Dax

France's leading spa town for mud-based rheumatism treatments, Dax sits on the Adour river in the Landes department of southwestern France, with thermal establishments drawing visitors year-round. In August, the town hosts one of France's largest festival events — five days of bullfighting ferias that draw enormous crowds. Dax also carries a long history: founded by the Romans around a hot spring as Aquae Tarbellicae, it was the dominant town of the Landes from antiquity until 1790, and today holds a Villes et Pays d'Art et d'Histoire designation.

• Population22,305
• Nearest water0.2 km
• Nearest mountain44.2 km