Eugenie-les-Bains – Introduction

The village of Eugenie-les-Bains would normally not be seen as any tourist destination if it weren’t for the one person whose activities the village centers around. This one person is Michel Guerard.

Why is he famous, and therefore the village of Eugenie-les-Bains? It’s because Michel Guerard is very famous 3-star Michelin chef, who not only has a castle in the village which is part of his restaurants, but also it’s an hotel and cooking school. And to make things more interesting, he created a very big and well known thermal cure (spa) – well, he didn’t create it, he took it over when he married his wife whose family started this small spa..

Eugenie is a small village, about 450 inhabitants. The village was created in 1861 as a split from the Saint-Loubouer town, but was already known to the Romans for having thermal waters which could cure many ailments.

The new village was named after its sponsor, the Empress Eugenie (Eugenie de Montijo, the wife of Napoleon III). The words “les-Bains” were added to indicate the thermal waters.

Eugenie has quite a nice park and some hiking paths:

Michel Guerard

The 3-star Michelin chef is the key figure for the village. Born in 1933 he was one of the founders of nouvelle cuisine, and the inventor of cuisine minceur (food that was less filling and more slimming).

With his wife, Christine, Guerard has a 16 hectare farm. The farm includes the original thermal water spa which the Empress Eugenie attended.

On the farm was a hotel built in 1862 called the “Les Pres D’Eugenie Hotel“. This is the place where Michel Guerard has his 3-star Michelin restaurant, “Les Pres D’Eugenie“.

He created the new style restaurant food called “cuisine minceur” to make food more appetizing for those people on a diet.

Guerard even has his own vineyard and a well rated wine (Baron de Bachen).

His cooking school has seen many chefs learn the trade of cooking (not only professional ones, also amateur chefs). His pupils include many famous chefs, including Alain Ducasse.

Thermal Water Spa

The Thermal Spa can not be disassociated from the restaurant/hotel since they are all very closely integrated.

The spa is well designed and rich with features. The facilities offer:

• 1 Thermal turkish bath
• 14 individual treatment booths
• 2 individual white clay weightless baths
• 2 single treatment booths for bodycare
• 2 single booths for Sisley Care
• The Airial : Lounge with herbal infusion and fireplace
• Salon des Quatre Saisons : unwinding and reading lounge
• 1 Sisley shop
• 1 Boutique « Le Comptoir de la Ferme Thermale »

Obviously for those that elect to eat at the premises, you will enjoy the Michel Guerard kitchens. You will also be able to sleep in the Michel Guerard hotel … all in absolute luxury.

The grounds of the spa/hotel/restaurant are an interesting walk. Little lakes, fountains and statues.

Click here to access the spa’s website (in French only)

The Village

As stated earlier, the village of Eugenie-les-Bains is small – some 450 inhabitants. Almost all of the village live of the spa, restaurant, hotel or vineyards in some shape or another (most of the houses are Gites or AirBnB).

Apart from a few shops and restaurants (not associated to Guerard), there is not much else to see. The only noteworthy item is the Arena (the bullfighting arena – remember that the village is very close to Spain and the Pays Basque region) and a few nice walking/hiking paths.

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