Spa Attractions

Not far northwest of Theux in the little pilgrimage chapel of Tancrémont is kept one of the best restored of early Romanesque wooden sculptures. The polychrome sculpture of "Christ on the Cross" was probably made in the 10th and certainly by the 11th C.

A forest museum documenting plants and animals of the Ardennes has been set up in a farmhouse in Berinzenne 4km/2.5miles south of Spa.

The Museum of the Forest provides an overview of the forest ecosystem, fauna and the forest management.

Flea market is held in the Galérie Leopold II.

Along the Avenue Reine Astrid to the west of the spa extends the Galérie Léopold II, a pump room built in 1878.

In the game park of La Reid, 8km/5miles west of Spa, deer, wild boar and moufflon live in an area of 40ha/99 acres.

Further to the south of the museums is the factory complex of Spa monopole where visitors can see bottles being filled with the famous water.

Behind the Galérie Léopold II lies the Parc de Sept Heures, a memorial to the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer and an armistice memorial.

In a pump room is the most efficacious of the springs of Spa named after Peter the Great.

In 1717, Peter the Great thanked this " magical " water for restoring his youth. The Pouhon Pierre-le-Grand was decorated around the end of the 19th C with the " Livre d'Or " ('Visitor's Book'). A monumental fresco featuring the famous guests who helped to forge the reputation of Spa waters.

The life of the spa is principally concentrated in the Place Royale around the baths and the assembly rooms built by Léon Suys in 1862-1868. The baths are provided with water from the Marie-Henriette Spring outside the town.

There are many fine walks to be had in the immediate vicinity of Spa, including the Promenade des Artistes along the Picherotte stream, paths along the Lac de Warfaaz and to the various springs.