Travel Guide Charbonnières-Les-Bains

Charbonnières, from the Latin carboniare (charcoal), was renowned, long before the discovery of its waters, for its rich forests exploited by lumberjacks. It was at the end of the 18th century that the town's water industry took off. Legend has it that donkey Cadichon discovered the spring that turned Charbonnières into a spa town. In reality, it was Abbé Marsonnat who made the discovery in 1778. The spring was officially opened in 1843. People drank the water to treat themselves, and soon the idea of bathing in it was born. From then on, the town's success continued to grow, reaching its peak in the 19th century, with 2 swimming pools, 12 hotels and 20,000 curists for a population of 500! Charbonnières became Charbonnières-les-Bains. The town also attracted turf enthusiasts to the Saint-Luce racetrack, where donkeys, not horses, raced! The casino was built in 1882. Thermal and recreational elements were brought together under a single name, "la station hydrominérale intercommunale Charbonnières-les-Bains - La Tour-de-Salvany". In the twentieth century, the success of the spa declined. After the wars, the Bassinet brothers, directors of the "Société des Eaux Minérales", tried to launch new projects (large-scale shows, the Lyon-Charbonnières rally in 1947, a racecourse). But their ambitions were out of proportion and the projects too costly. The casino changed hands several times before, in 1991, the Partouche group bought it and brought it back to life, making it one of France's biggest casinos in just a few years.