The Belle Époque is a period of optimism, economic prosperity, and technological and cultural innovations. It is conventionally dated from 1871 to the outbreak of the World War I and involved the Western European countries, especially France, where the arts flourished.

In this period, Art Nouveau (New Art) emerged as an art movement and characterized the design of several buildings and public spaces. Paris Metro stations are a clear example.

France is full of beautiful buildings that date to the golden age of the Belle Époque, and most of them are in small towns, often ignored by foreign visitors. Here’s a short list of beautiful towns that every tourist should visit when travelling across the country. Paris is a diamond, but it’s not the only magic place in France.

Biarritz

This pearl of the Atlantic is now one of the surfing capital of Europe, where history and culture can perfectly cohabit with the nightlife and surf-based culture. Biarritz took off as a resort in the mid-19th century when Napoléon III and his Spanish-born wife, Eugénie, visited regularly, but it hasn’t lost all her gentility and you’ll still find along its rocky coastline, architectural hallmarks of this golden age in the graceful decor of many cafes, restaurants and hotels. From the beautiful Grand Plage, the town’s largest beach, you can look back at a predominantly belle époque town, with its public and private buildings redolent of an age of wealth and good taste.

Annecy

Annecy is an old alpine town, in the Haute-Savoie department. It is surrounded by the mountains and it lies on the tip of Lake Annecy. Historically, the commune was the court of the counts of Geneva first, and it passed to the counts of Savoy in 1401. During the Belle Époque era, Annecy lived the process of tourism development, thanks to its spa establishments, such as the Thermes Nationaux, built-in 1864. Annecy has also one of the most beautiful casinos in the world, the Annecy Imperial Palace Casino, opened in 1913, and it is considered an emblematic building of the Belle Époque.

Wimereux

Wimereux is a quiet seaside town on the north coast of France not far from Calais. It shows its charming flavour of the Belle Époque period with its colourful sea front villas and glamorous blue and white-painted beach huts. The Belle Époque villas are one of the key attractions to the town and most were originally built as second homes for wealthy residents of Paris and Lille. One of the villas in particular is worth looking out for, this is the villa ‘Les Mauriciens’ which is classified as a historic monument and has a remarkable roof and façade.

Deauville and Trouville

Everybody knows the French Riviera, the beautiful Cote d’Azur, with its fashion places such as Saint-Tropez, Nice and Cannes. Here visitors are willingly distracted by the champagne parties of elegant socialites, and more often they don’t know that the Riviera houses many sites of cultural value, as well as many architectural treasures. Nice and Cannes are perfect destinations if you want to see amazing hotels in Belle Époque style, but it is even better if you go to an alternative location, the other Riviera. Just over an hour by train from Paris, chic Deauville and its neighbour Trouville are often called the ‘Parisian Riviera’. These two close but different towns, have several Belle Époque villas, in a quiet and refined environment. Deauville has been a playground of well-heeled Parisians ever since it was founded by Napoléon III’s half-brother, the Duke of Morny, in 1861. By contrast, Trouville is both a veteran beach resort, and a working fishing port. Popular with middle-class French families, the town was frequented by painters and writers during the 19th century.

 *All photos labeled reuse from Google Images.