Thermes Parc Val d’Illiez

This recently built spa resort nestles in a valley on the train route just out of Champéry in the popular Franco-Swiss Portes du Soleil region. As such, it makes for a relaxing stop-off on the way back from a day’s skiing or hiking, and as thermal baths in Switzerland go, it’s fairly reasonably priced. The baths consist of indoor and outdoor pools drawing on thermal water heated to around 34 degrees, a large jacuzzi and a thermal river which is fun to swim along and looks very pretty but, being completely naturally heated and therefore a tad cooler than the pools, isn’t a place to linger for long. Inside there’s also a sauna, hammam and tylarium (a sauna-hammam combo). The spa area offers a large menu of massages and treatments – some specially for kids – and you can get your fingers and toes primed and polished in the accompanying nail bar.