On July 24, 2021, the 44th World Heritage Committee meeting in Fuzhou, China, inscribed the eleven major spa towns of Europe, including Vichy, on the World Heritage List, recognizing their outstanding universal value. These eleven cities* form a carefully selected series among the hundreds of spa towns in Europe. This transnational property (bringing together seven different countries) is recognized as providing an exceptional testimony to the phenomenon of European thermalism which reached its peak between the 18th century and the first decades of the 20th century. The springs, the thermal establishments, the places of promenades, operas, theaters, music pavilions, stations, parks, cafes, golf courses or racecourses… everything that is preserved today from this glorious period, testifies to this exceptional intangible value.
