Between exploring the Parc des Sources and downtown Vichy we also spend time following the edge of the Allier River and Lac d’Allier through the many parks looking for birds and enjoying the shade. But first we have to get there from downtown passing villas being renovated and then arriving at the major and most famous mineral water source in Vichy, the Celestins source.
It is quite an impressive building and free to access and also quite popular. There are people with empty bottles coming in to fill them at the source and hopefully get cured of anything that ails them.
However when we arrive at the source all the taps are free, somehow there is a lull in the people trying to get water, which is cool so we can fill our own water bottles without standing in a queue. We want to be healthy too after all! The taps themselves really look historical, a nice touch, and the taste of the water is quite similar to what is sold in the supermarkets under the Vichy label.
Just across the Celestins Source is the Parc Napoleon III, a beautifully maintained park that we follow back to the hotel. There is a major trail near the river however that one is very popular with bicycles so it is a bit dangerous so we decide to go through the interior of the park which is more peaceful.
There are a few birds here, nothing really special, but cool to look at and just follow around as they do their thing. There are mostly robins and blackbirds besides the usual wood pigeons and crows.
We continue following the river birdwatching along the way and soon we can see the hotel through the trees, we are back at the hotel but on the other side than the entrance. In fact this is the side we see from our balcony and we are curious about the small pond we were seeing the previous evening, maybe it has some interesting birds.
The area next to the hotel is even more landscaped with the pond being surrounded by beautiful flower beds and we enjoy exploring it while looking for a different entrance to the hotel.
There are some ducks and swans near the pond and we watch them preen themselves while trying to guess if the are domesticized or wild ones that just enjoy the protection of the pond. And then we find a secondary entrance through the restaurant and we take it looking like we belong and no one intervenes so we make it safely inside and then up to our rooms.
In the evening after dinner we decide to take a stroll along the lake shore further to the north. There is no park here with the riverside trail being bounded on one side by the lake and on the other by some impressive houses.
It is cooler now but even so standing in the sun for a long time is uncomfortable so we decide to explore up to a geocache which is a tough find but we get it in the end before starting back towards the hotel.
On the way back we take a more careful look at the impressive mansions and are surprised that some of them are not lived in. In fact we see broken windows which pigeons are using to get inside for the evening. But overall it is a nice and welcome walk before returning to the hotel to pack, tomorrow we return to Lyon as our relative has to leave from the Lyon airport.
