Vichy Spa Town

Vichy, France

Vichy is a city in the Allier department of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the seat of government of Vichy France from 1940 to 1944. The term Vichyste indicated collaboration with the Vichy regime, often carrying a pejorative connotation. In 2021, the town became part of the transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name 'Great Spas of Europe'.

Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné was a patient in 1676 and 1677 and would popularize Vichy's Thermal Baths through the written descriptions in her letters. The Vichy waters were said to have cured the paralysis in her hands, thus enabling her to take up letter-writing. In 1761 and 1762, Adélaïde and Victoire of France, the daughters of Louis XV, came to Vichy for the first time and returned in 1785. The bath facilities seemed extremely uncomfortable to them because of the muddy surroundings and insufficient access. When they returned to Versailles, they asked their nephew Louis XVI to build roomier and more luxurious thermal baths, which were subsequently completed in 1787.

In 1799, Laetitia Bonaparte, mother of Napoleon, came to be cured with her son Louis. Under the Empire, Le Parc des Sources, was created on the Emperor's orders. (Decree of Gumbinen of 1812).

Under Charles X, the great increase in patients wishing to be healed at the springs led to an expansion of the hydrotheraputic facilities. Princess Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte expanded the Janson buildings under the plan of Rose – Beauvais (work completed in 1830). From 1844 to 1853, theatrical and poetry recitals were performed for the wealthy in the comfort of their own homes by Isaac Strauss.

Vichy welcomed 40,000 curistes in 1900, and that figure had risen to nearly 100,000 just before the onset of the First World War. La vie thermale had its heyday in the 1930s. The success in treating ailments that was attributed to the Vichy Baths led la Compagnie Fermière to enlarge the Baths again by creating the Callou and Lardy Baths. The Art Nouveau-style Opéra, inaugurated in 1903, accommodated all the great names on the international scene. Vichy became the summertime music capital of France, but the war of 1914 would put a brutal end to that development.

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Address

Rue du Parc 19, Vichy, France
See all sites in Vichy

Details

Founded: 17th century
Category: Historic city squares, old towns and villages in France

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

b (2 months ago)
Not great experience. Parking not provided & need to be paid separately at €15 per 24h. The room overheated with no way to reduce temperature other than opening the window… luckily the window did open! :) 2 sachets of coffee & some sugar only… And yes, someone already mentioned a toilet so small need to keep the door open and it’s at an angle…why???.
Yuliia Tarasiuk (3 months ago)
I visited SPA It's a bit crowded during the evening time, but service is on a high level ?
Niamh Kenny (7 months ago)
Very strange toilet impossible to fit in as the toilet was at an angle so you need to sit sideways with the door open. No one answered emails regarding booking a doctor even thought they admitred the mails were on their system. They should have made recompense in some way , they didn't..
Salwa ahmad bana (7 months ago)
Cozy place in the city of Vichy. The food was very good. The view is very nice. It’s very family friendly. The city of Vichy was very nice and the people are very kind too. I would recommend going there. There is also a souvenir shop near the hotel.
Ando RANDRIAMASY (11 months ago)
Really great place. We stayed with our 3 children for the long WE of Easter. The rooms were cosy, the breakfast great. We take the spa and voiturier services as well and we're very satisfied. No time to have a dinner there but may be next time.
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