At this minimalist Japanese spa on the island of Värmdö, guests are handed yukata robes on check-in. Embrace the full ablution experience by first sitting on a low stool, pouring water over yourself from a wooden bucket and washing in gentle circular movements from the feet up. Then, there’s the self-guided bath circuit: soak in the outdoor hot springs before a foot bath and steam sauna (grab a handful of salt for exfoliation). The overnight package includes dinner and a daily programme of activities such as Qigong, breathwork and sound healing.

Website: yasuragi.se

Rudas Baths, Budapest, Hungary

Price: From £20 on weekdays

The vast Széchenyi Baths might be the best known in Budapest, but the Rudas Baths have a contemporary spa too (stay at Pest-Buda, which has doubles from around £127). A visit is based around the 16th-century Turkish bath (some weekdays are single-sex only, so check the timetable first), but there are also a series of thermal pools, including one on the rooftop with sensational Danube and cityscape views. Massages start from £20 for 20 minutes; on Friday and Saturday evenings night bathing sessions until 3am take a more sociable, party-like turn.

Website: rudasfurdo.hu

The Well, Oslo, Norway

Price: From around £170 per person, per night

Just 15 minutes from the centre of Oslo, this is the largest spa in Scandinavia, which means a seriously impressive hot-cold circuit that takes its cues from bathing practices around the world. There are nine saunas – including a Northern Lights laconium, a meditation sauna and a forest sauna overlooking the trees – four jacuzzis, a cold plunge, a cave-like hot spring bath and an Art Deco tepidarium with a gold-plated bench, plus much more. Keep an eye on the daily timetable for the German Aufguss ritual (where the sauna master places essential oil-infused ice balls onto the stove and pours water over them, fanning the air to increase the temperature and humidity) and the Moroccan Rhassoul ritual involving a body scrub and clay mask (around £15).

Website: thewell.no

Longevity Health & Wellness Hotel, Algarve, Portugal

Price: Doubles from around £112

Put a wellness spin on a stay in the Algarve at this health-focused hotel in Alvor. When you’re not beach-hopping (the main stretch of golden sand is an eight-minute drive away), head to the spa’s "detox and relax" circuit, which includes an infra-red sauna, Epsom salt room, a pair of heated pools and walking paths. The Pure Café restaurant serves up vegetarian, gluten-free and high-protein food for dinner, and guests can join in the daily group activities, ranging from yoga and pilates to core training. Add on body scrub and bath rituals, natural clay therapies, seaweed wraps and drainage treatments, for under £100 each.

Website: longevityalvor.com

Hotel Belle Plage, Cannes, France

Price: Doubles from around £165

When it was revamped two years ago, the buzz around this seaside hotel was mostly focused on the Israeli food at the rooftop restaurant and the spa – the largest dedicated wellness space in Cannes. Access to the "sensory journey" – a circular sauna made from pink Himalayan salt bricks, a hammam with an ice fountain (rub cold ice over skin afterwards to stimulate blood circulation), a multi-sensory shower and a watsu pool with massage jets and a jacuzzi – is around £64 for an hour. Or book a treatment, such as the 60-minute manicure (around £42), 30-minute body scrub (around £64) or 20-minute LED Helight Pro session to blast cells (around £34), and the cost goes down to around £21.

Website: hotelbelleplage.fr

Lefay Resort & Spa, Lake Garda, Italy

Price: Doubles from around £331

Just looking out at Lake Garda is enough to make scrunched-up shoulders loosen, which is why all the spa spaces at this resort, from the gym to the outdoor running circuit and the therapeutic garden, have been designed with Italy’s largest body of water as a backdrop. After a day exploring nearby towns, drift between the various heated pools and saunas (including one with local olive tree panelling, ideal for detoxing the skin) and cold elements such as the stream, which helps with circulation. Treatments start from around £72 for a 25-minute head massage.

Website: lefayresorts.com

Forsthofgut, Leogang, Austria

Price: From around £230 per person per night, minimum two-night stay

Integrating wellness with nature is at the heart of the vast waldSPA here – whether you’re swimming laps of the 25-metre outdoor pool (part of the adults-only area) while gazing at the Leogang Rocky Mountains in the distance or taking a dip in the bathing lake in the garden. Float between the Japanese-inspired onsen pool, Finnish lake sauna (skin-softening birch branches are provided) and wooden sauna. Plus, you can get active playing tennis on the hotel’s courts, cycling or hiking trails from the doorstep.

Website: forsthofgut.at