Théâtre de Spa

The English word "spa" came from this small town in the Ardennes, whose iron-rich springs drew the courts of Europe long before Belgium existed as a state. Music followed the water: Meyerbeer finished "Robert le diable" during a stay in 1830, and Les Francofolies have filled the streets each summer since 1994. The theatre stands with the casino — gaming has gone on in Spa since the eighteenth century — at the centre of that visiting trade, receiving opera, drama and concerts.