Spa town facts for kids

A waterfall in Caldas de Monchique, Algarve (south region of Portugal).

A spa town, or simply spa, is a town that many people go to for health reasons. There is usually a spring there, or several springs. The water that comes from these springs is good for curing many illnesses. When people go to a spa town to get better we say that they go to "take the waters".

The word "spa" comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was called a ville d'eau (town of water). The term spa is used for towns or resorts which offer hydrotherapy (making people better with water). This can include cold water or mineral water treatments and hot spring baths.

Images for kids

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  Woman looking in the mirror at a spa in Hungary, 1939

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  The statue of "The crutchbreaker" in the spa town Piešťany (Slovakia) – a symbol of balneotherapy

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  Print of Spa, Belgium, 1895

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  Ikaalisten Kylpylä, a spa center in Ikaalinen, Pirkanmaa, Finland

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  The Slatina Spa

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  The Roman walls of Hisarya. Many spa towns in Bulgaria have existed since the Roman Empire.

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  The spa town of Mariánské Lázně

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  Binz on Rugia Island, Germany

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  Salsomaggiore Terme, in Northern Italy.

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  Entrance to the spa in Turčianske Teplice (Slovakia).

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  Wulai Hot Spring Street in Wulai, New Taipei, Taiwan.