Bagno Vignoni - Parco dei Mulini pool

About Bagno Vignoni - Parco dei Mulini pool

Bagno Vignoni is one of the most photographed villages in the Val d'Orcia: instead of a main square it has a large Renaissance pool full of steaming thermal water, surrounded by stone buildings. It's a sight worth seeing, but be careful: bathing in that pool is forbidden. If you're looking for a free thermal experience, follow the path of the water, which runs downhill from the square through channels cut into the rock.

Below the village lies the Parco dei Mulini, where the hot water once drove the millstones of medieval mills carved into the travertine. Carry on down for a few hundred metres and you reach a rectangular pool surrounded by reeds and bushes: this is where you can bathe freely and without paying. The view over the valley and the clay hills of the Val d'Orcia makes the stop even more enjoyable.

It should be said clearly that the water in the free pool is not very hot: sources describe the spring at between 38 and 50 °C, but it cools along the way and reaches the pool lukewarm. That's why the place is at its best in the warmer months, while in midwinter it can disappoint anyone expecting a piping hot soak. On the plus side, the milder temperature also makes it suitable for people who can't stand very hot water.

There are no facilities around the pool: no changing rooms, no showers. Leave the car in the village car parks, come down ready to swim and bring a change of dry clothes. The path is short but downhill, so you'll have a bit of a climb on the way back. It's fine with children, as long as you keep an eye on them near the channels and on the wet stones.

Bagno Vignoni is perfect to combine with a tour of the Val d'Orcia: San Quirico, Pienza, Montalcino and Bagni San Filippo are all a short distance away. One idea is to visit the village at sunset, when the steam over the pool in the square turns orange, and then walk down to the free pool for a quiet soak.