Aix-les-Bains

Aix-les-Bains on the shore of Lac du Bourget — France's largest natural lake — in the Savoie département is one of France's most historically celebrated thermal resorts, whose chloride sulphate springs have attracted visitors since Roman times and reached their peak of aristocratic fashion in the 19th century when Queen Victoria, Edward VII and European royalty made it a regular destination. The Thermes Nationaux, built on the foundations of Roman baths, still dispense the warm mineral waters in a magnificently atmospheric Belle Époque setting, while the modern Thermes de Marlioz nearby specialises in respiratory and rheumatic conditions. Aix's lakefront setting, with sailboats on the turquoise waters of the Bourget and the forested Bauges mountains rising behind, creates one of the most classically beautiful environments of any French thermal town. The adjacent Abbaye de Hautecombe, with its royal Savoy tombs, adds a further dimension of historical grandeur.