belle époque

Or Belle Époque

[bel ey-pawk]

noun

French.

plural

belles époques 

1. the period (1871–1914) between the end of the Franco-Prussian War and the outbreak of World War I, characterized by relative peacefulness in Western Europe and by marked advances and productivity in the arts, literature, technology, etc.

belle époque

/ bɛl epɔk /

noun

1. the period of comfortable well-established life in Europe before World War I

Word History and Origins

Origin of belle époque¹

Literally, “beautiful epoch”

Word History and Origins

Origin of belle époque¹

literally: fine period

Example Sentences

The first describes the garden Dior’s mother created on the family estate in Granville, France—a Belle Époque paradise he loved as a boy—and his own gardens in the countryside, at Milly-la-Forêt and La Colle Noir.

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As video games go, it's a stunner, with gorgeous art direction heavily inspired by France's 19th century Belle Époque era.

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As they whooped and hollered and paraded the trophy around the Stade de France, you got an overwhelming sense that this Belle Epoque in rugby boots is only just getting started.

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Many of them were built in the early 20th century - grand belle epoque palaces serving a then emerging class of privileged, primarily English tourists.

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A homage to the novelist Marcel Proust, the hotel features sumptuous spaces that conjure the Belle Époque and in them you’ll discover objects linked to the hotel’s namesake, including an autographed copy of “Swann’s Way.”

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