Vichy

We actually wanted to stay in Vichy for just one day, but then it spontaneously turned into five...

We arrived in the afternoon and made our way from our parking space on the opposite bank of the Allier River to the center.

When I heard the name Vichy, I always thought of the regime from 1940 to 1944, during which Vichy became the capital of France.

However, while reading the travel guide, I learned that Vichy was once a fashionable spa town.

During our tour, we saw some jewels of bath architecture:

In the 'Hall des Sources' (Sources Hall), we could admire the metal-glass architecture from the late 19th century.

There, you can also taste water from various healing springs. Most are reserved for spa guests, but we were allowed to sample from the 22°C cold Célestins spring - and found it much too salty for our taste.

While today you can draw the water yourself in the drinking hall, there used to be 'Donneuse d'eau' who served the water to guests.

We later met two volunteers who still do this at the 'Source des Célestins' in the same-named park.

A covered gallery runs around the 'Parc des Sources', connecting the drinking hall to the imposing building of the former casino.

Here, the opera of Vichy still exists.

Our path took us to the town hall, built in the neo-Renaissance style.

On our way, we passed the church 'Notre-Dame-des-Malades', which is connected to St. Blasius Church.

It was built between the wars in the Art Deco style.

Actually, we wanted to continue the next day, as many roads in the surrounding area were supposed to be closed two days later due to the Tour de France.

But since the thermometer was hovering around 40°C, I balked at the prospect of longer hikes in the coming days. So we agreed to stay longer in Vichy to witness the start of the 11th stage of the bike race live.