The Province of Padua: art, spas, and hills

Padua is especially well suited to visitors drawn by art history and an urban pace of life. Known as Padova Urbs Picta, a collection of 14th-century fresco cycles spans eight buildings and monumental complexes in the historic centre. They are spread across four areas: the Scrovegni Chapel and Eremitani, the group around Palazzo della Ragione, Reggia and the Baptistery, the Antonian Citadel, and San Michele. The UNESCO designation recognises this interconnected heritage of fresco art, not every building in the province indiscriminately. It is therefore worth treating the art sites as a theme in their own right and allowing enough time to travel between them.

The city is more than a destination for churches and frescoes. To add variety to the day, combine art with a walk through its streets, squares, and historic market areas. The urban setting is quite different from a stay in a spa town or a small walled city. Your choice of accommodation should therefore reflect how you plan to spend your days: if you want to visit several art sites, a base in the city is an advantage; if you are looking for peace and quiet, spa facilities, or a more rural setting, compare the Euganean Hills and their towns separately. If you want to focus on the art city, make the distinctive character of the city of Padua the thread running through your stay.

Southwest of the city lies a different kind of travel destination. The Euganean Hills are of volcanic origin, and villas, castles, and abbeys lie among their peaks. The local tourism organisation lists Abano Terme, Montegrotto Terme, Battaglia Terme, and Galzignano Terme as towns with specialised facilities for treatments and thermal waters. This makes the area appealing to travellers who want to combine relaxation with walks, cycling, or cultural visits. However, the services offered by any individual establishment depend on the business itself and should not be inferred from the town’s name.

Abano and Montegrotto are ideal for a stay where relaxation and treatments can shape the daily routine. If you would rather combine excursions in the hills with visits to several towns, give more weight to the location of your base and the routes you plan to take than to any single wellness service. When choosing between Abano Terme and Montegrotto Terme, what matters most is which town best fits your planned itinerary. The Euganean Hills provide the right setting for exploring the landscape; you can also find a regional comparison in this guide to wellness holidays in Veneto.

The hills are worth visiting for more than just the backdrop to a spa break. Hiking and cycling make them appealing for active days, while local wine and cuisine can round out an excursion. The area is a good fit for a slower-paced trip, with several short outings instead of a packed sightseeing schedule. For a day trip, don’t assume you can cover every town and route at once: choosing according to your interests keeps the plan manageable and leaves time to enjoy each place.

Este, Monselice, and Montagnana are noted as walled cities, each with its own historic character. Their walls and fortifications tell stories of urban history quite different from Padua’s fresco heritage. Este is particularly associated with the Carrara Castle. Built on the traces of earlier fortifications, it was reconstructed by Ubertino da Carrara in the 14th century. It later lost its military function. Today, the surviving walls and public green spaces are a distinctive part of the townscape, and the Palazzo Mocenigo houses the Museo Nazionale Atestino. Visitors to Este can therefore combine the town’s history, castle complex, and museum in one visit. Find out more about the town of Este to decide whether it works best as a day trip of its own or as part of a longer stay.

Monselice and Montagnana offer different highlights. Choosing between them is less about ranking the towns and more about deciding what kind of historical experience you want. A walled town can be explored on its own as a walking excursion; pairing one with the Euganean Hills makes for a more varied day of scenery and local history. If you want to visit several fortified towns, compare the distances between them and the time available in advance rather than treating them as neighbouring attractions. If you’d like to pair a fortified small town with the hills, coordinate your visit to Montagnana with your plans for the Euganean Hills.

For a short trip, choosing a clear focus is usually more helpful than trying to cover the city, spa towns, and small towns equally. Art lovers can make Padua their main base and focus on the fresco sites. Those seeking relaxation can centre their stay on one of the spa towns and add an excursion if they wish. For a weekend focused on regional history, Este or another walled town can serve as a base. These options are all in the Province of Padua, but they are not interchangeable versions of the same holiday.

With more time, you can combine two areas of focus. Pairing Padua with the Euganean Hills brings urban art and hilly landscapes together; a spa town can serve as an overnight base if its location suits your plans. Another option is to combine a stay in the hills with a visit to Este or Montagnana. Before planning several destinations, decide what you want each day to revolve around: sightseeing, relaxation, or outdoor activities. Then you can decide whether changing accommodation would be worthwhile.

The people you’re travelling with can also affect which option is best. If your group has varied interests, a place with several easy-to-combine activities may be a good choice; if everyone is looking for peace and quiet or spa treatments, a destination geared towards those needs is more suitable. Families and groups should not book based on a famous attraction alone, but consider whether the daily itinerary will work for everyone. If you plan to visit other art and history sites in addition to the frescoes, compare your options with these cultural trips in Veneto. For practical information about the region, including trip styles and planning, the Veneto travel guide is also a useful next step.

The Province of Padua brings together several distinct travel experiences: the city’s fresco art, the spa towns and volcanic Euganean Hills, and historic small towns with fortifications and museums. There is no need to squeeze them all into one itinerary. To choose where to start, follow a simple order: decide what kind of experience you want, choose the area that suits it, then select a base or excursion destination. If you’re looking for art and city life, start in Padua; if you’re planning a relaxing stay, compare the spa towns; if you want to explore history on a smaller scale, consider Este, Monselice, or Montagnana.

This way, your visit can fit the time you have available. You could devote a full day in the city to the frescoes and historic centre. A stay in the hills could combine walks, cycling, and a visit to a historic town. A multi-night trip can include both experiences without trying to merge them into one. The key is not to tick off as many places as possible, but to combine the province’s distinctive features in a way that suits your routes, interests, and length of stay.