Aix-les-Bains: A Stunning Lake and a Surprise Boat Trip
Aix-les-Bains sits on the shore of Lac du Bourget, the largest natural lake lying entirely within France, in the Savoie region near the Alps. It is an old spa town with a gentle, belle-epoque calm – and this visit came with an unplanned trip out onto the water.
If you have time for nothing else, watch the film first. Everything below is the context.
Where I went
Aix-les-Bains is in eastern France, in the Savoie, roughly between Chambery and Annecy and about an hour from Lyon by train. The town climbs gently back from the lakeshore, so a good visit splits in two: the streets and thermal quarter up in the centre, and the lakefront with its harbour and promenade below. Both are easily walkable, and the pleasure boats leave from the Grand Port.
Why this place
Aix is the kind of place that has been welcoming visitors for so long it wears it lightly. People have come to take the waters here since Roman times, and the town still carries that air of unhurried, faded grandeur – grand hotels, a casino, shaded avenues. But the real draw is Lac du Bourget itself: wide, still, and ringed by mountains, it is the sort of view you do not tire of. Getting out onto it, as I did, changes the scale of everything.
What you will see in the video
- The lakefront and the Grand Port, where the boats set off.
- A trip out onto Lac du Bourget, with the mountains rising on every side.
- The belle-epoque town centre and the old thermal quarter.
- [Patrick – add the specific stops featured: the abbey at Hautecombe across the lake, a viewpoint, or the surprise on the boat.]
Practical notes
- Best time of year: May to September, for the lake and the boats.
- How long: a full, relaxed day – half on the water, half in town.
- Walkability: easy in town, with a gentle slope between the centre and the lakeshore.
- Getting there: direct trains from Lyon, Chambery and Annecy; the station is a short walk from the centre.
- What I wish I had known: [Patrick – the practical tip from the day, e.g. boat times or the best lakeside spot.]
A little history
Aix grew up around its thermal springs – the Romans knew it as Aquae, and the baths have drawn visitors for two thousand years. Its grandest era was the belle epoque, when European high society came to take the cure, leaving behind the hotels and the casino that still set the tone. Lac du Bourget has its own literary fame, too: the French Romantic poet Lamartine wrote one of the language’s best-loved poems about its shores.
Related walks
If you enjoyed this one, you might like the rest of the France trip:
- Eating My Way Through Lyon: Frog, Oysters and More — eating my way through the kitchen capital of France.
- Walking Croix-Rousse: Is It Still Lyon’s Silk Quarter? — wandering Lyon’s old silk-weaver hill.
- Too Much Train Pain: What Was My Plan B? — when the train plan falls apart and Plan B kicks in.
- Being Medieval in Crémieu: Chateau, Castle and Winding Streets near Lyon — a medieval town in the hills near Lyon.
- Staying at the Hotel Filthy: A French Farce in Three Acts — a 24-hour misadventure in Calais — and how it turned into a three-act farce.
- How to Cross the Channel at Calais — every method, from the free bus to Sangatte Beach.
Stay in touch
New walks land on the channel regularly — the easiest way to follow along is to subscribe on YouTube. The full set of written companions to every film lives in The Journal, and there’s a curated set of the longer pieces on the Featured Films page. If you’ve got an idea for somewhere I should walk next, send it through the Contact page — I read everything.
Patrick Ashton is a UK-based filmmaker walking the overlooked corners of Britain and Europe. More about Patrick →
