Terme dei Papi

What to expect

Terme dei Papi is the main paid thermal spa of Viterbo, in northern Lazio, on the plain just west of the city where hot sulphur water has been rising since Etruscan times. It takes its water from the Bullicame, the spring Dante mentions in the Inferno. The name refers to the popes who lived in Viterbo in the Middle Ages; SiViaggia says it comes from Pope Nicholas V, who used the waters for his ailments. The centre was the municipal spa until 1989, when local businessman Socrate Sensi began a full rebuild. His company has run it since 1993, and his children and grandchildren still do.

The draw for most visitors is the Piscina Monumentale, a huge outdoor pool of around 2,000 m² dating from the mid-20th century. It is filled only with Bullicame water, which rises at 136°F58°C and pours steaming into the pool through carved stone spouts. The operator keeps the pool at a constant 97°F36°C, warm enough for a long soak in winter, when the park is wrapped in its own steam. The water smells of sulphur, as you would expect.

Inside, the Grotta Naturale is a cave cut into the rock that works as a natural steam room. The hot water raises the air to 113-118°F45-48°C with 100% humidity. There is also a smaller indoor Hydrosound pool, a hot-and-cold “vascular” walk, a private spa for couples, a beauty spa and a medical department.

This is a real terme with a medical side. Many visitors are Italians doing a 12-day cure on a doctor’s prescription. Casual visitors can still use the outdoor pool on a day ticket and add the grotto with a package.

Prices and booking

The outdoor pool on its own, from the official price list (unchanged since at least December 2024, when SiViaggia published the same figures):

• 3-hour entry: €12 on weekdays, €18 on the day before a holiday, weekends and holidays
• Day entry: €18 on weekdays, €25 on weekends and holidays
• Children aged 2-12: €8; under-2s free
• Saturday night entry (9 p.m. to 1 a.m.): €20
• Sunbed: €5
• 10-entry weekday pass: €120

Day packages that include the pool:

• Terme Romane base (grotto plus day in the pool): €25 weekdays, €35 weekends and holidays
• Terme Romane completo (adds the vascular walk): €40 and €50
• Acqua Relax (Hydrosound pool and vascular walk): €45 and €55
• Day Spa (with a 50-minute massage or treatment): €90 and €100, booked by phone on 0761 3501

The pool tickets and Terme Romane packages do not need booking. Buy online until 3 p.m. the same day, or at the desk. Online cancellations must be emailed to [email protected] by 1 p.m. the day before.

Medical cures: 12-session cycles of mud therapy, inhalations, grotto therapy, therapeutic baths, vascular treatments and gynaecological irrigations are available under the Italian national health service (SSN) with a doctor’s prescription, at a €55 ticket per cycle, or privately.

The rules

• Bring a swimsuit, flip-flops and a robe or towel. The on-site shop sells them.
• No outside food. There is a bar, a bistro and the Aqvamadre restaurant overlooking the pool.
• Leave bags and valuables in the changing areas.
• Avoid phones in the treatment areas.

Getting there

The address is Largo Socrate Sensi 1 (also given as Strada Bagni 12), on the western edge of Viterbo, a few minutes’ drive from the city walls.

• By car from Rome: take the Cassia bis to Vetralla, then the Orte-Viterbo superstrada and exit at Viterbo Terme. From the A1 motorway, leave at Orte and follow the same superstrada to the Viterbo Terme exit.
• By train and bus: trains run from Rome to Viterbo Porta Fiorentina. The regional bus line E655 stops at Terme dei Papi, and Viterbo’s urban buses run along Strada Terme.
• From the airport or port: Fiumicino airport is about 80 km (50 miles) away and the port of Civitavecchia about 50 km (31 miles).

When to go

The spa opens every day of the year, including holidays, and the pool is at its best on cold days, when you swim through the steam. Weekends, public holidays and August are the busiest times, and the holiday price applies from Christmas to Epiphany. Weekday mornings are the quietest.

Remember the pool closes on Tuesdays. On Saturdays it stays open until 1 a.m. for the night swim, and in early autumn (September 4 to October 2 in the current programme) Friday nights bring outdoor cinema in the pool.

Where to stay nearby

The on-site Hotel Niccolò V, a four-star superior with 33 rooms, gives guests direct access to the pool and treatments. Viterbo, a few minutes away, has hotels and B&Bs in and around the medieval San Pellegrino quarter. Lake Bolsena, to the north, has lakeside hotels and campsites.

Safety notes

• Heat. At 97°F36°C the big pool is comfortable, but the grotto at 113-118°F45-48°C and full humidity is intense. Keep grotto sessions short and drink water.
• Health. Check with your doctor first if you are pregnant or have a heart condition or high blood pressure.

Nearby stops worth adding

Viterbo has several other thermal sites on the same basin. The free Bullicame park, with two simple pools on the same spring, is about 1 km (0.6 miles) away. The free Piscine Carletti are about 1 km (0.6 miles) north, and the paid open-air pools of the Bagnaccio are a few kilometres north on the Via Francigena. Viterbo’s walled centre, with the Palazzo dei Papi and the San Pellegrino quarter, is worth a half day.