Charroux, Vichy, Spa and Célestins springs: Road trip Car France #8

After a week of intense visits comes finally the rest in Vichy, a spa town known and recognized for the effectiveness of its water.

Note: this blog article is part of the series “Road Trip in France” made in August 2020. To read the previous parts, click here : #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 and #7

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

Route Colmar – Vichy

The trip from Colmar to Vichy is long, very long (5 hours estimated but in reality we drove more than 6 hours). We stop at the city of Pesmes, one of the most beautiful villages in France not far from Besançon. I told you that the mention “most beautiful village in France” is quite heterogeneous. Typically, it’s a village that doesn’t really deserve its title. It is so isolated that there is only one restaurant open (very good by the way). Having said that, it’s still a nice stop to rest a little bit halfway.

However, we loved Charroux, another “most beautiful village in France” right next to Vichy. Even though all the shops are closed when we arrive there, the surroundings are pretty enough and the stone houses picturesque enough for us to enjoy our little walk. Here, it is necessary to park at the entry of the village and to get lost in the lanes.

A restaurant/farm is still open, it smells very good the rabbit simmered for hours, but unfortunately everything is full.

We will be satisfied with a Buffalo Grill outside Vichy, before spending the night in a bed and breakfast (breakfast included, the hosts are super nice).

Vichy

There are plenty of spa towns in France, why Vichy? Well, I tagged all these springs (Volvic, Jonzac, Uriage, Evian…) and tried to see how to integrate one of them in my itinerary. It just so happens that Vichy has joined forces with other European spa towns to apply for “UNESCO World Heritage” status

I tell myself that it still takes something special for Vichy to apply, and not the other cities. Moreover, we have to go to Lavoute Chilhac, 1 hour from Clermont Ferrand. Vichy is about on the way, so we decided to go there.

I must admit that while I was learning about this city, I understood absolutely NOTHING about what to visit. The research I did gave me such a headache that I simply gave up and tagged the attractions highlighted on Google Maps. It was when I went there that I really understood how things were organized.

So, there are people who go there to be treated, they are called “curists“. They are there for a minimum of 6 days, often 3 weeks at one of the 3 thermal spas (Callou, Célestins or Les Dômes). Either they just have access to the pools, or they take additional options with treatments, massages, body wraps etc. As spa guests, they have a special badge. It is better to have a real health problem to do a cure because it is still very expensive (we are talking about 600 euros for a cure of 6 days, excluding travel, accommodation, food etc.). Part of this “cure” can be covered by social security.

And there are the others… like us, who can also squat the spas in question, without prescription, without social security, without anything… by paying a full day access (or rather half day access, Covid obliges) + additional services if needed (massage, osteo, body wrap…). These spas often have partnerships with the hotels right next door (or the spa is also a hotel), so those who spend the night there can have free access or preferential rates to go to the spa. And when we talk about a spa, we are obviously talking about the use of thermal water, coming from several Vichy springs, within the spa.

Well, now that I’ve explained it all to you, my project was:

• morning : squatting in the spa ” Thermes des Dômes “. Cost : 15 euros
• afternoon: check-in at the 5-star Célestins hotel (the only 5-star hotel of our entire road trip). Access to their spa. Cost: 20 euros/room (preferential rates instead of 24 euros per person for external clients)

Except that, I did not take into account the Covid. The Thermes des Dômes are only open in the morning for the curists and only from 14h for the others. Hmmm… so we find ourselves wandering around the city of Vichy all morning, with our bathing suits & flip-flops in a plastic bag ahahah.

Hall des Sources

The Hall des Sources is located in a pretty park a little old but very shady (thank you, especially with this heat wave). The access is accessible to everyone (at least a part of it).

The door that is marked “public access” must be identified. You will have access to the taps distributing free “Célestins” spring water. This is the only source of water that is bottled and sold as “Vichy water”. For hygienic reasons, a bottle or a cup must be used to help oneself (and not put one’s mouth directly to the tap).

No cup? No problem, there is a cup dispenser next door for 25 cents. The water is surprising, we didn’t really like it. It’s salty, I must admit that I’ve never tested Vichy bottled water, I wonder if it’s the same taste.

All around, there are signs with explanations and especially two springs from which water still gushes – but don’t touch it.

The water from these springs, which look nice, is channeled to other taps, but accessible only to those taking the waters, even though they are in the same building. Yes, they put plants to prevent the public from using the springs reserved for the curists. There is an entrance reserved for them and it is necessary to use a special badge to access it.

We are too jealous, but at the same time, if we aren’t sick, there is no point in drinking it as a preventive measure. An excess of minerals isn’t necessarily cool either. Napoleon III, believing in the miracles of Vichy water, saw his condition worsen because he had more and more stones because of the minerals in Vichy water. Great! In front of the building housing the “Hospital” spring, it is well marked: access under prescription & reserved for those taking the waters.

I hope that no one has forgotten Vichy’s not very glorious past. In any case, in a small corner of the Parc des Sources, the association Anne Franck and others have erected a gossip plaque to denounce the crimes of the former Vichy regime, just in front of “Le Parc” which was the headquarters of the Vichy regime. Apart from that, no other mention in the city, there is a monument to the dead of World War I but oh surprise, no monument for World War II.

At the end of the park is the former Casino which has become the Palais de Congrès. It is magnificent.

Just a few minutes away is the Church of St. Blaise, which used to be a small chapel, but thanks to a miracle, it became known and had to be enlarged to become a real church. There is the Black Madonna, there aren’t many of them in France, but the black virgins are particularly concentrated in this region.

We buy Vichy pastilles from Moinet, one of the two manufacturers in the city. These pastilles were created from the minerals obtained from the evaporation of Vichy water. I find that its sweet taste goes very well with the Célestins water, it makes the water drinkable and this sweet-salty mixture is very very pleasant. I don’t know where I tasted them but I’ve already eaten these lozenges. They are hyper addictive I find, and really effective for digestion. We chose the classic mint lozenges but I didn’t know there were other flavors: orange, aniseed, lemon, …

We opt for a short walk with the little train (the heat wave makes the walk difficult even if there are many too pretty footbridges and shady parks). It costs 7 euros, timetables are available on Google Maps. The explanations are numerous and very interesting, I highly recommend it.

We have lunch at “Les Caudalies“. It’s delicious but long, we spent 2 hours there. It’s good to cook to order, but 2 hours is too much, especially for a lunch.

But the wait is largely compensated by this cheese cart. JB is too happy, he can take as many cheeses as he wants, and decides to test almost all the cheeses from Auvergne (there are 5 AOP cheeses in Auvergne). The waitress serves him the cheeses in a precise order: from the mildest to the strongest. Just for this cart alone, we highly recommend this restaurant!

Hotel Vichy Célestins

We can finally have the key to our room! Yippee! In spite of the renovations which were made, the old school side is inevitable (not only this hotel, but all the city of Vichy). The city still keeps the prints of Napoleon III, who gave Vichy all these beautiful houses, villas and architectures, making it the European capital of the water cities.

For a 5-star hotel, I find the price very affordable. In addition, as they are obliged to close half of the spa services (the hammam is closed for example), access was offered to us for the entire duration of our stay.

At the very top of the hotel there is a swimming pool (with running water).

But by crossing the footbridge linking the hotel to the spa, we can swim in pools and jacuzzis filled with thermal water. The sauna is fortunately still proposed (limited to 2 persons at a time), but the hammam remains closed for the moment. It’s quite small (for non-curists anyway) but it’s very pleasant.

While JB enjoys the beautiful lounge of the hotel, I take a long nap to recover from a busy week of sightseeing and planning (the thermal water also tires me). We have a light dinner and then enjoy the spa again the next day as soon as it opens (9am) before getting back on the road. There are illuminations on the most beautiful buildings of Vichy in the evening but we completely forgot about them (oops).

Our next article, it’s this way

Part 2: Practical Tips

Useful links

• Vichy Celestins Spa Hotel (150 euros per night) – link Booking
• Guest room (with private bathroom & toilet) close to Vichy: 31 euros per night with breakfast – Airbnblink
• 4 weeks Road Trip in France by car: program & detailed plans here
• These points of interest are part of the +800 tourist places in France that we recommend. To access free Google Maps of the 800 places in question, click here
• More info about our car rental at Leclerc here

Budget

• Vichy Celestins Spa Hotel (150 euros per night) link Booking
• Guest room (with private bathroom & toilet) near Vichy: 31 euros per night Airbnblink
• Lunch at Les Caudalies: local products, impeccable service: count 25 euros for the lunch menu or 37 euros for the menu with cheese cart
• Access to the Hall des Sources: free. Vichy water at will. The Célestins spring is available at the Hall des Sources but also at the Célestins spring.
• Thermes des Dômes : half-day access for 15 euros/person (open from 2pm)
• Treatments and massages are very expensive: count 70 euros for 15 minutes! At this price, buy bottles of Vichy yourself to make a bath ahahah
• The small train: 7 euros for 30 minutes. Departure from the Parc des Sources, look for the blue sign in the middle of the park