www.vichy-tourisme.com. A stylish pre-War spa packed with hotels, Vichy was eminently suited for the role of HQ to Maréchal Petain’s puppet government when it abandoned Paris to the Germans in 1940. Since then the unfortunate spa has been trying to wash its hands of the affair. The stigma remains however, as do hotels such as the Thermale, which housed the defence ministry; the department of justice occupied the Carlton; the Gestapo took over the Portugal; and Parliament met in the opera house.

For all that, Vichy is a pleasant if somewhat geriatric town. Curistes stroll in the central Pare des Sources in between trips to the various springs – some you bathe in, some you drink, and they all reek of sulphur. The least noxious is the Celestin, and there are five more major springs dotted around town.

Vichy boasts excellent sporting facilities from golf and tennis to kayaking on the Allier and watersports on the lake. More gentle exercise can be had on the paths and riverside walks in the English-style Pare de I’Allier laid out for Napoléon III.