Vichy, queen of spa towns

Ever since the end of the 16th Century, people have flocked to Vichy to enjoy the benefits of its reputed thermal waters. The Marquess of Sévigné, who followed a cure here between 1676 and 1677, attributed it to the healing of her hands. A century later the daughters of Louis XV would visit the town and would later ask their nephew Louis XVI to improve its facilities. Another century later the visits of Napoleon III would result in a profound transformation of the town: a dyke on the Allier River, English-style parks, new urban thoroughfares, and the construction of chalets, pavilions, a casino and an opera house in keeping with the splendour of life under the Second Empire. In 2008, the imperial town fittingly paid tribute to this emperor to whom it owes so much: today the Napoleon III Festivities are a great popular celebration. Vichy would reach the height of its glory between the Second Empire and the Belle Epoque, both in terms of the number of visitors to the town and its architectural prowess. Less splendid times would follow but the town was given a new lease of life by the patronage of colonial cure-patients and made an effort to emphasise all the key places of interest to visit: thermal baths, springs, old districts whose architecture retraces the destiny of a spa village, not to mention the parks and pavilions, grand hotels, the famous congress centre-opera house, and museums dedicated to the Roaring Twenties and to the Art Deco movement. Other top class facilities and elegant shops would also play their part in this development.

In line with its tradition while adding to it like a natural step forward, Vichy refocused its activities on its health and well-being offer at the service of beauty. The continually perfected techniques of thermal spa and health cures are indeed a means of becoming and staying relaxed. A health cure in Vichy is a full week of treatments to soothe the patient's muscles and joints, replenish the body and boost energy levels. In spas that rank amongst the most modern in Europe the town offers facilities that are entirely designed for comfort with slimming, anti-cellulite, anti-age, spa and thermal cures. That said it is by no means prohibited to combine well-being with the pleasures of tourism in the Auvergne: with its green spaces and architectural heritage, Vichy has a host of cultural and sporting activities to enjoy between treatments.

Health and well-being in the Allier

But Vichy is not the only place to look after yourself! Bourbon-l'Archambaut continues its ancient tradition of health cures in a spa town that has modernised its facilities and range of treatments. And since Roman times Néris-les-Bains has been a place of healing body and mind of the fatigue cause by the aggressive modern world. We cannot ignore either their virtues or their appeal. The spa phenomenon and its developments, a natural asset in the Allier, have an essential role to play in the region.