belle époque

American  

[bel ey-pawk] / ˈbɛl eɪˈpɔk /

Or Belle Époque

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 British  

/ bɛl epɔk /

noun

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

---

Etymology

Origin of belle époque

Literally, “beautiful epoch”

Example Sentences

Start a self-guided trip in San Sebastián, where the revitalized belle epoque Hotel Luze reopened in June.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

From BBC

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.

From BBC

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

From BBC