Thermal cures

In Gréoux-les-Bains, taking the waters is not a comfort break: it is a medical treatment, prescribed, supervised and monitored. Water rising from more than a thousand metres beneath the hills, daily treatments six days a week, health professionals at every station. This page brings together what you need to know before booking: the medical indications, how a prescribed cure works, the short formats and how water quality is monitored.

A cure is first and foremost a medical treatment

A thermal cure treats a condition through a course of targeted care, supervised by health professionals, using natural resources — thermal water, gases and muds — whose therapeutic properties are recognised. It is neither a fitness stay nor a rest cure: it is a prescription, with a protocol and a doctor who follows you from the first day to the last.

Thermal bath at the spa of Gréoux-les-Bains

The spa, run by the Chaîne Thermale du Soleil and built in a Gallo-Roman spirit, welcomes curists from March to December. Treatments generally take up the morning and leave the afternoons free: it is this rhythm, more than the length, that sets a thermal stay apart from any other kind of holiday.

One establishment, one season

Open from March to December, the thermal baths follow the rhythm of the thermal season. The busiest periods — spring and early autumn — are booked well in advance, accommodation included.

Treatment dates and times are also arranged with the spa, before the file is even sent to the health insurance.

Three medical indications

Gréoux-les-Bains is approved for three indications. Each corresponds to a distinct course of treatment, prescribed and medically monitored.

Rheumatology

The spa town's historic indication. It is aimed at chronic conditions of the musculoskeletal system — osteoarthritis, low back pain, after-effects of injuries — with the aim of relieving pain, regaining mobility and, for many curists, reducing their use of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Respiratory conditions

The prescribed cure covers conditions of the respiratory tract: allergies, asthma and, more broadly, the upper airways as well as the lungs. The water is delivered as aerosols, inhalations and irrigations.

Rehabilitation after breast cancer

More recent, this indication combines several forms of care, with a supportive aim: helping women rebuild after their treatment.

A particular feature of the spa town: rheumatology and respiratory conditions can be treated during the same cure. This double indication is valuable when both conditions coexist.

The thermal baths of Gréoux-les-Bains seen from outside

Organising a prescribed cure, step by step

The administrative process always follows the same order. Doing it in the wrong order means risking booking accommodation for a cure that will not be approved. The steps are set out in Preparing your cure, and daily life during the three weeks in During your cure.

Short formats: short cure and spa

The short cure, six days

A condensed format, in rheumatology or for asthma: six days of treatment adapted to the condition, for those who cannot be away for three weeks.

Spa and wellbeing, for a day or a weekend

The baths also open their doors to visitors who simply want to unwind: a relaxing day or a weekend for two, with no prescription or paperwork.

Worth knowing: these two formats are not part of the prescribed-cure system and are not covered by the French health insurance, unlike the prescribed thermal cure. More in Wellbeing and relaxation.

Water quality, constantly monitored

Treatment water is monitored continuously. The Chaîne Thermale du Soleil has a Central Quality, Hygiene and Sanitary Engineering Department which carries out more than 900 bacteriological analyses every year, using specific, standardised technical methods.

Thermal water flowing from a fountain in Gréoux-les-Bains

Each spa is also monitored by one of three regional analysis laboratories recognised by the supervisory authorities, headed by a doctor of science in water chemistry and microbiology. Checks cover the water circulating in the networks and the water delivered to treatment stations, the quality of treatments using thermal mud, and the application of cleaning and disinfection procedures for the premises.