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The Vichy Spa Water Ritual
“Bonjour Monsieur et Madame,” said the elderly Frenchwoman in a singsong voice as she sat on a bench outside the drinking hall in the Parc des Sources.
The park is the green heart of Vichy, France, a historic French spa town three hours south of Paris.
“Bonjour,” my husband, Mark, and I replied, bobbing our heads like idiots.
This daily greeting was an important ritual for me and Mark during our weeklong spa stay in Vichy, because the stout old woman who planted herself on the bench everyday was only person who ever spoke to us.
You couldn’t exactly call Mark and me social successes in Vichy, an aristocratic French spa town once favoured by Napoleon III (and the Nazis), though we tried our best to fit in.
Note: It’s not my intention to minimize the dark spot on Vichy’s history. My Vichy travel guide post talks more about Vichy’s history as well as its top sights.
But who needs friends, right?
If you do want to travel to Vichy, France, and are interested in the wonderful culture of the old-fashioned French spa, what you need are tips about the Vichy springs. The spring water is the raison d’être for this gracious, slightly-faded town in the Auvergne region of France.
This is why, in addition to the sorry tale of my social humiliation, this Vichy travel blog post will provide you with plenty of spa water info.
Vichy spa fact: Yes, the Vichy water you buy at the 7-11 does come from Vichy, France.
Vichy spa fact #2: Yes, the famous Vichy Shower spa treatment was invented in Vichy, France.
Vichy spa fact #3: Yes, Vichy cosmetics are made with Vichy spring water.
Find the Vichy Spring Water at the Hall des Sources
Let me say right off that when it comes to my social disgrace all fingers of blame point directly to the Hall des Sources, an airy building of glass and wrought iron built in 1902.
There is no denying that the Hall des Sources, or the Hall of Springs, is a looker. When you’re inside its rather like being under a lime-green-and-white-striped umbrella of enormous proportions, but I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive it for being the ‘source’ of my downfall.
Coolest piece of French spa trivia ever: Coco Channel used to hand out medicinal water at the Halls des Sources in Vichy.
The Parc des Sources in Vichy
The Hall des Sources is located in the Parc des Sources, which dates back to 1812.
If you travel to Vichy you’ll soon learn the park is the centre of the spa social world. There are historic cafes, covered iron walkways, chestnut and plane trees and even an Art Nouveau bandstand.
French spa culture: the medicinal water in the Halls des Source of Vichy
Out of 12 Vichy springs altogether, 6 are available at the Halls des Source for drinking (the other 6 have been closed or lost), and it’s here where the social status lines of Vichy spa-goers are firmly drawn.
On one hand you have the Serious Spa Goer who comes to Vichy to cure. On the other hand is the dreaded category of fly-by-night water drinkers, the Spa Tourist.
How to recognize a Serious Spa Goer in Vichy
- The Serious Spa Goer often has silver hair, perhaps a walker and outfits that tend to be polyester and co-ordinated (Just as an aside, my outfits are often polyester and co-ordinated, too. I apologize, but polyester is an excellent fabric for travel)
- The Serious Spa Goer goes to the Halls des Sources with his or her own collapsable cup
How to recognize a Spa Tourist in Vichy
- The Spa Tourist often travels with family in tow
- The Spa Tourist carries a camera
- The Spa Tourist looks confused upon entering the Halls des Sources
- The Spa Tourist drinks from a cheap plastic cup bought at the dispenser in the Hall des Sources
Please don’t call me a Spa Tourist
As I like to think of myself as a Serious Spa Goer, I was determined to fit in with the spa curists who drink daily on prolonged spa stays.
A Serious Spa Goer drinks from the most mineral-laden Vichy springs, depending on what health concerns they have.
About Vichy spa water
All the Vichy springs contain bicarbonate of sodium.
What’s difference is the temperature of the water and the salt quantity. There is alkaline salts, calcium and magnesium carbonates.
Some would say it stinks with the smell of sulfur – but everyone’s entitled to their opinion.
Vichy water health benefits
Vichy water is said to cure various ailments such as digestive disorders, skin ailments, arthritis and gout.
Two sides to every coin, and two sides to the Hall des Sources
The Hall des Sources is divided into two parts by a low barricade, so if you’re a lowly Spa Tourist you can only look longingly at the VIP side of the drinking hall, sipping your boring old Celestins or Lucas spring water that isn’t even naturally hot and is lower in minerals.
The Serious Spa Goers mill around their side sipping their doctor-ordered important spa water in exact amounts at specified times of the day.
The crap thing about Vichy Spa and French spas in general is that they are geared towards French people only
Unless you’re doing some kind of government funded spa visit as a French citizen (and yes, the French government does fund spa going – which is one of the reasons I wish I were French – the other being baguettes), or you have a spa doctor’s prescription, you can’t partake in all the curative spa therapies you might want to.
And you can’t drink from any old Vichy hot spring you choose.
Vichy has many springs, but you can’t drink from all of them
Mark and I had no idea of this division of spa visitors to Vichy and so, on our first afternoon here we innocently followed two Serious Spa Goers into their half of the drinking hall as they went through the door.
Immediately I was in Vichy springs heaven, sampling all the springs with their different mineral compositions and curing all kinds of ailments I didn’t know I had, such as abnormal biliary secretions.
This is because I am a badass when it comes to spas and will drink any type of non-poisonous spa water you can throw at me.
The next day we skipped happily (okay, Mark wasn’t skipping) over to the Hall des Sources only to learn that without a special key card you can’t enter the serious side of the Vichy springs drinking hall, the side for professional drinkers.
My French spa rebellion
Luckily, French spa rules are no match for two people with very long arms, so Mark and I learned to enter the public side where the tourists go and simply reach around the barrier to fill our cups with the heavy duty thermal springs such as Hôpital, Chomel or Grande Grille.
PS: Mark would have been totally fine with Celestins water (or beer) but then again, he’s not a spa social climber like I am.
He’s more of an enabler, his predominant role was to block me from sight while I snuck medicinal spa water, or to fill up my cup while I distracted the crowd by say, whistling loudly.
Visiting Vichy, France – don’t miss the tea dance!
One afternoon we heard music coming from the Hall des Sources. There was a tea dance (though technically, it should be called a mineral-water dance) going on. Obviously this was an exciting part of French spa culture I wasn’t aware of.
Chairs were set up on the public side of the drinking hall, a musician was singing and the Serious Spa Goers were dancing.
It seemed that any spa curist who was anyone was there. This is our chance, I thought. Our chance to fit in and shine!
“Let’s dance,” I said to Mark. We know how to dance. Before we got married we’d taken an entire 45-minute free demonstration lesson at the Arthur Murray School of Dance in Toronto so we could make it through the first dance at our wedding reception.
One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four … side, back, other side, forward … it was all coming back to me.
The Vichy spa-water-fuelled water dance begins
By some amazing stroke of joy Mark agreed (obviously he’d been drinking too much spa water and his inhibitions were loose).
We stood up and I gracefully began my one, two, three, four routine. For some unidentified reason Mark launched into a kind of interpretive two-step dance that only went forwards and backwards.
I had no idea what he was doing so I gamely continued with my one, two, three, fours while he rollicked on with his staccato one two one twos. We were like two bumper cars adrift in a sea of stormy spa water, endlessly crashing, rebounding and crashing again.
Our Vichy spa demise part #1
It was social suicide. The spa-goers of Vichy are a fox-trotting waltz-loving crowd. There was only one thing to do. Laugh. And then I laughed harder. I almost collapsed I was laughing so hard, and tears (of mineral-laden spa water, no doubt) were flowing from my eyes.
“Shh! You’re embarrassing me,” Mark said, trying to hoist me up while I was busy collapsing into spasms.
“I’m embarrassing you? I’m embarrassing you?” I said, trying to sound affronted while also snorting haughtily and wiping tears from my eyes.
Because it wasn’t funny It was disaster. My lofty spa ambitions were crushed.
We’d had so much going against us to start with: We weren’t French, could barely bumble through the language and didn’t have personal spa doctors or electronic key cards for the Halls de Sources or even our own collapsable cups.
And now we’d never be able to redeem ourselves.
Then it got worse. Vichy spa demise part #2
Deciding to drink my troubles away, I sidled around Mark, reached around the barrier and filled my plastic cup with some comforting Grande Grille spring water. And I got caught.
A Frenchman hustled up to me and started shouting non! non! non! non! and rubbing his stomach, miming that without a doctor’s prescription I was about to a) either have a baby immediately or b) become dramatically and violently ill.
A mineral water addiction
In the end I was neither. Years of overindulging in mineral water has built up my tolerance.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please don’t do what I did, because it could harm you. I’m an addict and there’s no hope for me, but stick to Celestins spring water and save yourself.
Mineral water addict or not, I’m still not over the embarrassment of bombing so spectacularly at the Vichy spa tea dance and neither, I’d say, is the elderly Frenchwoman who used to greet us outside the Halls des Source, because she never said “Bonjour Monsieur et Madame” with quite the same warmth again.
Travel tips for France spas and treatments in Vichy, France
Don’t let fear of making a fool of yourself stop you from spa-ing in Vichy. It’s a wonderful place for thermal water fans.
Getting Spa Treatments in Vichy
If you want to do spa treatments in Vichy without seeing a doctor you can do non-medicinal treatments at the deluxe Vichy Thermal Spa les Célestins.
Where to do Medical Spa Treatments in Vichy
If you want to do medicinal treatments and drink Vichy spring water in a healthy controlled environment, try the tourist office, officially known as the Office de Tourisme et de Thermalisme, at 19 Rue du Parc.
Ask for a list of spa doctors. Alternatively, book a doctor’s appointment at the Vichy Thermal Spa les Celestins. But take note, you usually need a good chunk of time to do a proper cure at French spas.
Read more spa: at Spas and Spa Travel
Carol Perehudoff
Have fun in Vichy, Linda. And do let me know how it goes. If you see an elderly woman sitting outside the fountain room everyday, say hello.
Linda Nicholls
Hilarious read (and I’m a writer!). I am going to Vichy with a female friend so will have no temptation to impress/depress the Serious Spa Goers around us at the tea dance. I think I’ll just wander around, look at the great Belle Epoque architecture and drink the “safe” water. Thanks for this great article.
Carol Perehudoff
Oh, thanks, Melanie. So great to hear from you.
Melanie
Ah, Carol… J’ai bien ri en te lisant ! Merveilleux article !
Carol Perehudoff
I spent a week there once, Adrian! Soaking with the lily pads. How great is that? Thanks for the reminder.
Adrian Celentano
Check out Heviz, Hungary.
Vicky and Buddy
I love when you laugh that hard! It’s the best feeling. Even though I can understand not wanting to do it in front of all those people.
Alli Blair
I chuckled to myself reading this – so funny! “I was about to a) either have a baby immediately or b) become dramatically and violently ill.” Haha! Great read, Carol!
Jessica O'Neill
That dance scene was just hilarious! It’s been a while since I’ve been to a nice spa so it was good being able to live vicariously through this post. I used to go to a waters circuit one in Toronto. It was only me and the Europeans who would take our clothes off (even though you were meant to, a la old fashioned Roman baths!) whilst all the native Torontonians would wear swimsuits. You could literally pick the locals because they were covered up.
Jenna
Too funny! I had never heard of Vichy before, but I’m definitely not an avid spa-goer. Sounds like an interesting place though. Too bad there is such a separate VIP area, but glad you got to sneak some of the good stuff :)
Catherine Fowler
I was at Temple Gardens last week in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and it has the same water as Bath and I drank Evian Water but somehow I would really like to be in France. Great Blog! End of the winter laugh. I wish someone would fund a trip for me to a French spa.
NYC JetSetter
Wow! This is very cool, I had no idea.
deafinitelywanderlust
wow! Because of this post, I learned a lot about French spa culture. I have never been to any spa in my life, and French spa culture is really interesting. What an adventure you had! thank you for this post!
Travel Babbo
Very cool – we’re in Paris almost every year with our kids, but haven’t gotten to Vichy yet. I’ve bookmarked this as what to do (and not to do!) when we go.
Carol Perehudoff
Nick & Dariece, Gotta love a tea dance! Thanks for reading.
Carol Perehudoff
Hi Mike, Yes, France, the Czech Republic and a few more countries sponsor spa stays – that’s because they really do believe they can be medicinal, something North America culture falls behind in!
Carol Perehudoff
Hey, 2 Aussies, Re pinot gris: You would get along well with my husband!
Bemused Backpacker
Woah woah woah, the French government FUNDS spa going? What the hell? Why doesn’t everyone else do that that’s an awesome idea!!!
2aussietravellers
Hilarious, love the sneak spa drink though not sure I’d go to the effort when a cheeky pinot gris can be had around the corner without judgement.
Nick & Dariece (@GoatsOnTheRoad)
Oh, and also..how you and your hubby performed the Tea Dance sounds exactly like how we would have..haha, I can just imagine :) Thanks for sharing and giving me a laugh!
Nick & Dariece (@GoatsOnTheRoad)
Wow, what a way to spend the day that would be! I haven’t been to the spa in ages. Except for spas in Canada, I’ve only been to bathhouses in Central Asia and the Middle East – all of which are gorgeous, although the naked part of it was a bit hard to get used to! Anyways, getting off track a bit – thanks for all of this excellent information, and especially for explaining the difference between a Spa Goer and a Spa Tourist ;)
Cheers!
Lesley Peterson
Love your photos of the buildings, all that frond-y iron. And the Celestin fountain! They sure don’t build things the way they used to. As for the humiliation, it was a near-daily experience for me in France LOL. Really enjoyed this post!
Colleen Friesen
Ah Vichy. I feel your pain.
I had my own humiliation there too, although mine involved being bucknaked while being blasted with a firehose of those miraculous waters. http://www.colleenfriesen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/TheBusinessofBeauty.pdf
Like you, I too, though severely chastised by the experience, survived.
We shall prevail my spa-going friend.
We shall prevail!!