To mark European Heritage Days, we invite you to step back in time and discover the places that made Aix-les-Bains famous in the Belle Époque, when the town welcomed an international clientele and distinguished visitors.
Among the buildings that still bear witness to that era, the former Rossignoli palace hotels and the Chalet Charcot hold a very special place.
Three Belle Époque palace hotels on the hillside above Aix-les-Bains
In the Belle Époque, Aix-les-Bains was one of Europe’s great fashionable spa towns. Princes, aristocrats and wealthy travellers came to take the waters and stay in its sumptuous palace hotels.
On the heights above the town, the majestic silhouettes of the Splendide, the Royal and the Excelsior still stand as reminders of that lavish age. The Splendide, built from 1882 onwards, welcomed guests including Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as Sissi, along with several sovereigns and international figures.
If you would like to see these palaces up close, the Aix-les-Bains tourist office runs guided tours in French of the Royal-Splendide-Excelsior complex on dates listed on its website, each lasting 1 hour 45 minutes. The meeting point is in front of the Splendide’s gates at 31 rue Georges-Ier, and booking is required.
The Chalet Charcot, where a polar explorer lived
A few steps from these grand hotels stands a far more intimate residence, the Chalet Charcot, built in 1882 by the Genevan architect Antoine Gouy. Inspired by Swiss chalet architecture, with its timber framing and elegant balcony, it contrasts with the monumental scale of the neighbouring palace hotels.
Among its residents was Jean-Baptiste Charcot, the renowned French doctor and polar explorer. An Italianate annex built in 1896 completes the property and once housed a summer dining room and a study.
A historic monument from Aix-les-Bains’ high-society era
Protected as a historic monument since 1986, the Chalet Charcot remains one of the most distinctive traces of Aix-les-Bains’ former high-society life.
With its majestic palace hotels, gardens and villas built for holiday stays, the district retains the memory of a time when Aix-les-Bains set out to rival the great European capitals of luxury and spa culture.
The three palace hotels now house apartments. The Chalet Charcot, for its part, is on the market, with its 1896 annex, its grounds and its views of Lake Bourget. You can view the listing for this 618 m² house or browse our other houses and villas for sale in Aix-les-Bains. Our BARNES agency in Aix-les-Bains, at 81 rue du Casino, arranges viewings of the chalet.
