| Day 1 - Basel -> Vichy | Day 2 - Vichy | Day 3 - Thiézac | Day 4 - Sarlat-la-Canéda | Day 5 - La Grande Côte (Coast) |
| Day 6 - Rigny-Ussé | Day 7 - Cosne-Cours-s/Loire | Day 8 - Cosne-Cours-s/Loire | Day 9 - Riel-les-Eaux | Day 10 - Montbéliard |
Sunday
Vichy
Map Link
Today was the first day of our vacation and we weren’t going anywhere. After yesterday’s push to get away, we took today to relax and see what Vichy had to offer. And it had a lot to offer!
Despite it’s dark history during World War II, where the French government was established after Germany defeated the northern half of the country, the draw for us was its retention of the Art Deco and Art Nouveau architecture. Because it was the seat of government, it was spared the destruction of war and the lavish buildings from earlier years were preserved. Since 2021, Vichy is considered a World Heritage Site, linked with ten other outstanding spa towns in Europe. It would be an interesting place to wander and explore.
The sun was already up and getting warm when left the hotel. We got ourselves oriented and found the water (lake or river – it uses both terms) following the Allier River (also called Lac d’Allier) downstream. In the distance we could see a road bridge across to the other side, so I suggested that we walk there, cross, walk back, and then cross at the other road bridge nearby. The sun was hot, but we were enjoying the views. The area offers an incredible variety of activities! It is home of an Ironman course (and we saw a lot of runners on the paths today), a kayak course was near the dam, a horse racing track on the other side of the lake, as well as both golf and mini-golf courses. The water itself also provided numerous activities: motor boats, sailing, water skiing, jet skis, kayaks, surf foil board (no idea what they are really called). So much to do!
The fish ladder below the dam
Wildlife on the golf course
Today was Sunday – but not just *any* Sunday, but *French Mother’s Day* Sunday. The city was packed with families out to enjoy the day. This meant that we had to work a little harder to find somewhere for lunch, and we ended up at a low-key burger / taco place. The photo of the burger I was going to get looked amazing and I was excited for it to be on the table in front of me. Unfortunately, “life” didn’t imitate “art” – to the point I had to lift up the bun to see if there was even a burger under it. But it tasted ok, and by then I was too hungry to care.
Inner walls of a demolition site
During the search for lunch we ran across one of the most interesting flea markets I’ve ever seen. There wasn’t anything special about it at first glance, but the more I looked, the more it seemed that every single seller was offering unique, interesting, and often historic items. Fortunately, I don’t need anything, nor do I have much room in my apartment for some of the fun stuff I saw, although I would have relished the challenge of getting it home.
As Vichy is known for its mineral waters and thermal spas, I had hoped to visit one of the spas while in town, but they weren’t as easily accessible as I thought they would be, and I didn’t want to bother with the “high end fancy spas” that I saw on the map. So instead Dan and I enjoyed the free mineral water from the taps – actually, no: we didn’t enjoy it at all. It was heavily sulphuric and effervescent – disgusting, to be honest. But hey, at least we tried it!
Taps to fill your own bottle with the not-so delightful mineral waters
Street after street was explored, with a wide variety of styles and ages and designs. While there were a few buildings that needed “a couple of nails and a coat of paint”, there was a refreshing number of building that were either being worked on, or looked like the scaffolding had just been taken down. I took a lot of photos (too many, really), here is a nice webpage that gives you some details about the variations of styles that one sees in Vichy.
And a link to a photo dump of my very own Architecture shots