The benefits of Brides-les-Bains' thermal waters have been recognised for centuries.
In the first half of the 17th century, spa treatments were already being carried out in a small establishment created by Sieur Dominique Varat and Monseigneur de Challes.
Silted over in 1653 and 1774 when the river Doron burst its banks, the springs started flowing once again by 1818, which allowed the operating company to build 26 spa treatment rooms.
A new establishment offering spa treatments was built in 1838. Comprising 28 bathrooms and showers, it was located at the current site of the Grand Hôtel des Thermes and remained there for over 160 years.
At the start of the 19th century, thermal spa treatments were used to treat a variety of problems: digestive, respiratory, ophthalmic etc... They became used as a specialist treatment for weight management in the 1880s.
That's when the resort became ''the major French obesity clinic". Expertise in weight loss and rheumatology made Brides-les-Bains an unmissable spa destination.