Château de la Roche du Roi

Château de la Roche du Roi is a castle on a hillside above Aix-les-Bains, featuring a rectangular shape with round towers topped by domes and a central polygonal keep. The structure sits above two basement levels that rise above a raised ground floor.

The castle was built between 1897 and 1900 by architect Jules Pin Ainé for businessman Jean Archiprêtre-Dugit. It emerged as one of the most ambitious private building projects of that era in the region.

The castle blends Oriental palace elements with Renaissance design, and its entrance features Art Nouveau wrought iron gates. This mixing of styles shapes how the building looks and stands out in the landscape.

The castle sits on a hillside with views stretching over southern Aix-les-Bains and toward Tresserve hill. You can reach it via Boulevard de la Roche-du-Roi, and the elevated position makes it easy to orient yourself when visiting.

In 1982 a foreign buyer made a surprising proposal to dismantle the entire castle stone by stone and reconstruct it elsewhere. This reveals how remarkable collectors and admirers found this building's architecture to be.