Our lives asbusy city girlsmove fast, fast, fast, and the chaos of work, kids, traffic on Papineau, and whirlwind weekends often prevent us from truly slowing down. It takes a lot to force our muscles to relax and take a little nap in a damp bathrobe.
An hour’s drive from Montreal, our favorite spa is nestled on the side of a mountain, on the edge of a lake. It’s Balnea de Bromont, and it’s $55 for half a day—just enough time to sweat it out in all the spa’s saunas with a view of the lake and then enjoy a drink and a charcuterie board by the fire…
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Balnea
The road between Montreal and Balnea in Bromont inevitably begins with traffic leaving the city, crossing the bridge, and then flat fields and farms. Then you arrive in the hills and forest, climb the small mountains of the Eastern Townships, and everything becomes calmer.
Balnea is almost hidden at the top of a mountain, above a round lake like something out of a children’s book. If you drove by without knowing, you might think that a villain from a James Bond movie lives there in the summer.
@balneaspa
Balnea’s specialty is the relaxing thermal cycle: 15 minutes of heat, 15 seconds of cold, and 15 minutes of rest.
In addition to saunas, hot and cold baths, a yurt where you can sweat surrounded by the scent of burning cedar, and small hot baths on the edge of the lake,Balnea also offers treatments (beauty, therapeutic, specialized) and massages for those who have had a really stressful week. And for those who want to treat themselves without explanation, because you shouldn’t have to be at the end of your rope to enjoy a day at the spa.
Balnea also has afarm-to-tablegourmet restaurantwhereyou can eat vegetables grown nearby, a restaurant where you can eat charcuterie and drink a glass of white wine in your bathrobe facing the lake, and, in the fall, marshmallows to roast over the fire between hot-cold-rest cycles.
@balneaspa
Practical Information
Where? 319 Chemin du Lac-Gale, Bromont, Quebec
When? Open daily (opening hours vary depending on the season)
How?
Single session (2-3 hours in the morning) – between $45 and $55
Full day – between $95 and $100
Dusk (4.5 hours, at nightfall) – between $65 and $75
Evening (2-3 hours in the evening) – between $40 and $50
To book and find out more, click here!Enjoy your visit to Balnea!