We certainly encourage you to partake of Vichy’s seductive, bracing and refreshing elegance, bringing to mind the lozenges made so fashionable by Empress Eugénie. Vichy is popular for the high quality of its spa facilities, discreetly present at each mineral water spring, offering a welcome dose of health and well-being under their Byzantine domes.

With its huge choice of quality hotels, countless parks and gardens, well tended public areas, the new eco-district (around the Stade Darragon stadium), covered walkways, attractive shopping streets or guinguettes (an open-air café/restaurant with dance floor) alongside the River Allier, you can wander from an English style park to the oriental style dome of the Les Dômes spa centre.

All around you, you will see a constant combination of styles and numerous activities for fitness, health and well-being. Vichy is the perfect town for visitors seeking action but also for those who prefer relaxation and contemplation.
With shows and operas in the evenings, or water sports to be enjoyed during the day in the 120-hectare (296-acre) multi-sports park, Vichy has successfully preserved and upgraded its range of attractions for all tastes!

A journey back in time
To stroll through Vichy is to take a journey back in time through the history of architecture. The town's architectural heritage is a mixture of Byzantine, Moorish, Venetian, neo-Gothic, English and art deco influences.
Take a walk past the Imperial chalets alongside the River Allier. A number of private buildings, the homes of well-known personalities, can be admired nearby.
Including neo-Louis XIII, the Flemish Renaissance or Art Nouveau, the listed villas in rue Hubert Colombier will leave you with the impression of having sampled many of architecture's finest periods.

The Vichy Opera

The Vichy Opera is a listed monument. Its architecture provides the perfect showcase for great musical and vocal talents. All lyrical genres can be experienced in this Italian-style performance venue with its harmonious gold and ivory decorative scheme. In this unique, floral-inspired setting you can enjoy two seasons of performances. In the winter this includes theatre, dance, the visual arts and lyrical art. In the summer, the programme includes classical music in all forms, concerts, operas and ballet.

Give your taste buds a treat
It's simply not possible to visit Vichy without sampling its culinary delights, the very sight of which will get your mouth watering.
With its Michelin-rated chef Jacques Decoret, Vichy’s hotels and restaurants offer a wide choice of quality rated establishments presenting the Allier’s traditional products in countless forms. This is an inventive, generous and yet light and delicate cuisine. A host of well-known chefs invite you to try the "Get slim in Vichy" programme. Their menus give pride of place to healthy meals without skimping on the taste and pleasure long associated with the Auvergne's cuisine.

The action never stops at the horse races!
Night and day, on a huge 53-hectare (130-acre) site, Vichy’s horse racing track is one of France's leading race venues. It hosts 300 events throughout the year including trot, gallop and obstacle races, not to mention its friendly reception rooms, brasserie (pub/bistro), gourmet restaurant and children's play area for those keen to share the fun as a family.
We recommend that you experience the excitement of night racing or the two main events in July: the trot festival and the "great gallop week".

You're free to shop at leisure, even on Sundays
Tastefully renovated, extensively pedestrianised and decorated with flowers, Vichy’s town centre is ideal for strolling and shopping seven days a week including on public holidays. Along its tree-lined streets, under the Art Deco stained glass and wrought iron galleries, you can discover old-style shops, top of the range brands, major store chains, antique dealers, craftsmen and art galleries before taking a welcome break to enjoy the sweet treats awaiting you in a Napoleon III styled teashop just as you’re getting peckish.
In Vichy, at every step of the way you’ll appreciate the high quality of the environment combining architecture with nature, history with modernity and bracing activities with relaxing breaks.

www.vichy-tourisme.com