Évian: The Cachat Spring, the Belle Époque Baths and Ripaille
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
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250
XP
+100 France
= 350 total
2 days
Évian: The Cachat Spring, the Belle Époque Baths and Ripaille
250 + 100 XP
Évian's Cachat spring, bought in March 1827, made the town a spa and its water famous round the world; the Art Nouveau Buvette Cachat still stands on the Avenue des Sources, the old baths are now the Palais Lumière, and the funicular first opened in 1907, rebuilt to six stations in 1913, closed in 1969 and running free again since 2002, still climbs from the lake to the hotels above. Along the shore, the Château de Ripaille at Thonon was where Amadeus VIII of Savoy withdrew from the world in 1434.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Fill a bottle at the Source Cachat on the Avenue des Sources, the fountain built in 1903 that runs every day of the year at 11.6°C, then look across at the Buvette Cachat, the Art Nouveau drinking pavilion listed since 1986 and restored over seven years, which now holds the architecture and heritage centre for the Pays d'Évian and the Abondance valley
2
of 4
Work out how a family spring became a spa town: the two sources were sold by the Cachat family on 16 March 1827, and the year after the Cachat company opened the Hôtel des Bains, Évian's first luxury hotel — find what stands on its site now, and how much of the Belle Époque town was built on the water
3
of 4
Visit whatever is showing at the Palais Lumière, Évian's old thermal baths, reopened in 2006 with the metal and glass dome they had lost put back, and walk under it before going into the galleries
4
of 4
Visit the Château de Ripaille on the lake north of Thonon — not the Savoy court's château de Thonon, which it is often mistaken for, but the hunting manor Bonne de Bourbon turned into a pleasure house and where Amadeus VIII withdrew with six companions in 1434 to found the order of Saint-Maurice — and walk out through the forest and arboretum to the Mémorial des Justes, which names 2,740 French people who saved Jews
Fill a bottle at the Source Cachat on the Avenue des Sources, the fountain built in 1903 that runs every day of the year at 11.6°C, then look across at the Buvette Cachat, the Art Nouveau drinking pavilion listed since 1986 and restored over seven years, which now holds the architecture and heritage centre for the Pays d'Évian and the Abondance valley
Work out how a family spring became a spa town: the two sources were sold by the Cachat family on 16 March 1827, and the year after the Cachat company opened the Hôtel des Bains, Évian's first luxury hotel — find what stands on its site now, and how much of the Belle Époque town was built on the water
Visit whatever is showing at the Palais Lumière, Évian's old thermal baths, reopened in 2006 with the metal and glass dome they had lost put back, and walk under it before going into the galleries
Visit the Château de Ripaille on the lake north of Thonon — not the Savoy court's château de Thonon, which it is often mistaken for, but the hunting manor Bonne de Bourbon turned into a pleasure house and where Amadeus VIII withdrew with six companions in 1434 to found the order of Saint-Maurice — and walk out through the forest and arboretum to the Mémorial des Justes, which names 2,740 French people who saved Jews
Before you go
The funicular runs a summer season only — roughly May to mid-September — and is free to ride. The Buvette Cachat reopened in 2026 after seven years of restoration and keeps its own seasonal hours. The Source Cachat fountain itself runs all year and costs nothing. Spa sessions at the Thermes Évian must be booked in advance.
A treatment at the Thermes Évian has to be booked ahead and is a paid session, not a walk-in; the Source Cachat on the Avenue des Sources is free and runs every day of the year.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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