A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits.
Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He became interested in the curative properties of the hot mineral waters there and in 1676 wrote A discourse of Bathe, and the hot waters there. Also, Some Enquiries into the Nature of the water. This brought the purported health-giving properties of the waters to the attention of the aristocracy, who started to partake in them soon after.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The term spa is used for towns or resorts offering hydrotherapy, which can include cold water or mineral water treatments and geothermal baths, and comes from the Belgian town Spa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In Queensland, many towns have mineral springs created by artesian bores into the Great Artesian Basin, often the only or primary water supply to the towns. Some of these towns had periods of popularity as spa towns, including Ararmac, Barcaldine, Dalby, Helidon, Innot Hot Springs, and Muckadilla, mostly in the late 1800s and early 1900s when mineral spas were believed to cure various medical conditions. However, the remote locations of most of these towns made them expensive to visit and only small-scale spa facilities developed there. Helidon, a day trip from Brisbane by car, was more successful, particularly with growing owernship of cars after World War II. However, concerns about radioactivity and bacterialcontamination resulted in the Helidon Spa falling into disuse by 1994. Many towns in Queensland continue to provide bathing facilities fed by hot springs, but these are promoted as relaxing holiday activities rather than as medical treatments.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Banja Slatina, Slatina - Slatina is a spa town, well-known as one of the best health resorts for rheumatism in the region. Slatina has a tradition since 1870s.
In Hungary, the word fürdő or the more archaic füred ("bath"), fürdőváros ("spa town") or fürdőhely ("bathing place") implies a spa town. Hungary is rich in thermal waters with purported health benefits, and many spa towns are popular tourist destinations. Budapest has several spas, including Turkish style spas dating back to the 16th century. Eger also has a Turkish spa. Other famous spas include the ones at Hévíz, Harkány, Bük, Hajdúszoboszló, Gyula, Bogács, Bükkszék, Zalakaros, the Cave Bath at Miskolctapolca and the Zsóry-fürdő at Mezőkövesd.
In Italy, spa towns, called città termale (from Latin thermae), are very numerous all over the country because of the intense geological activity of the territory. These places were known and used since the Roman age.
Most spa towns in Poland are located in the Lesser Poland and Lower Silesian Voivodeships. Some of them have an affix "Zdrój" in their name (written with hyphen or separately), meaning "water spring", to denote their spa status, but this is not a general rule (e.g. Ciechocinek and Inowrocław are spa towns, but do not use the affix).
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Some but not all UK spa towns contain "Spa", "Wells", or "Bath" in their names, e.g., Matlock Bath. Some towns are designated Spa Heritage Towns. Two out of four of the English towns granted the title "Royal", Royal Leamington Spa and Royal Tunbridge Wells, are spa towns.
in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland - Bad, the first part of the names of most spa towns, a cognate to the English "bath" while "Therme" is used for the spa itself.
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