Beausoleil, a Belle Époque gem in the shadow of Monaco, with the Riviera Palace
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Located at the entrance to the Principality of Monaco, the city of Beausoleil may be considered as a recent locality, since it has only existed since 1904 and was meant in fact to attract a rich clientele of tourists, mainly coming from Northern European countries and Russia, who came to benefit from the winter sun. Seeing that Monaco‘s point of attraction was developing at high speed, the French neighbors of Beausoleil, under the leadership of their mayor Camille Blanc, decided to detach bare land from La Turbie and make it into various places of residence. rather posh. In a very hilly environment, the problem of moving, essentially through sloped streets, was already being felt and was partly overcome by the presence of cogwheel or electric trains (late 19th century until 1932) or more classic carriages.
Walking through the relatively steep streets lined with sunny engraved cobblestones, discover the Foyer du Poilu. This veterans‘ home, inaugurated in 1928 by Marshal Foch. A real military museum, not far from the Carrier district, the oldest in Beausoleil, once occupied by Italian workers who had made huts out of odds and ends. This is why this area was as well nicknamed the Tonquin, in reference to the shanty towns of Indochina, shortly before the surrounding area was repaired, under the decision of the mayor at the time. A little bit further, do not miss the presence of a solidarity garden, located on one of the rare unbuilt plots of the town, which produces a significant annual amount of fruit and vegetables, intended for the most disadvantaged inhabitants.
If you climb a few more steps, you will be able to reach one of the highest and chicest points of Beausoleil, namely the Riviera Palace. Built during 5 years by the Orient Express company, which already operated 7 palaces and which wanted to deploy the best of luxury of the time here, for its inauguration in 1903. Directed under the leadership of the architect Georges Chedanne, which was also at the origin known for his construction of the Parisian grocery store of Les Galeries Lafayette, there are also certain similarities in terms of architectural style. Mainly intended for visitors who mainly flocked there from October to April, they depended on huge sums of money and in fact brought their own staff, in addition to the 1000 employees who were busy in the hotel, by that time.
This huge amount was even sometimes far from being sufficient, since it was nearly a permanent party place and which gave the opportunity to the other tourists to find more calm, while eventually vacationing in the Hotel de Paris and L’Hermitage. Shut down during the First World War in 1914, transformed into a Military Hospital and victim of the bolshevik Revolution, this gem ceased its activity definitively in 1932. Bought by the Lamaro company, the building increased from a capacity of 50 suites to 100 apartments, since most of them were transformed into duplexes, thanks to their ceilings which rose to nearly 7 meters high. Although the majority of the rooms were adorned with magnificent paintings and other decorative pieces, this building was not listed until 1989, with the obvious aim of preserving these remaining treasures.
When you venture inside this incredible edifice, frozen in time, you will still find some vestiges of this illustrious hotel, including the concierge‘s lodge, the lobby, the fur cloakroom and of course these period elevators. In addition, there was also a bridge room, a restaurant, a barber shop, a florist and even a tobacconist. In addition, there is the unmissable glass greenhouse of 900m2, even including a peak ceiling height of 22 meters, with an arrangement designed by Henri Martinet, composed mainly of exotic plants (of which some palm trees still exist). In the center of which sits a fountain decorated with macaroons and fed by a rainwater harvesting function. For your information, the hotel employees were housed facing this interior garden, while the rich clients were more privileged hosted, facing the sea.
Obviously, the conditions aboard this greenhouse were complicated since it was very hot in summer and relatively freezing in winter, although steam boilers were in operation. By the way, many famous people have been fortunate enough to stay at this Palace, such as choreographer Serge Dagilev and his principal dancer Vaslav, the Russian Prince Nicholas 2nd, the King of the Belgians Leopold 2nd, the Shah of Iran, the writer Colette who mentioned her experience there in his work “L’Ingénue Libertine”, another writer Guillaume Apollinaire often visited his mother there, who had unfortunately squandered most of her fortune in gambling activities. On the other hand, let’s not forget the visit of the composers Stravinsky and Maurice Ravel.
