Thermes de Vals-les-Bains

The establishment stands in Vals-les-Bains, in the Ardèche. The operator dates the opening of the baths to 1867, the year the giant sequoia in the thermal park was planted, and says the building was renovated in 2004 and in 2020. Two cure orientations are recognised here: rheumatology, and digestive disorders with a long specialism in diabetes.

The water is mineral water from the ground, but it arrives cold. The operator describes rain sinking into the massifs north-west of the town, reaching 150 to 200 °C at an estimated 3,500 to 4,500 metres, then rising along faults with carbon dioxide and cooling on the way: all the waters of Vals, it writes, are cold waters delivered by nature at 12 to 16 °C, so the pools are heated. They are bicarbonate-sodium throughout, with mineralisation of 1 to 10 g per litre, and the drinking waters are treated as medicines, served only on prescription.

There are two ways in. The 18-day cure runs from 16 March to 12 December in 2026, is prescribed by a doctor and claimed through French health insurance; mini-cures and a post-breast-cancer programme are offered too. Day visitors use the Spa Séquoia Redwood above: 1,500 m² and a fourteen-step sensory circuit on thermal water, taken for two hours, three hours or a day, with no booking. It runs from a drop-shaped indoor pool at 32 °C and 1.25 m deep, through massage jets and a counter-current, a hot bath at 38 °C, an outdoor pool at 35 °C, a hammam, a cold bath at 17 °C, a sauna and an ice fountain. In 2026 the spa opens Monday 10:00 to 20:00, Tuesday to Saturday 09:00 to 20:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 18:00. Entry is from age 14; children of 6 to 13 only on Wednesday mornings. Towels are not provided.