Le Revard: the astonishing history of the Aix-les-Bains mountain

From the terraces ofAix les BainsThere it is, immense and familiar. A long, dark wall that closes off the eastern horizon and seems to watch over Lake Bourget. The people of Aix often look up at it to see what the weather will be like. In winter, they watch for its first snows; in summer, they seek its coolness. The Revard It is not simply a mountain. For more than one hundred and thirty years it has been the high-altitude district of Aix-les-Bains, its climatic refuge, its playground and one of the most amazing tourist stories of the French Alps.

Because before being a renowned Nordic domain or a spectacular viewpointThe Revard was an invention. A mountain that doctors, hoteliers and entrepreneurs literally imagined and built to meet a very specific need: to allow spa-goers coming to treat their rheumatism in Aix-les-Bains to breathe purer and fresher air at altitude.

A mountain born from the air cure

At the end of the XNUMXth century, Aix les Bains Aix-en-Provence is one of the great European spa towns. Princes, aristocrats, and the very wealthy frequent its thermal baths. But the competition is fierce. In Switzerland, resorts like Davos attract a clientele drawn by the supposed virtues of mountain air. The Aix-en-Provence elite understand that they possess an untapped treasure: this vast wooded plateau overlooking the town at nearly 1,550 meters altitude.

Le Dr. Jean Monard he became one of the project's most fervent supporters. At a time when people deeply believed in the therapeutic virtues of the climate, he increased his meteorological observations and published studies demonstrating the exceptional air quality of Le Revard. People then spoke of " fresh air treatment ", sunbathing and rejuvenating stays. The mountain must become the natural extension of the Aix-les-Bains thermal baths.

The site does indeed possess remarkable advantages. Located in the Bauges massifIt towers over Lake Bourget at a height of over 1,200 meters. Its altitude ensures cool summers, snowy winters, and abundant sunshine. From its cliffs, the view stretches from Mont Blanc to the Aravis mountains, from the Chartreuse to the Jura, with Lake Bourget extending below like an inland sea.

The feat of the little cog railway

But first, they had to reach the summit.

At the time, reaching Le Revard required several hours of walking from Aix-les-Bains. In 1892, a crazy bet became reality: a rack railway It connects the spa town to the mountains. Its inauguration is a major event in Savoyard life.

The line is nearly ten kilometers long and climbs over 1,200 meters in altitude. You board almost in the heart of Aix-les-Bains. Very quickly, the spa villas disappear. The train plunges into the woods, crosses daring engineering structures, and offers increasingly spectacular views of the Bourget lakeThe locomotives climb gradients exceeding 20%. They travel over viaducts, through tunnels, and wind through the forests above Mouxy. The journey takes approximately one hour and fifteen minutes uphill. For travelers of that era, Experience is extraordinary. Reaching the summit often evokes a sense of wonder, as described in many travelers' accounts.

A restaurant, hotels, and an observatory quickly sprang up around the station. The Revard summer resort was born.

A climate station suspended above the lake

The first buildings of Revard They still surprise us today with their modernity.

The hotels and restaurant are designed according to hygiene principles. Galleries, loggias, and terraces allow visitors to enjoy fresh air and sunshine. The architecture is intentionally understated. Light, ventilation and open spaces are prioritized.

The summit also boasts an observatory. A simple wooden platform built on the edge of the cliff offers breathtaking panoramic views. Visitors come to watch the sunset or observe the lights of Aix-les-Bains twinkling a thousand meters below.

The Revard quickly becomes a trendy placeTourist posters of the time touted it as "the closest mountain resort to Paris." European sovereigns, artists, and wealthy families came to spend the summer there. People enjoyed walks, picnics, sunbathing, and long conversations on the terraces overlooking the lake.

Revard Belvedere — Lake Bourget seen from Le Revard in winter

One of the first ski resorts in France

Then winter arrives.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a few enthusiasts climbed to the Revard mountain using long wooden planks brought from Scandinavia. The first descents took place as early as 1906.In 1908, skiers took a gamble by operating the train in winter. The following year, Le Revard officially became a winter sports resort. It was then one of the very first French resorts created specifically for skiing.

The atmosphere is pioneering. People ski in long skirts and wool jackets. Competitions attract foreign champions. The famous Norwegian skier Durban Hansen helps popularize the sport and teaches a revolutionary technique that will later inspire the French Ski School. Among his first students is a certain Roger Frison-Roche.

Le Revard acquired a ski jump, a toboggan run, its first ski lifts, and an ice rink. For several decades, it was one of the major winter sports laboratories French.

It will even be candidate to host the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924The project will never come to fruition, but it testifies to the considerable ambition that the station harbored at the time.

The most spectacular cable car of its time

In the 1930s, the success of skiing became so great that the cog railway was no longer sufficient.

The PLM company then decided to build an extraordinary cable carInaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most powerful in the world. It connects Les Mentens, above Mouxy, to the summit of Revard in a single span of over 1,600 meters, without any intermediate pylons. The forty-person cabins climb over 840 meters in just seven minutes.

For the travelers, the spectacle is breathtaking. The cabin leaves the forest, rises abruptly above the void and hurtles towards the cliffs of Revard suspended in the sky.

The cable car then symbolized triumphant modernity.

But the automobile is progressing rapidly. The new road to the plateau It facilitated access and soon competed with cable transport. The cable car finally ceased operation in 1969.

Lake Bourget seen from Le Revard in summer

The unfinished dream of a city in the mountains

The post-war period opens a new chapter.

The General Council of Savoie and the Revard real estate company called upon the architect-urban planner Laurent Chappis, the creator of Courchevel.

His vision is ambitious.

Le Revard must no longer be just a ski resort or spa town. It must become a veritable mountain city, an international summer tourism center. Chappis envisions cultural facilities, sports facilities, artists' residences, a theater, an amphitheater, various accommodations and even a mountain university campus.

The project will never fully come to fruition.

But several elements remain. Residential loops are created in the forest, and a few chalets designed by Chappis are built starting in 1954. Inspired by Alpine mazots, these wooden buildings are staggered to preserve sunlight and views. Their architecture today it remains one of the most unique heritage sites of Revard.

The mountain of holiday camps

From 1957 onwards, a new clientele appeared.

The old infrastructure houses campThe former arrival station of the rack railway notably became the colony of the city of Pantin.

For decades, thousands of children have discovered the mountains here. They learn to ski, go marmot watching, build cabins in the woods and experience their first great sunsets over Lake Bourget.

Le Revard is changing its purpose. It is becoming a popular and accessible mountain.

What is the Revard resort like in winter? — The Revard ski resort in winter

Little Canada in Savoy

From the 1970s onwards, a new identity emerged.

Le Nordic Ski It is experiencing considerable growth. The landscapes of the plateau are ideally suited to this activity. Immense clearings alternate with forests of spruce and fir. The terrain remains gentle. The panoramas constantly open up to Mont Blanc and the Bauges mountains.

The first cross-country ski center opened in 1971. The French championships of 1972 and 1973 accelerated the development of the Nordic ski area. Gradually, Le Revard joined forces with La Féclaz and Saint-François-de-Sales to form Savoy Grand Revard.

Even today, with approximately 130 kilometers of cross-country ski trails, the area remains one of the largest in France. This succession of forests, snow-covered valleys and vast plateaus has earned it a nickname that perfectly suits it: Little Canada.

What to do in Revard today?

The first shock is still that of the panorama.

Le Revard viewpoint is probably one of the most impressive in France. The wooden walkways and platform built on the edge of the cliff literally give the impression of floating above the void. On a clear day, the view encompasses Lake Bourget, Aix-les-Bains, the Jura Mountains, the Chartreuse Mountains, the Belledonne range, the Aravis mountain range, and Mont Blanc.

In the summer, the plateau becomes a vast recreational area.

The practice of hikes, the Moutain Bikegravel biking, horse riding, trail running, orienteering, or the paraglider. Old historical paths, such as the Pertuiset path or the rack railway route, still allow you to connect the summit to Aix-les-Bains on foot.

In autumn, the forests take on extraordinary colours. The mists of the lake sometimes cling halfway up the slope while the plateau remains in the sun.

In winter, Revard finally regains its original soul. Cross-country skiing, beginner alpine skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, dog sledding and contemplative walks follow one another in an atmosphere very different from the large alpine resorts.

Here, everything seems calmer. People come to Revard to breathe, to walk in the snowy forests, to watch the sun set behind Lake Bourget, and to rediscover that almost intimate relationship between a city and its mountain.

Perhaps that is, ultimately, the most astonishing thing about Revard. More than one hundred and thirty years after the first spa-goers came seeking the pure air, this mountain continues exactly to fulfill its mission: to offer, a few kilometers from Aix-les-Bains, a parenthesis of light, silence and wide horizons.

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