Aix-les-Bains travel guide

(Photo: CC BY-SA 4.0)

Aix-les-Bains is a town and lakeside resort in the French Alps, in the department of Savoie. With more than 30,000 inhabitants, this tourist and thermal spa resort welcomes nearly 200,000 visitors each year. The city has branded itself "Aix-les-Bains, Riviera des Alpes".

Understand

A leading town of the Belle Époque, of international renown, Aix-les-Bains was a vacation destination for nobility and the wealthy. The hot springs made it one of the most famous resorts in the world. Thanks to its historic centre and several squares and listed monuments, the town is labeled "Ville d'art et d'histoire" (City of Art and History)

In addition, Aix sits on the edge of the largest natural lake of glacial origin in France, the Lac du Bourget, and has the largest freshwater port in France.

The town has been granted four Flowers and a Golden Flower (high distinction) at the national Council of flowery towns and villages.

According to a ranking on "Europe's Best Destinations" website, it is considered as the fifth most romantic city in Europe.

The town hosts many cultural events including "Musilac", the largest pop-rock festival in the region attracting tens of thousands of festival-goers for one night each July.

The town is also one of the most sporting in France: about one inhabitant in three is a member of a sports club. More than fifty different sports can be practised in this town located between lake and mountains.

Get in

By car

Aix-les-Bains is accessible by many roads. The A41 motorway serves the north and south of Aix with two exits. The town lies between Annecy in the north and Chambéry in the south.

By train

The town is connected to Paris by TGV, as well as Lyon, Annecy, Chambéry and Geneva by TER.

• Gare d'Aix-les-Bains-Le Revard.

By plane

The nearest airport is Chambéry-Savoie, a few kilometers south of the town.

• Aéroport de Chambéry-Savoie (CMFIATA) (5 km (3.1 mi) south of the city, at the end of Lac du Bourget). It is served by a number of cheap airlines, especially during the winter months.

Get around

(Photo: Mathis73, Public domain)

By boat

Summer tourist boats sail around the Lac Bourget from Aix-Les-Bains.

By bicycle

There are bike lanes in the town, and a greenway running along the lake, as far as Le Bourget-du-Lac. The city was awarded the "Ville vélo touristique" for its facilities for cyclists.

See

• Casino Grand-Cercle.
• Château de la Roche du Roi. 9th-century château.
• Église Notre-Dame.

Palaces

• Hôtel Royal, 31 rue Georges 1er.
• Hôtel Bernascon, 6, Boulevard de la Roche du Roi.
• Hôtel Beau Site.
• Hôtel Splendide.
• Hôtel Excelsior, 50, rue Georges 1er.

Do

• Musilac (on l'Esplanade du Lac du Bourget). Pop/rock festival, generally 3 days around mid-July. Also on

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