Spa, Belgium is famous for three things — rich mineral thermal waters, the Formula One Grand Prix, and the world’s oldest casino. Spa is a very small town, so we stopped by as a pass-through on the way from Luxembourg to Liège.
We parked near the Office du Tourisme de Spa, the tourist information centre. If you’re after public toilets, this is the place to go as well. If you’re a Tintin fan, there was a small Tintin exhibition at the time of our visit, and you can buy merchandise too.
Pouhon Pierre-le-Grand is named after the Russian Tsar Peter the Great, who visited Spa for its healing waters in 1717. This spectacular heritage building sits right by the tourist information centre — a 19th-century glass-and-iron pavilion built to house the town’s most famous natural mineral spring.
The Casino de Spa, in the central square (Place Royale), is said to be the oldest casino in the world, dating back to 1763. It sits on Rue Royale, so you won’t miss it. There was even a vintage car parade out the front of the heritage building when we passed.
You’ll spot these art monuments in many locations around Spa. This clown-like figure is Pierrot, the official mascot and emblem of the town. The statues each have a different colour and design, and it’s rather fun to spot all the different ones as you wander around.
Spa Monopole is no longer open to the public, which is a shame — it would have been good to see the bottling process of the famous local Spa water.
Because the town is small, you can cover it comfortably on foot and see the main sights. Below is the loop walk we did; we stopped for lunch, so your timing may differ.
Loop Walk Around Town
Total walking time (with pauses): roughly 1.5 to 2 hours, excluding stops.
- Pouhon Pierre-le-Grand — start here.
- Casino de Spa — walk along the road past the casino and turn left into…
- Rue de la Poste — walk down and turn right into Rue Servais, then follow the road. At the end, on the right, there’s a fast-food place where we stopped for lunch (more on that later).
- Continue towards Rue Royale and turn left onto Avenue Reine Astrid. Walk along the road.
- Turn right into Rue Hanster. Towards the end of the path you’ll find the Musée de la Lessive on your left, with a park on your right.
- Parc de Sept Heures — a city park with a fountain in the middle and a beautiful pavilion (Pavillon Marie-Henriette).
- Keep walking away from the park and you’ll reach an intersection with plenty of restaurants. Turn right to rejoin the main Rue Royale, where the casino is.
- From here it’s another two-minute walk back to Pouhon Pierre-le-Grand.
Lunch
AT-Snack Spa — there was a long queue when we walked past this little friterie (fast-food shop), so we decided to stop for a quick lunch. It’s your typical Belgian fry-shop fare, so we settled on a chicken burger, a Burger Maison and some fries. There are tables inside for dining in, or you can take away and eat in the park nearby.
Glacier Aux Délices des Rois Spa — we spotted this ice-cream shop before lunch and had already earmarked it as “dessert for later”. Two scoops will set you back €4.50, but the servings are huge and there are plenty of flavours to choose from. We were so excited to dig in that there are no photos here!