Spa is a town in the Liège province in Belgium, known as the "original" spa, i.e. a place where tourists came in to enjoy the health and wellness benefits of water and hot springs in particular. The springs in Spa became so popular that the name became genericized to mean any such place, with other versions of how it came to be also created over the years. Indeed, Spa is now one of 11 "Great Spa Towns of Europe", a transcontinental UNESCO world heritage site. Apart from the mineral waters, Spa also draws crowds several times a year when racing and other events are held at the nearby Spa-Francorchamps track.

Understand

The town is famous for its mineral water. The word spa comes from the name of this town, though folk etymologies — and several marketing campaigns — claim the word to be an acronym of "sanitus per aqua" or some other Latin phrase.

Train station in Spa

Get in

Spa is connected to the Belgian railway network by a side line branching out in Pepinster from the Liege-Aachen line. The 1 Spa Railway Station is just west of the city center. Direct local trains connect Spa to Aachen and Verviers but not to Liege, and getting to Spa from most origins in Belgium by train requires at least one change of trains. One can of course also arrive by car, the journey from Brussels takes around 1.5 h.

Get around

The centre of Spa is relatively small, but many attractions are in farther villages and neighbouring municipalities. TEC runs a network of bus lines connecting them.

See

• 1 Église Saint-Remacle. This ancient-looking church was built to follow late Roman style prevalent in the region closely, but was in fact built in 1885. (updated Jun 2016)

Bains de Spa

• 2 Bains de Spa. The old building of the city baths has been closed since 2005 and projects are underway to turn it into a luxury hotel. The baths are now in a modern facility in the woods. (updated Jun 2016)

Pouhon Pierre le Grand

• 3 Pouhon Pierre le Grand. Spa's emblematic building houses the mineral water fountain named after the Russian Tsar Peter the Great, who visited the city in the 18th century and became a big fan of its healing and wellness qualities. (updated Jun 2016)

Villa royale, now the seat of the city's museum

• 4 Musée de la ville d'eaux (Villa royale Marie-Henriette). The city museum collects artifacts of the history of Spa with focus on its springs and related developments. It is housed in a villa that was built for the Belgian queen Marie-Henriette in 1863. (updated Jun 2016)

Aerial view of Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Do

• 1 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Route du Circuit 55, 4970 Stavelot. Venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, and of the Spa 24 Hours and 1000 km Spa endurance races. The next F1 races are 28-30 July 2023 then 26-28 July 2024. (updated Jul 2023)
• 2 Casino de Spa, Rue Royale 4, ☏ +32 87 77 20 52. Built in 1762 it claims to be the oldest casino in the world. (updated Jun 2016)
• 3 Thermes de Spa, Colline d’Annette et Lubin, ☏ +32 87 77 25 60, info@thermesdespa.com. Wellness centre on top of the hill in the town. (updated Jan 2018)

Buy

• 1 Spa mineral water, Rue Auguste Laporte, ☏ +32 87 79 41 11. You can book a factory tour on this link but the site appears to be only in French or Dutch. 

Eat

• 1 Le Relais, Place du Monument 22, ☏ +32 483 24 24 27. French restaurant (updated Jun 2017)
• 2 L'Auberge, Place du Monument 3-4, ☏ +32 87 77 48 33. (updated Jun 2017)
• 3 Le Sarani, Place Royale 13, ☏ +32 87 77 48 13. Closed on W. (updated Jun 2017)
• 4 L'art de vivre, Avenue Reine Astrid 53, ☏ +32 87 77 04 44. Closed on M. Restaurant with French cuisine. (updated Jun 2017)

Sleep

• 1 Radisson Blu Palace Hotel, Place Royale 39, ☏ +32 87 27 97 00. 
• 2 Radisson Blu Balmoral Hotel, Avenue Léopold II 40, ☏ +32 87 79 21 41.