The New Spa Culture

I am very much into spas, I confess. When I can, I escape for a couple of hours to relax in one of these establishments dedicated to physical and mental well-being - what we now call wellness and which is nothing more than the mens sana in corpore sano that the Romans already practiced, by the way, very fond of thermal baths - where the hustle and bustle of the city and the stress of daily life are left at the entrance. I also like to do it when I travel. After a day of going here and there, seeing museums, temples, and monuments, there are few things more comforting than treating yourself to a moment of rest in a bubble pool, taking a steam bath or a dry sauna and, if possible, topping it off with a good massage.

What we now call wellness and which is nothing more than the mens sana in corpore sano that the Romans already practiced

In Istanbul, especially in the middle of the rigorous winter, a visit to the hammam is a must. The historic Cemberlitas, 400 years old, shows that in ancient Constantinople the tradition of the Turkish bath goes back a long way, in fact, to its conquest by the Ottomans. The first time you go you might feel like a fat, mustachioed Turk is beating you up and then wants to drown you with buckets of water, but it's not true, he's giving you a massage. In Budapest, we also find wonderful Turkish baths in full operation - built in the mid-sixteenth century by the Ottomans themselves and, today, considered historical monuments - such as the Rudas and the Király. Budapest is considered the capital of the spa, as it has managed to create a powerful health tourism offer by taking advantage of its medicinal and thermal waters. A good example of this is the impressive Széchenyi, the largest urban spa in Europe. But the true paradise for lovers of spa and massage like me is, without a doubt, Asia where the culture of bathing and massage is very present in the daily lives of millions of people since ancient times. The onsen or traditional Japanese baths and, of course, the great tradition of Thai massage are clear exponents of this.

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Barcelona, on the contrary, is not a city with a spa tradition, let's start by admitting that. We haven't had functioning thermal baths for centuries, nor do we come from a distant tradition where social bathing, sauna, or massage are part of our daily lives. Understand me well, I'm not talking about going to spend a few days at a spa by medical prescription – this was already done in our grandparents' time and they called it "going to take the waters" – nor about getting a therapeutic massage to relieve back pain. When I say we didn't have a spa culture, I mean we didn't have the habit of going to one, for example, at the end of our workday, nor did we consider it a leisure activity to share with friends or family.

The first time you go you might feel like a fat, mustachioed Turk is beating you up and then wants to drown you with buckets of water, but it's not true, he's giving you a massage

The situation has changed radically in recent years and, today, we can affirm that Barcelonans have fully incorporated the new spa culture. The city has a varied offer of spas, urban thermal baths, wellness centers or whatever you want to call them. Prominently featured are spaces with oriental inspiration such as Silom Spa, which with a very carefully curated ambiance transports you instantly to Thailand; the luxurious Bangkok Healthy Spa, with a wide range of massages, and the Spa Hammam Rituels de Orient, which combines the classic Turkish bath with Moroccan influences to provide you with a total relaxation experience. The impressive AIRE Ancient Baths Barcelona, next to the Borne market, is inspired instead by the tradition of Roman, Greek, and Ottoman baths to create an atmosphere of magic and sophistication that not only makes you forget you are in Barcelona but also in the 21st century. Likewise, the city's hotels, especially the most luxurious ones, have also been incorporating lavish spas into their service portfolio, not only aimed at their guests but at the general public.

We could add to this long list dozens of much more modest establishments affordable for all budgets. The fact that small wellness centers have opened in practically all neighborhoods of Barcelona where we can relax for a while, with water as the protagonist, is the most evident proof that Barcelonians have eagerly embraced spa culture.

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