What is there to do in La Bourboule? A lot more than its size would suggest, and often as a family. At 850 m above sea level, on the banks of the young Dordogne, this spa town in the Massif du Sancy has been treating children for a century and a half in its Grands Thermes, lines up Belle Époque façades, hides a 12-hectare park with sequoias and a little train, and serves as a base camp for the Charlannes plateau and the Banne d'Ordanche. You go in summer for the park and the hikes, in winter for cross-country skiing and sledging. Here is our guide, season by season.
La Bourboule in a nutshell
Visiting La Bourboule means changing pace. Here, the Dordogne is still just a mountain river running through the town between two rows of domed façades. Everything was built in the 19th century around the thermal waters, renowned for the airways and the skin, and the town has kept that Belle Époque spa-town setting: former palace hotels, a casino with mosaics, quays where you push a pushchair without hurrying.
The visitors haven't changed: families, curistes (people taking the cure), hikers. La Bourboule is one of six communes in the Massif du Sancy with the Famille Plus label (a family-friendly label), and that shows in everything that follows. If you're looking for a base that is calm, flat in the town centre (rare around here) and well placed for exploring the area, you're in the right place.
Parc Fenestre: 12 hectares of sequoias and rides
It's the beating heart of the town, and honestly our favourite place to let children run free for half a day. Parc Fenestre is an English-style landscaped park laid out in 1874, covering 12 hectares. As soon as you enter by the main gate, look up: four sequoias about 45 metres tall stand guard. We dare you to reach right round one with two pairs of arms.
What you do there
The park mixes quiet corners (lawns, a perennial garden, picnic tables) and around fifteen old-fashioned attractions:
- The little Far West train: one ride takes about 30 minutes, it's the park's signature attraction.
- The Fenestre Équilibre: a skill and balance course with two difficulty levels, secured by a net.
- The 18-hole mini-golf, in the shade, about 45 minutes a round.
- The classics that always work: 1900 carousel, quad bikes at Lucky's Garage, zipline, swings, slides, and the park's three donkeys, who sometimes come looking for a pat near the Rodéo.
Practical information
Entry to the park is free, all year round, every day. Some games are free (playgrounds, swings); for the attractions, you pay for a day ticket with unlimited access, or tokens for a single ride. A detail to know if you come out of season: the big slide closes in winter, by municipal order. Dogs are welcome, on a lead. And the park is also the starting point for several paths up to the heights, including the climb to Charlannes. We'll come back to that.
The Grands Thermes: the town that treats children
La Bourboule without its thermal spa tradition simply doesn't exist. The Grands Thermes, opened in 1879, are worth a look first for the building itself: volcanic stone, domes at the corners, a real spa-town setting. But above all it is an establishment that is still running at full capacity.
The areas of treatment speak for themselves: respiratory tract, dermatology, disorders of the mucous membranes of the mouth and tongue, and childhood developmental disorders. Asthma, recurring bronchitis, eczema: this is where they get treated. What makes the town's reputation is paediatrics. The cures take babies from 6 months old for dermatology and children from 18 months for the respiratory tract. Seeing whole families between two treatments is part of the scenery.
In 2026, the Grands Thermes are open from 6 April to 31 October. If you're thinking of a cure, we've detailed the procedure, how it's covered and how it runs in our guide to the thermal cure in Auvergne. And if you're just coming to unwind, without a prescription, take a look at our selection of thermal baths and spas in Auvergne: thermal relaxation can also be enjoyed without a prescription.
The Charlannes plateau: La Bourboule's balcony
It's the story we tell everybody. At the very start of the 20th century, a water-counterweight funicular hauled the curistes from the town up to the Charlannes plateau, which rises in tiers between 1,150 and 1,450 m. The funicular stopped running in the 1950s. In 1975, a gondola lift was opened to link the town to Charlannes; it stopped in 2012 because of operating costs. From the town centre, a themed trail, “Sur les traces du funiculaire” (“In the footsteps of the funicular”), tells this story.
A very concrete consequence for you: you go up to Charlannes the old-fashioned way. On foot from the centre via the Chemin de la Bonsière (about 3 km and 275 m of ascent, allow 1 hour 15 for a relaxed climb), or by car on the D129. The climb on foot from Parc Fenestre is a lovely outing in itself, in forest for a good part of the way.
Up there, the plateau changes its face with the season. In summer, you find forest walks, hiking trails and mountain-bike routes for all levels, with views over La Bourboule and its valley. In winter: the plateau becomes La Bourboule's Nordic ski area, with cross-country skiing, waymarked snowshoe trails in the forest and sledging slopes. This is quiet mountain country, and that's exactly what you come for.
Strolling through the Belle Époque town
Take an hour to wander around looking up, the town deserves it. Our route: start from the Grands Thermes and follow the quays of the Dordogne. Two buildings are worth stopping for.
The town hall first, our favourite: it's a former casino built in 1891 by the architect Léon Picard, bought by the town, which set up its town hall there in 1913. Look at the caryatids on the façade, they aren't there by chance: everything had to impress the curiste stepping off the train. The building also houses the tourist office, handy for picking up maps and route guides.
Then the current casino, whose oldest wing dates from 1892, extended in 1928: look for the floral-pattern mosaics highlighted in gold on the elevations. Between the two, wealthy villas and former palace hotels tell of the era when people came to “take the waters” in long dresses. An end-of-day tip: a slot at Escape Time Sancy fills a grey late afternoon very nicely, especially with teenagers.
Walking: the Banne d'Ordanche and the GR 30
La Bourboule is a gateway to the Sancy, and two outings stand out from the rest.
The first is the Banne d'Ordanche, 1,512 m, that tooth-shaped volcanic summit that watches over the valley. At the top, a viewpoint indicator and a circular view over the Chaîne des Dômes, the Monts Dore and, in the distance, the Cantal massif. The waymarked path starts from the Banne car park, 6 km above the village of Murat-le-Quaire, the neighbouring commune: 2 hours round trip, easy level, yellow waymarking. It's our favourite half-day hike in the area: short enough for children used to walking, high enough for the reward.
The second is the heavyweight: the GR 30, tour of the volcanoes and lakes of Auvergne, a loop of just under 200 km around the Puy de Sancy, passing the lakes of Guéry, Pavin and Aydat. Nobody makes you do it all: sampling just one stage is already a good day out. For guided outings and outdoor activities from the town, the Sancy Sports Nature team knows the terrain inside out.
La Bourboule with children: why it works
Let's be direct: if you're looking for the easiest town in the Sancy with children, this is it. The Famille Plus label isn't decorative, it matches a reality on the ground:
- Parc Fenestre soaks up whole days, for ages 2 to 12, on a manageable budget (free entry, day ticket or tokens for the attractions).
- The paediatric cures shape the whole town: shops, accommodation and activities are used to pushchairs and to outings from the cure school.
- The centre is flat, a rare thing in the mountains: you can walk everywhere without tackling a slope in every street.
- At Charlannes in winter, the multi-activity trail and the Tibou trail (a trail game from age 5) were free in 2025-2026; the snowshoe routes cost €4 a day for an adult and €3 for a junior, free for under-6s. There is also a sledging slope.
Our winning combination over two days: Parc Fenestre in the morning, the climb to Charlannes in the early afternoon, the Banne d'Ordanche the next day if your legs are up to it, an escape game if it rains.
What to do in La Bourboule by season
The town lives all year round, but not in the same way. Here is how we would choose.
| Season | What you do | The detail that matters |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Thermal baths open from 6 April in 2026, Parc Fenestre in peace and quiet, waterfalls swollen by the meltwater | The Charlannes paths dry out later than in town, bring good shoes |
| Summer | Park in full swing, Banne d'Ordanche, GR 30, mountain biking at Charlannes | Go up to Charlannes in the morning, save the park for the hot hours (shade of the sequoias) |
| Autumn | Thermal baths open until 31 October in 2026, Charlannes forests in colour, soft light on the façades | September-October is our favourite time: the town is lively and the paths are empty |
| Winter | Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and sledging at Charlannes, resort atmosphere at half speed | The big slide and the park's rides are put away for winter; in 2026, the escape game was open from 23 March to 31 October |
And right next door: Le Mont-Dore, ten minutes away
One last argument for unpacking your bags here: the location. Le Mont-Dore is about ten minutes away by road, with the Puy de Sancy, its more active atmosphere and everything we listed in our guide to things to do in Le Mont-Dore. The waterfalls of Le Mont-Dore make an easy half-day outing from La Bourboule, accessible even to average walkers. And if you're still hesitating over your base camp, our guide where to stay in Le Mont-Dore will help you decide between the two towns. Our take: families and curistes in La Bourboule, active types in Le Mont-Dore, and everybody meets up on the paths.
Frequently asked questions
The FAQ
Is Parc Fenestre free?
Yes, entry to the park is free, all year round and every day. Inside, some games are free (playgrounds, swings) and the attractions are paid for with a day ticket or tokens: little Far West train, rides, mini-golf, skill and balance course. The big slide closes in winter by municipal order. Dogs accepted on a lead.
Can you still go up to Charlannes by funicular or gondola lift?
No. The water-counterweight funicular stopped running in the 1950s, and the gondola lift opened in 1975 stopped in 2012. You go up on foot from the centre via the Bonsière footpath (about 1 hour 15, 3 km, 275 m of ascent) or by car on the D129.
What is there to do in La Bourboule with children?
Parc Fenestre first: 12 hectares, little train, rides, skill and balance course, free entry. Then the climb to Charlannes, sledging and snowshoeing in winter, the escape game on rainy days. The town has the Famille Plus label, the centre is flat and the thermal cures welcome children from 6 months.
La Bourboule or Le Mont-Dore: which to choose?
The two complement each other, about ten minutes apart by road. La Bourboule is gentler and more family-oriented: park, paediatric thermal baths, flat centre. Le Mont-Dore is more active, at the foot of the Puy de Sancy, with downhill skiing and the big hikes. Stay in one, explore both.
Can you ski in La Bourboule in winter?
Yes, Nordic style: the Charlannes plateau, between 1,150 and 1,450 m, offers cross-country skiing, waymarked snowshoe trails in the forest and sledging slopes. No downhill skiing on site: for the downhill runs, head to the neighbouring resorts of the massif, a few minutes away by road.