- Stage town for the 15th time
- Commune of Haute-Savoie (74)
- Population: 9,300 (Évianais and Évianaises)
The small town on the shores of Lake Geneva was already a prestigious spa resort when, in 1926, it became the first provincial town to be chosen to host the Grand Départ, although it wasn’t known as that then. During that period, the spa town welcomed the Tour for 12 consecutive editions. Still in the 20th century, the riders returned to Évian in 1979 for the start of a 55km time trial to Avoriaz, where the winner Bernard Hinault seized the Yellow Jersey from Joop Zoetemelk. More recently, the 2010 Critérium du Dauphiné began here, Alberto Contador taking victory in the prologue.
ÉVIAN-LES-BAINS
Évian mineral water
In 1789, Count Jean-Charles de Laizer noticed an improvement in his kidney disease after regularly drinking water from the Sainte-Catherine spring. This attracted consumers, prompting the owner of the site, a man named Cachat, to charge for the water. In 1824, commercial exploitation expanded with the inauguration of baths, and the Sainte-Catherine spring became the Cachat spring. In 1826, the Dukes of Savoy authorised bottling. In 1827, Cachat built a spa and created a water company. From 1892 to 1927, the municipality owned the spring and leased it to the operating company. In 1908, Évian was marketed in glass bottles manufactured by the Souchon-Neuvesel glassworks, which later became BSN and then Danone. In 1964, the BSN group (later Danone) acquired a 25pc stake in the company. Antoine Riboud, CEO of Souchon-Neuvesel, introduced Évian to supermarkets. In 1970, the BSN group took total control of the Évian company. In 1984, the company opened the Évian spa and closed the old spa facilities, which had become too cramped. Danone's "water division", which includes Evian, is the world's second largest bottled water company in terms of volume, with 18 billion litres, behind Nestlé Waters. As for Evian water, approximately 1.9 billion litres are bottled each year.
The Evian Championship
The Amundi Evian Championship is a major women's golf tournament created in 1994 by Antoine Riboud, CEO of Danone and Evian, on the French shore of Lake Geneva. Long considered unofficially as the fifth major tournament of the LPGA, it officially became so in 2013 alongside the LPGA Championship, the US Open and the British Open. It takes place every year at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains. Since 2019, it has been held in July and golfers are selected on the basis of sporting criteria, rather than invitations as was the case before 2007. Among the golfers who have made their mark on the history of the tournament are Sweden's Helen Alfredsson, who won the first edition and is the only player to have won three times (1994, 1998 and 2008), as well as her compatriot Annika Sörenstam, England's Laura Davies and Japan's Ai Miyazato, all three of whom have won twice.
Évian Music Festival
The Évian Music Festival, formerly known as Escales Musicales, is a chamber music festival held at Pentecost. Created in 1976 by conductor Serge Zehnacker and Robert Lassalle, then director general of tourism, at the instigation of Antoine Riboud, then CEO of the Danone group, it was long directed by cellist Mstislav Rostropovich before coming under the artistic direction of the Modigliani Quartet in 2014. The new Rencontres Musicales take place at the Grange au Lac and the Casino Theatre within the Evian Resort.
Palais Lumière
Construction: 1902
Style: Art Nouveau.
History: the first thermal spa was inaugurated in 1827 on Grand Rue. Acquired in 1858 by the Société des Eaux, it was restored in 1880 before disappearing. In 1900, a new building was constructed, notably featuring a dome, designed by architect Ernest Brunnarius. It was decommissioned in 1986, the year in which the façade, entrance hall and vestibule were listed as historic monuments. In 1996, the town of Évian bought the former thermal baths and entrusted their renovation to architects Michel Spitz and François Châtillon. The current building was inaugurated in 2006.
Characteristics: formerly reinforced concrete (Hennebique system), brick and stone. The current building has regained its central dome, which was lost in the 1990s, and two stone bell towers on either side of the pediment, decorated with flamed sandstone by Alexandre Bigo. Current use: conference and exhibition centre.
Listed as: historic monument in 1986
Cachat refreshment bar
Construction: 1903 to 1905
Style: Art Nouveau thermal baths.
History: the Cachat refreshment bar occupies the site of the former Hôtel des Bains. It is owned by the Société des Eaux, founded by the Cachat family in the 18th century following the discovery of the virtues of Evian water. The building was designed by architect Albert Hebrard and restored between 2021 and 2024.
Characteristics: the building is made of concrete, hidden beneath wooden curves. It houses a fountain decorated with a sculpture, Apothéose de la source Cachat (Apotheosis of the Cachat Spring), by Louis-Charles Beylard.
Listed as: historic monument in 1986. 20th-century heritage site in 2003.
Town hall
Construction: since 1885.
Style: Neoclassical and Rococo.
History: construction of the building began in 1885, on the initiative of Antoine Lumière. The building was acquired by Rodolfo Taurel in 1925 and was purchased by the city in 1927. Characteristics: the building is in the French classical style, while the interior decoration is Rococo. The east façade features an entrance framed by two statues inspired by Pierre Puget's Atlantes, which can be seen at the entrance to Toulon Town Hall; above the motto "Liberté Égalité Fraternité" is a radiant sun, a reference to the Lumière family name. The oak door is decorated with bronze bas-reliefs representing allegories of painting and sculpture on both leaves. Inside, a coffered ceiling entrance hall features two large sculpted bas-reliefs facing each other, allegories of the arts and sciences. To the right are two rooms, a large drawing room and a small drawing room decorated in shades of yellow, with period furniture. Opposite the entrance, an oak-panelled staircase covered with a red carpet begins with a statue of a lion with an open mouth on the right and is dominated by an original chandelier with pendants. The walls framing this staircase are decorated with paintings by Lyon artists, accompanied by bronze bas-reliefs below.
Listed as: historic monument in 1981.
Church of Our Lady of the Assumption
Construction: 13th century.
Style: Gothic.
History: its construction is traditionally estimated to have taken place between 1260 and 1265 but given the presence of Pierre of Savoy's castle and the choice of Evian as an administrative centre, it would be surprising if its origins were not older. A papal bull mentions a church in 1250, dedicated to "Blessed Mary in her Assumption". Construction appears to have begun in 1215.
Characteristics: The building has a rectangular layout, with a central nave flanked by two aisles, a non-protruding transept, and a flat rectangular chancel topped by a bell tower. It houses a 16th-century painting of Our Lady of Grace. The Stations of the Cross, at the top of the main aisle, were designed by local contemporary painter Pierre Christin.
Listed as: partially listed as a historic monument in 1974.
