Hubert Colombier Street

You’re about to walk down Hubert Colombier Street. As you do, take a moment to look up, check out the building façades and take in every single detail. This little street used to be private and hence off-limits to the public. Fortunately, that’s no longer the case today. A stroll here will transport you back in time to the Belle Époque, when the fancy elite flocked to the famous springs of what was to become the “Queen of the spa towns”. In 1894, Hubert Colombier, founder of the Vichy bank, bought the whole area and built a bunch of villas for himself and his crew. He even built a chalet for the janitor. All buildings were designed to be identical. But things didn’t quite go according to plan! You can see that each villa has its own unique architectural style, from Flemish to Art Nouveau, Gothic and even Louis XIII style. These aesthetic differences mean you can admire at an amazing variety of buildings, all crammed into a few hundred meters. It’s a pity that Mr Colombier died in 1899 without ever seeing his architectural mishmash finished – almost all the houses on this street have been listed as historical monuments since 1988!