4 Best Sights in Spa, The Meuse and the Ardennes

First opened in 1763, Spa's magnificent casino is the oldest in the world. Heads of state from across Europe once flocked here to gamble away their wealth in between bouts of “taking the cure,” and it was a meeting place of choice for international high society for more than a century. Today, the casino's glamorous gaming rooms support a number of cultural activities in addition to gambling, and there is also an on-site restaurant.

The Musée de Cheval et Musée de la Ville D’eaux are two institutions in one. The first hosts a permanent exhibit on Spa’s waters and fountains, and includes a collection of jolites, painted figurines fashioned from local wood. The Horse Museum contains an extensive display of equestrian paraphernalia.

The charming Laundry Museum is dedicated to the art and science of keeping clothes clean—not a task to be taken lightly, particularly when royalty and nobility come to town to sweat away their maladies.

The best-known of Spa’s water sources—locally known as pouhons—is the Pouhon Pierre Le Grand, which can be visited by tourists as well as curistes (people taking the cure). In past times, pregnant women came to drink the iron-rich water. Nowadays, the source draws those with poor circulation, anemia, and arthritis. The building housing the spring dates from 1880, although is was given a major face-lift in 2012.