Chalet Viñales

Some houses feel like tributes. Built in the 1960s, this chalet pays homage, in its own way, to Cuba, where Julien's grandparents lived for four years before the Revolution forced them to imagine a different future elsewhere. Viñales, after all, is the name of the Cuban valley listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Through Julien, the chalet also celebrates family heritage and the possibility of writing a shared story anew. He has changed everything, yet altered nothing. The paintings, mirrors and furniture, once considered hopelessly old-fashioned, have been carefully preserved, restoring the soul they quietly carried all along. It is also a tribute to the mountains: the ones that fill the view from the Green Room, with the Aiguille du Midi perfectly framed, and the ones to be explored on foot in every season. Finally, it is a tribute to second chances. At a crossroads in his life, Julien chose to reinvent himself, trained as a pastry chef, and broadened his horizons by creating a local, plant-led table d'hôtes. Some houses simply have something more.