Source de la Lymbe et thermes de Bourbon-Lancy

Bourbon-Lancy

At Bourbon-Lancy, in Saône-et-Loire, the source de la Lymbe has long yielded a very hot water, measured at about 64 °C in 1779 and 57–58 °C in 1880; the tourist office now announces 56 to 60 °C at the emergence. In 1604 Jean Aubery described it as ‘the great spring of hot water of the Baths’, taken in a large round well whose location remains visible in the courtyard. Jean Banc noted in 1618 its many steaming bubbles. The Romans left coins, a large round bath (a caldarium according to Aubery) and a water collector, the only ancient remain still visible, studied in 2018. The ancient name remains debated: the Inventaire régional follows most authors, who see here the Aquis Nisinaei of the Peutinger Table; the tourist office speaks of Aquae Bormonis, but the Inventaire judges this name more probable for Bourbon-l'Archambault. In 1569 Nicolas de Nicolay gave the oldest known image of it. In 1580 Henri III had the grand bain restored; Queen Louise de Lorraine stayed there, and a fountain keeps the name of the Reine. Richelieu came in 1642. Madame de Sévigné, often cited here, in fact stayed at Bourbon-l'Archambault. The ancient remains almost all disappeared between 1804 and 1807, but excavations of 1839 found a steam room decorated with mosaics. A flood struck the baths in 1904, a fire in 2019; they reopened in 2021.

Inventaire du patrimoine de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté — Bourbon-Lancy, sources et établissement thermal ↗

Getting there: The baths are in the parc thermal, 5 place d'Aligre. The tourist office announces the establishment open from 19 March to 19 November 2025 (treatment establishment); I did not check the 2026 dates. The Inventaire régional (survey of 2021) writes that the location of the Lymbe remains visible in the courtyard and that the Roman collector is the only ancient remain visible, whereas the ancient grand bain can no longer be seen: I did not check whether the public can see them. Coordinates: ‘Parc Thermal’ (public baths) node in OpenStreetMap, consulted on 22/10/2026; the exact place of the Lymbe in the establishment is not known.

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

Ambient sound