Europe’s biggest city spa, located in Vienna, Austria is a haven for relaxation and rejuvenation. This wellness oasis beckons travelers and locals seeking a retreat for the mind, body, and soul.
As I traveled across Europe for 5 months, I spent a week in Vienna. Tired and sore from long days of walking to explore new cities, I was itching for some restoration. Knowing how abundant Europe is in healing mineral waters, I sought out a thermal bath spa.
Thermal baths have been around for centuries for detoxification, pain relief, inflammation, and relaxation for the body and mind. Sauna culture is also a big thing in Europe for numerous health benefits as well. Therme Wien, to my surprise, was only a quick metro ride away from the heart of the city and was extremely affordable to spend a day there.
Everything you need to know about Therme Wien
Therme Wien is a modern city thermal spa. Vienna has natural sulfur healing springs that were popular amongst the Romans. It now has 26 pools, 25 saunas and steam cabins, 2,500 loungers, and various health areas.
There is an indoor area and an outdoor area with thermal baths that range in different temperatures. The sauna area is separated by female, male, or gender neutral with an indoor sauna and steam rooms as well as a private outdoor cold pool. And yes, the sauna areas have cold plunges as well. Locker rooms are gender neutral but you can rent private changing rooms if need be.
What does Therme Wien offer?
Aside from the 26 thermal baths to choose from, you’ll find:
- summer bars
- saunas and steam rooms
- showers
- locker room
- an area for kids with a slide
- heated loungers inside and out
- rooms with water beds
- a thermal library
- audiobook lounge
- cinema
- restaurants and juice bars
Your pass gives you access to all of this but some lounges do cost extra to access, such as the sauna area but it is more than worth it. You can easily just scan the wristband you’ll set up when you arrive if you decide you’d like to sauna. If you’d like to include a wellness treatment, you have a large variety of massages to choose from for an additional price but they do require making an appointment.
I recommend spending an entire day here when you visit Vienna, Austria.
How to get there
Take the U1 subway line directly from the city center to Oberlaa. It’s the last stop, and you’ll have to walk a few minutes to arrive at the entrance through a bridge that connects the platform to the complex. The train ride took about 15 minutes for us.
What to bring
- Bring a swimsuit to change into for the public areas
- Shower supplies for afterward
- A change of clothes
- Flip flops to wear between pools
- A towel
If you don’t have all of this, there is a shop there where you can purchase anything you may need before entering the locker rooms.
Cost
To access the thermal spa a daily ticket (6 hours) only costs 37 euros with a lockbox. If you’d like a cabin for changing instead of a locker it’s 39 euros. If you only have a morning or an afternoon, you can get the hourly card (up to 3 hours only) for 28 euros which also comes with a lockbox.
The surcharge to access the saunas is 12 euros. There are other passes available as well such as an after-work night or “day vacation” pass which includes access to saunas, a gourmet voucher, and more and starts at 96 euros.
Massages range from 40 to 80 euros. What a deal!
Before you go
It might be a shock to you to experience gender-neutral changing rooms, saunas, and steam rooms but to Europeans, this is very normal. They are very comfortable with their bodies (and no one is looking anyway).
In Europe, to use the sauna you are expected to be completely undressed. You can wear a towel between saunas and bring it in with you, but you will need to lay your towel down flat and then lay down on top of it in the sauna room. If you don’t do this, locals will correct you, which can be quite embarrassing when you’re entirely naked.
At the outdoor pool through the sauna rooms, whether you’re in the female gender room or gender neutral with your partner, everyone is also naked. You will likely get weird looks if you aren’t so just a fair warning.
If you found this right up your alley, make sure to check out my post on the Top 5 Most Health Conscious European Countries.
