The town of Aime la Plagne has a tradition of welcoming travellers. The first signs of human occupation date from the Middle Iron Age, between around 450 and 25 BC. It is about 20 kilometres from La Plagne’s altitude villages. A town of around 4500 inhabitants, Aime offers numerous shops, restaurants and services, where you can find all you need during your stay. It has a railway station served by TGV trains. There is a weekly market on Thursdays all year round in the town centre, with local artisans selling food, beer, honey and cheese, as well as one-off creations, decorative items, furniture and accessories…
La Plagne Vallée
Altitude
700m
Getting to La Plagne Vallée
Aime la Plagne, 7000 years of history
Aime has been inhabited since the Middle Iron Age. The city of the Ceutrones was situated on the French section of the road linking Milan to Vienna, that goes over the Petit Saint Bernard pass. In the 1st century BC, it was known as Axima, the capital of the Graian Alps. Many excavations bear witness to this glorious past. The builders of the year 1000 have left their mark in the town with Saint Martin’s Basilica, a jewel of early Roman art. In the Middle Ages, the town was administered by the Montmayeurs, a branch of the Briançon-Aigueblanche family, Viscounts of the Tarentaise. Find out more about them by visiting their chateau!
Aime la Plagne, a rich heritage
In the centre of Aime la Plagne rises a Roman basilica built in the 11th century. It is commonly known as Saint Martin’s Basilica, but its official name is the Church of Saint Martin’s Priory. It was built on the foundations of a Roman civil basilica then a Carolingian church. Inside, in the choir stalls, you can see 12th / 13th century frescos and in the basement, there are engraved stones from the Roman era, not forgetting the crypt. Not far from the railway line, the Tour Montmayeur has an exhibition that explains the architecture of the houses in the Tarentaise valley at different altitudes. On Saint Sigismond hill stands the Espace Archéologique Pierre Borrione: about stones and men. The building, which used to be the main church of Aime, is now a Musée de France. It bears the name of its founder and patron who was a doctor and mayor of Aime. Pierre Borrione was anxious to conserve the many traces of the past of his town and the rest of the valley. In the town centre, the parish church dedicated to the nativity of the Virgin was built between 1675 and 1678. It presents all the characteristics of baroque art whose principles resulted from the Counter-Reformation and the Council of Trent.
Erected on Saint Sigismund's hill, the Pierre Borrione: des Pierres et des hommes archaeological area, former mother church of Aime, is a Museum of France. It bears the name of its founder and patron, doctor and mayor of Aime. This enthusiast was keen to preserve on site the many vestiges of his town's past, and even of the valley. In the town centre, the parish church dedicated to the nativity of the Virgin was built between 1675 and 1678. It has all the characteristics of Baroque art, the principles of which are the consequence of the Counter-Reformation and the Council of Trent.
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