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The Europeans seem eminently wise to the healing powers of water. They frequent hot springs, soak in salt water, shvitz in saunas and drink it spring-fed. The resort town of Bad Ragaz in eastern Switzerland, for example, even comes with its own catchphrase: "Where wild waters work wonders."

While the hot springs that gush from Tamina Gorge to Bad Ragaz were discovered in 1038, it was 200 years before local monks made use of the warm water's purported therapeutic abilities. In North America, we have been even slower on the uptake - by about 1,000 years.

Thankfully, we are finally becoming a water world of our own. In Toronto alone, three water-themed spas have opened in the past year. These include Hammam Spa, where steam heat is infused with essential oils; and Pantages Anti-Aging and Longevity Spa, which has fish tanks in serenity rooms and "aqua sommeliers."

Closest to the European model is the city's new Body Blitz. For women only, this "urban water spa" pairs the centuries-old tradition of taking the waters with a sleek downtown aesthetic: Think heated concrete floors, rough-hewn beams, natural stone and cushy red chaises longues. The focus here is health via water - it's about feeling beautiful, not just looking good. The vibe: a hangout session with a conspiratorial girlfriend (everyone's nearly naked, after all).

As for the spa's therapy pools - the first of their kind in Canada - they include the 37-degree focal sea-salt pool; a detoxifying green-tea pool (41 degrees) and a frigid dunking pool (10 degrees). To help you figure out the soaking order for optimal health benefits, there's a hot-cold-warm circuit spelled out on the walls.

Appointments are recommended for entry into Body Blitz's 20 streamlined rooms. These are reserved for body treatments running from massages to scrubs. But any woman can pay $45 for a walk-in to let the waters work their wonders.

With all these water treatments, maybe Toronto, like Bad Ragaz, needs a new catchphrase of its own: "Come on in, the water's fine!" Or maybe its better still to keep exploring the wet (and, yes, occasionally pretty wild) water-treatment options from Calgary to Florida.

Ovarium Floatation Baths, Montreal
The first thing you notice after entering this copper-topped former bank building is the overwhelming smell of chlorine. And watching people shuffle about in sandals, on first blush you get the feeling that you've entered a glorified bathhouse. But the soaring ceilings, ferns and water features allay any fears. Besides, you're here for the flotation tanks. Yep, you're about to get naked and lay floating in a coffin-like tank full of supersaturated water for about an hour.

Step into one of the spa's private rooms - each with an appropriate, New Age name like Neptune. Undress. Shower. Then ease into the tank, seal the door shut and off goes the light. The brain flickers. But after you get acclimatized (this will take a few minutes), you'll quickly ease into the peace and quiet. Fifty minutes will end up feeling like five.

The point of this naked float is to experience sensory deprivation, which is said to result in a host of positive long-term effects, ranging from profound relaxation to enhanced powers of concentration.

Ten Thousand Waves, Santa Fe, N.M
This 25-year-old Japanese-style spa is located in the wooded hills surrounding Santa Fe, just a snowball's throw from Taos's ski hills. Some of the multiple hot tubs welcome women only. Others are labelled kazukoburo (private). Still others are unisex, some clothing optional. Read signs carefully.

Once you've found your way, you'll be immersed in a bathing experience modelled after the famed onsen (hot springs) of Japan. This means both ofuro (indoor) and steamy rotenburo (outdoor) baths, with access to cold plunges. This is a necessity, since all baths are maintained at 40 to 41 degrees (except for "the Waterfall," which is body temperature and ideal during pregnancy).

Whichever hot tub you choose, though, don't forget to follow your soak with a rub down. Santa Fe is home to more body workers per capita than anywhere else in America, so a Thai massage in a free-standing pagoda with mountain views is a no-brainer.

Stillwater Spa, Calgary
At this downtown day spa, the décor includes a spa lounge with a waterfall wall and burbling tropical fish aquarium. There are also change-room whirlpools for pre-treatment soaks and a mini-fridge outside the steam room stocked with cool washcloths for sweaty faces.

Today's eau du jour is a Vichy treatment, a form of water therapy that uses several showerheads suspended over a table. The showerheads are positioned along the spine to rinse, massage and bring on hypnotic relaxation. The feeling is something akin to firm but loving fingers strumming your back like an aqua guitar.

For a Canada-themed version of the Vichy, try the spa's Maple Glow treatment, where salts infused with the scents of maple and warm caramel apples stimulate both the skin cells and the appetite. It includes exfoliation, lotion application and, of course, that sublime shower.

Willow Stream Spa, Aventura, Fla.
The members-only setup of Willow Stream may bring to mind elderly industrialists and their trophy wives indulging in hoi-polloi-free-pampering. But you don't have to pay thousands in initiation fees to enter the spa at Turnberry Isle Resort & Club - all you need is a registered room key at the Mediterranean-style resort.

Tucked behind palm trees and a palatial pool area, the breezy spa is anchored by a spiral staircase that winds around a waterfall and fountain.

For the ultimate in luxe relaxation, guests are given the Kur experience - a triumvirate of treatments that incorporate Euro-chic body wraps, water and massage to winning effect. Sleep is not only possible, it's probable.

Topnotch, Stowe, Vt.
Stowe attracts outdoorsy types for everything from autumn-leaf-peeping to pristine skiing. No surprise, then, that the spa at Topnotch uses nature's bounty - local maple sugar, herbs and wildflowers, for example - in its body wraps, polishes and scrubs.

Here's the drill for the Vermont wildflower treatment: You enter your first room, all wet white tiles, for a loofah scrub and a hose-down courtesy of an aesthetician. This standing body massage is delivered by way of a high-pressure scotch hose spurting warm then cold gushes to stimulate circulation and aid lymphatic drainage. It's a little alarming, a titch German, but ultimately fun.

Regroup and pad down the hall to another room, where you are swathed in linen sheets steeped in wildflower and herb tea. This brew might contain comfrey root (to tighten the skin) or violets (for balance). Next, just lie there sweating and detoxifying until you are unwrapped for a Swedish massage with wildflower oil.

Best part: the maple sugar hard candies you get at the end.

Where to Soak
Pantages Spa: 200 Victoria St., Toronto; pantagesspa.com; 1-877-772-6824. This downtown day spa offers everything from $15 eyebrow shaping to couples packages starting around $200.

Hammam Spa: 602 King St. W., Toronto; http://www.hammamspa.ca ; 416-366-4772. An upscale co-ed Turkish bathhouse with hammans starting at $30.

Body Blitz Spa: 471 Adelaide St. W., Toronto; http://www.bodyblitzspa.com ; 416-364-0400. A watery oasis in the city's core offering mud bakes, massages and mix-and-match treatments from $80 to $195.

Ten Thousand Waves: 3451 Hyde Park Rd., Santa Fe, N.M.; 505-992-5025; http://www.tenthousandwaves.com . Communal or women's tubs cost $14, private baths $19. Massages start around $175.

Ovarium: 400 Beaubien St. E., Montreal; ovarium.com; 1-877-356-8837. At this new-age bathhouse, a tank session costs $47, massages start at $62.

Stillwater Spa: Hyatt Regency Calgary, 700 Centre St.; 403-537-4474; stillwaterspa.com. Frontier-chic clay body wraps, spa vittles, and deluxe digs in Cowtown. Facials start around $100, spa manicures at $45.

Turnberry Isle: 19999 West Country Club Dr., Aventura, Fla.; 1-800-327-7028; fairmont.com/turnberryisle. This swank spa is located inside a Floridian resort. Kur experiences such as the Ocean Waves treatment starts at $227.

Topnotch: 4000 Mountain Rd., Stowe, Vt.; 1-800-451-8686; topnotch-resort.com. A big, woodsy resort with the Ben and Jerry's factory deliciously nearby (almost as good as those maple sugar candies). The Vermont Wildflower Treatment lasts 80 minutes and costs $180.

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