Caldas da Rainha, Thermal city in Leiria, Portugal
Caldas da Rainha is a city in Leiria, Portugal, built around natural thermal springs and home to several museums. The center is compact, with cobbled streets, a busy marketplace, and buildings from different periods showing the layers of its past.
The city formed around 1500 after a queen stumbled upon the healing thermal waters during her travels. This discovery led to the building of a hospital that still treats patients today and shaped the town's development over the centuries.
The city earned its reputation for handmade ceramics over centuries, and you can find local pottery throughout shops and studios today. This craft tradition shapes daily life and remains central to how residents express their local character.
The city center is easy to explore on foot, with most attractions and the marketplace located near each other. Train connections link the city to nearby towns, making day trips straightforward.
A hospital on site has run thermal baths for medical treatments for many centuries and remains one of the world's oldest active facilities of this kind. Visitors can walk through the grounds and historic core where this medical tradition continues today.
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