Bagnoles de l'Orne - Petite Cité de Caractère

Halfway between Paris and Mont Saint-Michel, Bagnoles de l'Orne is located in the south of Normandy in the Orne département. Set in 7,000 hectares of forest, the town's charm lies in its elegant late 19th-century architecture and its lake, bordered by the Art Deco Casino.

A town with a strong character.

Remains of settlements dating back to the Neolithic period have been found in the commune. In Gallo-Roman times, the cult of a thermal goddess lasted until the 4th century. The Romans named the site of the spring "balneolum", which gave its name to Bagnoles. In the Middle Ages, hamlets were created and, in 1611, an artificial lake took shape to feed the forges. These were in operation until 1811.

Following the arrival of the railroads and the opening of the station in 1881, under the impetus of Albert Christophle, MP for Orne and Governor of Crédit Foncier, a resort district was built between 1886 and 1914 on a 43-hectare forested plot. Today, this neighborhood includes some forty "Belle Époque" houses and has been protected since 1991.

In the interwar period, the town was fashionable and frequented by the European aristocracy, politicians, influential figures and artists, who stayed in its palaces: the Grand Hôtel overlooking the lake, the Hôtel des Thermes and the Hôtel du Parc.

In 1927, the Casino du Lac was built in Art Deco style for billionaire Franck-Jay Gould, and the lake was redesigned and its gardens created.

Not to be missed

- The SPR-listed Belle Époque district

- The city discovery tour

- Sacré Coeur church, listed as a 20th-century heritage site

- The lake and its gardens

- Casino du Lac

- Les Thermes and its forest park

- The neo-Renaissance Château-Hôtel de Ville and its park (arboretum)

- Le Roc au Chien geosite (highest point in the town)

- Le Jardin Retiré (Remarkable Garden)

- St Ortaire priory

- The forest trail

- War relics circuit