This month, members of The Great Spa Towns of Europe Association (GSTEA) will gather in Vichy for a series of meetings and site visits, including their General Assembly on 29th April 2026. This is the first General Assembly held during the anniversary year of The Great Spa Towns of Europe, as 2026 marks five years since being inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (24th July 2021).
The General Assembly is made up of political representatives of each town, working alongside experts in heritage, conservation, tourism, community engagement and climate change. The GSTE Youth Forum, formed of young people living across the spa towns, also participate in decision-making.
The fifth anniversary is a moment of acceleration, as the General Assembly will be working on management strategies with impacts across Europe. The Property Management Plan – the formal planning document required by UNESCO – will be revised, while a new Action Plan will be created for the Property. Within this, plans for climate change adaptation and disaster risk frameworks will be built. The UNESCO inscription creates a structure to govern alongside local legislation, meaning projects can be created collaboratively and management commitments can span the entire network.
Five years post inscription, the impact of a UNESCO World Heritage status is increasingly visible in Vichy; one of The Great Spa Towns of Europe (GSTE) and the only spa town in France to be part of this group. Vichy itself is undergoing restoration, developing its tourism products and preserving its rich spa heritage. Vichy’s recent and ongoing developments are an example of what our spa towns are achieving at a local level as a result of a strong network of international relationships and collective action. The town has used its World Heritage status as leverage to attract considerable investment and funding, and channel it back into heritage-friendly conservation and regeneration.
Click here to further explore the transnational World Heritage Site.
Image: Vichy Destinations – Xavier Thomas