Aquae Nerii : la source de Nérios et les thermes antiques de Néris-les-Bains

Néris-les-Bains

At Néris-les-Bains, in the Allier, hot water has risen from the ground since Antiquity. The Gauls honoured here a god of the waters, Nérios, who gave his name to the place: Neriomagos, then Aquae Nerii, ‘the waters of Nérius’. In the 1st and 2nd centuries the Roman town had two large thermal complexes, one to the south, the other to the north. The water was drawn from three wells, and two underground aqueducts, about ten and thirty-five kilometres long, supplied the town. A large inscription of the 2nd century, known in several copies, records that a notable, Lucius Iulius Equester (or Equestris, the reading is uncertain), and his sons completed a portico with shops around the springs of Nérius and the public baths, in honour of the emperors and of the god. The south baths were found in 1819, the north baths in 1847. In 1964 the cleaning of the puits de César brought a Roman slab to light. A theatre 96 m in diameter also exists. In 2023 the Inrap reported, in chemin des Buis, a possible mausoleum of the Early Empire whose frieze shows a sea monster. Rabelais mentions these baths, and Nicolas de Nicolay named them in 1569 ‘Baings de Nérys’. According to Wikipedia, Chateaubriand, Musset and Lamartine took the waters there. The Pavillon César, built in 1859–1861, covers the outlet of the main spring. The water emerges today at 53 °C.

Getting there: The spring and the baths are in place des Thermes, in the centre of Néris (6 place des Thermes according to Mérimée). The 19th-century establishment, listed as a Monument historique in 1984, keeps in its south gallery stone elements of the old baths (Mérimée entry). The ancient theatre, 96 m in diameter, can be seen in a town park (Villes d'eaux network). A document from this network (2014–2015) gives the thermal season as April to October and the spa open all year; I did not find the current opening hours, nor whether the remains can be visited. Coordinates: ‘Pavillon César’ node in OpenStreetMap (consulted on 22/10/2026), built over the outlet of the main spring according to the Villes d'eaux network; the exact position of the puits de César is not verified.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound