Église Saint-Sacrement

Aix-les-Bains is a spa town on the eastern shore of the Lac du Bourget, in Savoie, in the French Alps, and visitors should ask at the tourist office about opening times for its churches.

The town has a long history as a spa. The Romans knew the hot springs, which rise at about 45 degrees, and built baths here. Traces of the Roman period survive in the town, among them the Arch of Campanus, a monument of the second century, and the remains of a Roman bath, while the modern thermal establishment continues the tradition. Aix-les-Bains was part of the lands of the House of Savoy, which passed to France only in 1860, and the architecture reflects that heritage, with Alpine and Italian influences. In the nineteenth century, the town became a fashionable resort, visited by Queen Victoria, who stayed several times in the 1880s, and by many other European aristocrats, who came to take the waters and to play at the Casino, whose building, the Grand Cercle, dates from the 1850s.

The churches of a spa town like this one belong to the long history of the community, and the older parish church in the centre stands near the Roman remains and the lakeside streets. A town church of this kind is usually a modest building, with a nave, a bell tower and a few chapels, and with stained glass, carved woodwork and statues that reflect the piety of local people. Churches in Savoie often have Baroque decoration inside, in the style that spread from Italy through the Alps in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with gilded altars and painted ceilings. Opening hours are generally set by the parish, and some churches are open only at certain times, so check ahead.

The lake is the highlight of the area. The Lac du Bourget is the largest natural lake in France, and its blue water, framed by mountains, was the setting for the poet Alphonse de Lamartine's poem Le Lac, written in 1817. Boat trips run to the Abbaye de Hautecombe, on the far shore, where the princes of Savoy are buried. The Casino d'Aix-les-Bains and the Thermes Augustes are good additions.

The church suits visitors who like to explore the old centre and the history of the spa. Allow thirty minutes.