Photo : Père Igor / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Grottes du Cornadore
The Cornadore caves, at Saint-Nectaire, in the Puy-de-Dôme, house former natural baths fitted out by the Romans, who used them from the first century according to the Sancy tourist office. They are fed with hot water by springs.
The fairly short guided tour follows narrow galleries in a warm, humid atmosphere. You pass from the warm room, the tepidarium, to the hot room, the caldarium, where two perfectly preserved Roman tubs can still be seen. The waters reach temperatures of up to 56°C, and you also see the collecting galleries and the cold baths.
The site is a curiosity in its own right within the spa resort of Saint-Nectaire, a village also known for its Romanesque church and its cheese. It is open in season: opening periods vary and the site closes in winter.
