The French alpine town of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains is drawing attention as an off-peak destination, offering thermal spa treatments, hiking trails and improved transport links before the winter ski season begins.
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains sits 850 metres above sea level, 50 minutes from Geneva and between Chamonix and Megève. The town of 5,800 residents stays active outside the winter and summer peaks, in large part because of thermal waters discovered at the start of the 19th century, according to the Guardian, which reported on the trip.
A year-round gondola called Le Valléen opened in late 2024, linking the train station in the lower village of Le Fayet with Saint-Gervais. The link means visitors can travel by rail from London via Paris and reach the resort without a car.
Mayor Jean-Marc Peillex said the town plans for residents first. “If you go to Megève in the shoulder season there’s no one there,” he said. “That’s not the case here. The secret is that instead of thinking about tourists, you think about the people who live here. Then the tourists will be happy too.”
Thermal waters since 1806
Les Thermes de Saint-Gervais has treated visitors since 1806, when notary Joseph-Marie Gontard discovered the springs, according to the tourist board. The mineral-rich waters, containing sulphur, magnesium, calcium and zinc, emerge underground at 39C and feed a three-hour wellness circuit of pools, a sauna, a steam room and a rainforest spa.
Amenities in the town include a medieval fortified house, a 17th-century church with geometric stained glass, belle époque buildings near the spa and a weekly Thursday market. Several restaurants stay open all year.
Rides and walks
The Tramway du Mont Blanc, a cog railway operating since 1909, climbs from the town to Mont Lachat station at 2,115 metres. The line was originally intended to reach the 4,809-metre summit of Mont Blanc, but war, glacial terrain and declining funds ended that plan. From Mont Lachat, the Bionnassay Glacier and the Chamonix valley are visible.
The tramway stops at the Nid d’Aigle lookout at 2,380 metres, following an extension in July. Service ends in late September, but hiking trails fan out from the town later into the year, and a free bus links the villages of the commune year-round.
One route runs from Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce, whose baroque church has blue-and-gold interiors and frescoed ceilings, climbing roughly two hours to the Refuge du Mont-Joly, a century-old wooden inn. The refuge serves regional food, including tartiflette and blueberry tart. It closes from the end of March to late May and from November to mid-December.
A tramway stop at Motivon, 1,400 metres, gives access to an hour-long walk to the Distillerie Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc at 1,365 metres, described as one of Europe’s highest microdistilleries. Scotsman James Abbott produces about 450 bottles a year of single malt whisky in a Speyside style, along with vodka, génépi and a mountain gin. The whisky sells for €95 and the gin for €50.
Prices and transport
Rooms at the Coeur des Neiges hotel are offered at less than half the summer or winter rate in autumn, with doubles from €108 room-only. Doubles at Plan B at Le Fayet start at €76 room-only.
The Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc tourist board provided the trip described in the Guardian article.
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