The 9 sources

to discover

The Queen of the water cities was not conceived in a day and its springs were not born out of thin air. they have been flowing happily for centuries in the heart of our old planet. if their virtues for the treatment of joint ailments and digestive disorders have been beneficial to many people taking the waters, their beneficial flow has also influenced the town planning, architecture and aesthetics of the spa town.

Nine precious ones

Nine springs are still exploited in the Vichy basin. Four of them are consumed by the curists in the thermal refreshment rooms: Chomel, Grande Grille, Hôpital and Lucas. The two Bellerivois springs, Antoine and Boussange, are mixed for thermal treatments: showers or baths. The Dome and Lys springs, in Abrest, are used to prepare thermal mud. The Lucas spring is used in the composition of Vichy cosmetics. The Célestins spring is bottled. And, as nothing is lost, the salts extracted from the mineral springs of Vichy or its basin are used to make the famous Vichy pastilles. Passers-by are often unaware, that under their feet, precious waters circulate for about ten kilometers.

Source of the Dome and the Lily

Emerging in Abrest, they are used for the preparation of thermal mud. On site the Lys spring has swallowed its basin in prominent limestone concretions. It boils in its pot a telluric soup of the beginning of the earth or the end of the world. From this sulphurous stew drip deposits of fluorescent orange ferric oxide and colonies of green micro-algae. Protected by a pavilion, its twin sister, the Dome spring proudly displays its status as the second hottest spring in Auvergne (after Chaudes-Aygues in the Cantal) with its 66°.

Source of the Hospital

Formerly called “Big Ball” because of its impetuosity, this spring is used in case of digestive, gastric and intestinal disorders. Its temperature is 84°C. Known since antiquity, it takes its current name from the civil hospital built nearby in the 18th century. Located in the alignment of the bridge of Bellerive, it asserts the thermal vocation to all the visitors who penetrate in the city. The current rotunda-shaped pavilion was built according to the plans of the architect Louis Aublet in 1946. During the works, the Roman catchment of the spring was found, attesting to its two-thousand-year-old use. The spring of the Hospital is among the most mineralized of the resort. It was therefore bottled and marketed for a long time, before being exclusively reserved for the curists, as it is still the case today.

The Celestine spring

The great destiny of a small spring, that’s how the history of the Célestins spring can be summarized. The spring takes its name from the order of the Célestins (now dissolved) who in the 15th century were in charge of the health of bodies and the sanctity of souls. It is in the enclosure of their monastery that the spring gushed out naturally, at the foot of the fortified city. With the rise of Vichy thermalism, notably under the impetus of Napoleon III, the name of Vichy acquired worldwide fame. Vichy Célestins water conquered the world thanks to the brand image of the Queen of the spa towns. Bottled, it is marketed throughout the world where more than 40 million bottles are sold each year.

Source des Célestins - Célestins district

The pavilion of the Celestins spring (Vichy (03200), Allier (03), France).

But also

The sources

Lucas

It bears the name of Baron Auguste Lucas who bought it for the State. The temperature of this so-called lukewarm spring is 27°, it is the most mineralized of the Vichy springs. Consumed by the curists, it is also used in the manufacture of cosmetic products of the Vichy brand and during the treatments of the Vichy Institute.

Chomel

Rich in fluorine, a glass roof in the hall of the Sources allows to observe its gushing. It bears the name of the doctor who was in charge of the waters at the beginning of the 18th century. Its temperature is 43°. It is prescribed to the curists in cure of drinks.

Large Grid

Rich in fluorine, it is very active. Also, it must be consumed moderately. Its temperature is 39°.

Boussange and Antoine

Captured in Bellerive-sur-Allier, the Boussange spring is rich in carbonic gas. Its temperature is 41°. The Antoine spring, the last born of the Vichy basin springs, was drilled in 1991 in Hauterive. Its temperature is 71°. Both springs supply the thermal establishments for their treatments.