About us

VILLA PUEBLA - ANNO 1880

The story and the place are one for the books.

Hello, we are Tessi and Laurent!

When you come and visit Villa Puebla, we will welcome you and share our passion for the place, the community and the valley with you, to make your stay is unique.

A few years ago we fell in love with the Ubaye, its inhabitants, its mountains and we chose to settle down here.

We have invested a lot of energy and passion in restoring this beautiful Art Nouveau villa and aspire to make this residence a warm place of welcome and exchange.

Tessi is Swedish and Laurent is French; both of us have lived and worked in several continents and we happily embrace diversity and creativity. This is one of the reasons Villa Puebla is, on top of a Bed & Breakfast, a place where we welcome Artists in Residence and others who wants to be inspired by this magnificent environment and unique facilities. A place to create. During your stay you will likely get an opportunity to meet and engage with an artist currently in residence.

You are welcome to talk with or write to us in English, French, Swedish, Spanish and Croatian.

We look forward to your visit.

ROOMS

KITCHEN/RESTAURANT

570

THE VILLA (SQ METERS)

13000

SIZE OF THE GARDEN (SQ METERS)

THE VILLA PUEBLA

A story to be told

Eugène Lions, a young native boy, left Barcelonnette for Mexico at the age of 13 to join his uncle who had created a fabric business in the city of Puebla. He would be one of the founders of the hugely successful La Ciudad de Mexico department store.

When he returned to Barcelonnette in 1880,Eugène entrusted the design and the construction of Villa Puebla to an Italian entrepreneur, Victor Berato.

Twenty years later, in 1903, influenced by the fantasy and ambition of new villas, Eugène Lions commissioned the architect Francis Girard to bring his home up-to-date. Eugène Lions opted for a colorful dressing. It is that style that we have have lovingly brought back to life in 2022.

Friezes and paintings of decorative earthenware highlight the different levels and mark the frames of the openings on the first floor. The roof is also modified: carved wooden braces support the extended cover with the help of coves and add a picturesque note to the austerity of the facade.

The Art Nouveau furniture in all the rooms and the decoration date from this period, including the magnificent stained glass windows. The interior rooms have a decor of plaster work, decorative carpentry and a beautiful set of white, red and black marble fireplaces. Most wonderfully the floors are ceramic tiles with large floral motifs

Villa Puebla is surrounded by a large wooded park which also includes an old greenhouse.

The Villa is listed in the inventory of Historic Monuments and its original furniture has been fully preserved.

The Villa has received the label of the Heritage Foundation and is included each year in the program of National Architecture Days.

The very well-known French TV program « Des racines et des ailes » recently devoted a long segment to Villa Puebla.

VILLA PUEBLA - ANNO 1880

THE VILLA PUEBLA

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