watering place

plural watering places

1. A place where water may be obtained, e.g. for a ship or for cattle.

   The station of the little watering-place was almost deserted, but a small, fat man in a fur overcoat ran forward to meet them, and greeted them warmly.

   1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019

2. A place where there are springs of medicinal water, or a place by the sea, or by some large body of water, that people visit for bathing, recreation, boating, etc.

   "You should drop all work instantly, Challenger, and take three months in a German watering-place," said he.

   1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC

   2 more examples

   Newry [...] cannot be described as a tourist centre, though it is only six miles from the well-known watering place of Warrenpoint.

   1940 May, H. Fayle, “The Bessbrook & Newry Tramway”, in Railway Magazine, page 285

   At 2,248 feet in length, the pier was designed to meet the needs of steamers, with the town a popular watering-place among Victorian and Edwardian visitors.

   2020 July 29, Dr Joseph Brennan, “Railways that reach out over the waves”, in Rail, page 49

3. informalA place where alcohol is sold and consumed; a bar.