Hotel Arbez: Experience Sleeping in Two Countries at Once

"You're in room nine, one of our binational rooms," the hotel manager said with a grin, handing me an old-fashioned metal key.

I could barely contain my excitement. The idea of checking into a hotel not knowing which country I’d be in that night was already thrilling—now I was about to sleep in two countries at once!

The journey to La Cure had been a long one, with winding roads leading to this quaint village nestled high in the Jura Mountains, which divide France and Switzerland.

Thanks to a little-known 19th-century international agreement, I was about to experience one of the most unique hotel stays in the world.

Styled in the charming, rustic manner typical of this region, the family-owned Hotel Arbez Franco-Suisse, also known as L’Arbézie, has the unique distinction of sitting directly on an international border.

This remarkable situation arose as an unintended result of the 1862 Treaty of Dappes, which saw France and Switzerland swap a small stretch of land to ensure full French control over a crucial nearby road.

The treaty also stipulated that any buildings along the border should remain where they stood, a condition seized by a local entrepreneur who opened a shop and bar to capitalize on cross-border trade. The hotel would be established in 1921.

As a result, half of the hotel sits in France and the other half in Switzerland, with the border cutting right through the restaurant and several rooms.

I was placed in one of these binational rooms, where the invisible international line runs directly through the bathroom and bed, meaning guests rest with their head in Switzerland and their feet in France.

From the window, I could see the two border posts just a few steps away—Switzerland’s on the right, France’s a little further down on the left, with the hotel nestled on a triangular plot between them.

Legal complexities

The cross-border nature of the hotel is woven into its very character. From the upheaval of the World Wars to the recent Covid-19 crisis, the hotel’s location has sparked countless unusual events and stories. This theme is also reflected in the decor. Some elements, like the flags on the walls, are easy to spot, while others are more subtle.

“Mirrors and windows are more than just decorative pieces; they represent a connection between two different worlds and realities,” says Alexandre Peyron, manager of the family-run hotel, during a tour of one of the suites. In this particular room, everything was in Switzerland, but one entire wall was purely French.

A reproduction of Paul Cézanne’s iconic painting, “The Card Players,” hangs above the restaurant, positioned precisely where the border divides the space.

The painting of two men playing cards, also featured as a large mural on one of the hotel’s exterior walls, references a quirky incident from the 1920s, according to Peyron. A Swiss customs officer fined a group of guests caught playing cards. The offense wasn’t gambling, as some had assumed, but that they were using French-made cards on the Swiss side of the hotel without paying customs duties. To this day, the hotel allows card games, but no cards are allowed to cross the border.

Offering sanctuary during World War II

The legal details extend even to the food served here.

On the French side of the restaurant? Don’t expect to order the tomme Vaudoise, a Swiss cheese that cannot be brought across the border due to strict European regulations on unpasteurized dairy products. The reverse is true for some French delicacies, like saucisse de Morteau, a special sausage not permitted in Switzerland.

When it comes to paying your bill, things are simpler, as both euros and Swiss Francs are accepted. The hotel also has two phone lines—one for each country—and rooms are equipped with two types of electrical outlets, reflecting the different standards in France and Switzerland. Taxes are split between the two countries based on a specific pro-rata agreement with their respective tax authorities.

When Switzerland joined the Schengen Area in 2008, things became a little easier, but in practice, it didn’t have much impact on the hotel’s daily operations, as this has always been a remarkably fluid, cross-border space.

A particularly striking example of this occurred during World War II, according to Peyron, when the German-occupied and Vichy-controlled areas of France met the neutral Switzerland border right at the hotel’s location.

The Germans controlled the French side of the hotel, but because the staircase leading to the rooms crossed into Swiss territory, the upper floors remained beyond their reach. This made them a relatively safe refuge for fleeing refugees and allied pilots.

In a scene straight out of the classic British sitcom “‘Allo, ‘Allo,” when the Germans were distracted, enjoying drinks at the bar, the hotel’s owners would sneak fugitives past them into the safety of Switzerland.

Hotel owner Max Arbez was honored as Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem Memorial in Jerusalem for his efforts to rescue Jewish refugees. A letter of appreciation from Allied commander Marshall Montgomery is now proudly displayed beside the “staircase of freedom.”

Venue for covert negotiations

The hotel wasn’t done with international diplomacy. In the early 1960s, Hotel Arbez became the backdrop for secret talks that ultimately led to Algeria’s independence from France in 1962.

Fearing arrest, the Algerian negotiators were reluctant to set foot on French soil, while the French government wanted to keep the discussions within their borders. The hotel’s private rooms provided the perfect neutral ground for the delicate negotiations.

The hotel’s unusual status has occasionally attracted less benign attention. In early 2002, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, Peyron recalls that agents from an undisclosed security service visited the hotel to investigate the possibility that an Al Qaeda operative might have used the hotel to cross the border unnoticed.

More recently, with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hotel Arbez found itself on the front lines once again.

Like many other hotels in the tourism sector, the hotel faced significant challenges, though it managed to remain open for a time to accommodate healthcare workers.

The management also had to navigate the complexities of two ever-changing sets of regulations, typically choosing the stricter of the two, which, more often than not, came from the French side.

While quarantines and stay-at-home orders were gradually lifted, the border remained closed for much longer. Since the hotel is accessible from both countries, it became a refuge for couples separated by the border during this time.

As Peyron continues his tour, he passes through a narrow courtyard that links the French and Swiss sides of the hotel. There, he points out one of the oldest and most tangible symbols of the border: a stone marker from 1863.

One side of the marker bears the eagle of the Second French Empire (when France was under Napoleon III), while the other side simply reads “Vaud.”

“The State of Vaud is one of the components of the Swiss Confederation, but let’s not forget, on the other side of this marker, there’s another kind of union—the European Union,” Peyron remarks.

Lots to reflect on as I make my way to the room for a truly international sleep. Just to be safe, before I unlock the door, I double-checked my pocket to ensure I had my passport with me.

Hotel Arbez Franco-Suisse

601 Rue de la Frontière, 39220 Les Rousses, France; +33 3 84 60 02 20

61, Route de France, 1265 La Cure, Switzerland; +41 22 36 013 96