Built in the 19th century, the spa is the centre-piece of the Royat-Chamalières resort.
The only spa town in the metropolitan area, the Royat-Chamalières spa developed at the outlet of the Tiretaine valley, below the ancient village of Royat, close to the springs. In the make-up of a spa town the spa is the central monument of the resort, close to the springs.
The spa was built between 1852 and 1856 by Agis-Léon Ledru (1816-1885), an architect from Clermont, also the designer of the baths at La Bourboule. It was built at the edge of route 5 leading to Clermont, and today has been converted into an alley in the park. The spa town is connected to the Clermont-Ferrand town centre via the centre of Chamalières, through the tunnelling in 1878 of the current Avenue de Royat.
Ledru designed a building made from arkose, considered one of the first spas to have a central gallery and a hall with spacious, bright and airy spaces. On either side two wings are reserved to the west for men and to the east for women. The Antiquity-inspired façade features ionic columns at the top of which are copies of antique statues kept at the Louvre: Diana of Gabii and Venus Genitrix. The interior is decorated in luxury with mosaics. The treatment rooms are equipped with Volvic stone bath tubs.
In 1913-1914, the architect Louis Jarrier (1862-1932) extended the building towards the rear for the second- and third-class baths. A building intended for luxury baths was built between 1948 and 1955 by architects Antoine Chanet and Jean Liogier. The spa was completed in 1964 with the Galerie Laussedat (by architect Georges Guignabert) and extended in 1978-1980 (by architects Mosseri and Lanquette).
- The spa is a treatment centre subject to strict hygiene regulations. It is therefore not possible to visit the interior of this historic monument.
However, guided tours of the spa district are offered by the Tourist Office during the spa season. Information is available from the Royat Chamalières tourist office.
- The spa is part of the ‘La ville d'eaux à la Belle Epoque’ discovery trail, included in the ‘De-ci de-là’ brochure. This document is available free of charge from the Royat tourist information office and can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.