Spa is the little town in the Belgian Ardennes that gave its name to every spa in the world, and the story goes back a long way. The mineral springs here were known to the Romans, and Pliny is often cited as mentioning them, and from the sixteenth century they drew the nobility of Europe. In 1717 Peter the Great of Russia came to take the waters, and the Pouhon Pierre-le-Grand, a handsome pavilion over the main spring, is named after him. The town built a grand casino, a thermal baths building and a promenade, and a century later it became known as the Café of Europe, a place where kings, writers and intriguers rubbed shoulders.
UNESCO included Spa in 2021 in the Great Spa Towns of Europe, a group of eleven towns in seven countries that developed around mineral water and the culture of taking cures. Today the town still has a courtly, faded charm, with iron-and-glass galleries, bandstands and wooded paths up the hills. The water, which is low in minerals, is bottled and sold across the world under the Spa label, and you can drink from several fountains in the town for free, though it has a distinct taste of iron.
Riders know Spa for another reason. A few kilometres to the east lies the Spa-Francorchamps motor racing circuit, one of the most celebrated in the world, with the famous Eau Rouge and Raidillon sequence of corners. The Belgian Grand Prix has been held there for decades, and the circuit hosts motorcycle events too. The public roads in the surrounding Ardennes are not racetracks, however, and they are patrolled by police and speed cameras, so enjoy the scenery and keep to the limits.
The countryside here is excellent riding territory. Rolling forested hills, valleys with small rivers, and the high moorland of the Hautes Fagnes, the High Fens, to the east, which is the highest part of Belgium. The roads have long, flowing bends and decent surfaces, and the air is cool and damp, with morning mist in the valleys. Summer is the busiest period, especially on race weekends, when the area fills with motorsport fans. Autumn is quieter and the woods turn gold. Winter can bring snow and ice to the higher roads.
Spa has fuel stations, a good range of cafes and bakeries, and hotels of every kind. Try a Liège waffle, a plate of Ardennes ham or a local beer, and remember that the town sits among the wettest parts of Belgium, so pack for rain.