Spas remove autumn chill

The Bogn Engiadina Scuol bathing and health centre is one of the most popular in Graubünden swissinfo.ch

Guests taking a dip in any of Switzerland's many thermal baths are sure to warm up to the season.

Spa guests in Switzerland are spoiled for choice. Thermal baths dot the country, from scenic alpine locations to cities like Zurich.

Only a short train ride from Switzerland’s financial capital, Baden has welcomed guests to its thermal baths for about 2,000 years. Its hot springs are believed to contain the highest mineral content of any in the country.

The thermal water reaches a temperature of 47 degrees Celsius (about 116 degrees Fahrenheit) when it arrives at the surface from depths of up to three kilometres.

Soothing the soul

Leukerbad in canton Valais is the biggest spa resort in the Alps, and like Baden, offers public as well as private baths.

“The Therme” in Vals in the eastern canton of Graubünden attracts people who are interested as much in soothing their souls as they are their aching bones.

Designed by the star Swiss architect, Peter Zumthor, the spa was designed to be in harmony with nature. It is hewn from the rock where the thermal waters spring.

For the visitor, the hard part follows the choice of location: Roman or Turkish bath? Fango (like clay or mud, applied as a pack) or ultrasonic therapy?

Or how about being wrapped in hay, placed on a water bed and letting the oils from medicinal herbs absorb into your skin?

Decadent.

swissinfo