Thermes de Caldes de Malavella

Caldes de Malavella in the Gironès comarca of Catalonia is one of the oldest continuously used thermal towns in Spain, with a history of hot spring bathing stretching back over 2,000 years to the Roman settlement of Aquae Calidae. The town is today internationally famous as the birthplace of Vichy Catalan, Spain's most iconic sparkling mineral water, bottled from naturally carbonated bicarbonate springs that emerge at 60°C and are allowed to cool before bottling. Two major spa establishments — Balneari Prats and Balneari Vichy Catalan — offer world-class thermal treatments in beautifully restored 19th-century buildings. The Empordà landscape of cork oak forests, volcanic hills and proximity to the Costa Brava coast gives Caldes de Malavella a particularly rich natural and cultural setting.