Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland

Yverdon's central Place Pestalozzi is dominated by the broad-fronted Louis XV-style Hôtel de Ville and, next to it, the foursquare turreted château

The Maison d'Ailleurs opposite the château ("House of Elsewhere"; Wed– Fri 2–6pm, Sat & Sun noon–6pm; Fr.7,Web: www.ailleurs.ch ) is a self-billed "museum of science fiction, utopia and amazing journeys", housed in the old prison. It holds a massive collection of some 80,000 items, featuring antiquarian books and sci-fi paperbacks galore. Changing exhibits might cover fantasy art, posters, old sci-fi magazines, unpublished drawings from Hollywood movie designers, and samples from an amazing collection of toys. You're welcome to browse through their English library, and kick back in their "Giger Cell" – a room kitted out by Alien designer H.R. Giger.

Yverdon is suffixed "-les-Bains" for its spa waters, 14,000-year-old mineral springs bubbling up from 500m below ground and rich with all kinds of curative properties. The water emerges at between 28 and 34°C, and is corralled into various indoor and outdoor pools about 1km southeast of the Old Town at the Centre Thermal, a state-of-the-art complex off Avenue des Bains (Mon– Sat 8am–10pm, Sun 8am–8pm; Fr.17; Web: www.cty.ch ).