Explore the real-world places that appear in The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Le Sanatorium (The Sanatorium Building), Sierre, Valais Wine Region, Crans-Montana, The Alpine Peaks (Mont-Blanc region vista) and 10 more.
Fictional resort in Valais — The novel's primary setting
The abandoned luxury sanatorium high in the Swiss Alps is the novel's central location. Elin Warner, a detective, arrives to investigate her brother Will's disappearance at the resort years earlier. The main building, with its grand halls, medical wings, and underground tunnels, harbors dark secrets about unethical experiments conducted during its heyday as a tuberculosis treatment center. Guest Laure, a young woman attending her sister's wedding at the resort, begins experiencing terrifying visions and discoveries that mirror Elin's investigation. The sanatorium's isolation and Gothic architecture create an atmosphere of creeping dread as both women uncover the truth about what happened to past patients and guests.
The Swiss Alps were epicenters of tuberculosis treatment in the early 20th century. High-altitude sanatoriums became fashionable destinations where wealthy patients sought cure through fresh mountain air and experimental treatments. Many such facilities conducted questionable medical practices and housed vulnerable patients far from oversight.
No actual sanatorium exactly matches Pearse's fictional resort, but it is inspired by real abandoned Alpine sanitaria such as Caux Palace Hotel and other historic health resorts in the Valais region that have been repurposed or left to decay.
Town center, Route de Sion — The nearest town to the sanatorium
Sierre is the closest town to the remote sanatorium. Elin must navigate to this village to gather information from locals about the resort's history and Will's disappearance. The town represents the last connection to civilization before the isolated mountaintop facility. Local residents hold secrets about the sanatorium's past and refuse to cooperate fully with Elin's investigation, adding to her sense of isolation and the town's complicity in covering up the resort's darker operations.
Sierre is a historic wine-producing town in the Valais region, dating back centuries. It sits at the crossroads between the German and French-speaking parts of Switzerland and has been an important trading post and agricultural center throughout its history.
Sierre remains a vibrant town of approximately 16,000 residents, known for its vineyards, medieval architecture, and as a hub for outdoor activities in the Valais. The town center features restaurants, shops, and hotels serving both tourists and locals.
Visit: Sierre Town Center (landmark)
Rolling vineyards south of Sierre — Regional backdrop and character detail
The Valais wine region provides crucial atmospheric detail and regional grounding. References to the local wine culture and terraced vineyards establish the setting's specific geography and the area's long history of cultivation and tradition. The contrast between the civilized, productive lower valleys and the desolate, dangerous mountain peaks where the sanatorium perches underscores the novel's themes of isolation and hidden danger.
The Valais has been a wine-producing region for over 2,000 years, with vineyards cultivated by Romans and later by monks. The steep, terraced vineyards are among the most spectacular in Europe, carved into the mountainsides over centuries of labor.
The Valais is Switzerland's largest wine region, producing distinctive Fendant and Petite Arvine white wines. The terraced vineyards attract tourists and wine enthusiasts, and many villages offer wine tastings and vineyard tours throughout the year.
Visit: Valais Wine Region (landmark)
Mountain resort village at 1,500m elevation — Alpine destination near the sanatorium
Crans-Montana serves as a realistic alpine resort town that contextualizes the sanatorium's location and historical appeal. The novel's guests and investigators reference this nearby luxury destination, which provides contrast to the isolated, abandoned facility. The area's reputation as a high-altitude health destination historically parallels the sanatorium's original purpose as a tuberculosis retreat.
Crans-Montana was developed in the late 19th century as a fashionable mountain health resort, capitalizing on the belief that high altitude air cured tuberculosis and other respiratory ailments. It became one of Switzerland's premier Alpine destinations for the wealthy and infirm.
Crans-Montana is now a major ski resort and year-round mountain destination, hosting international sporting events and attracting thousands of tourists annually. The village features luxury hotels, restaurants, cable cars, and extensive hiking and skiing infrastructure.
Visit: Crans-Montana Resort (landmark)
Mountain wilderness surrounding the sanatorium — Isolation and danger
The surrounding Alpine peaks and glaciers provide the claustrophobic isolation that traps characters and investigations alike. The mountains' harsh beauty and unpredictable weather create genuine physical danger that mirrors the psychological terror within the sanatorium itself. Elin experiences moments of vertigo and panic when confronting the vast emptiness around her, and the remote location prevents easy escape or rescue. The deadly terrain has claimed lives throughout the novel's narrative.
The Swiss Alps have been both revered and feared throughout human history. These mountains were formed over millions of years and contain some of Europe's oldest glaciers. The peaks have claimed countless lives through avalanches, exposure, and accidents dating back centuries.
The Alpine region remains a premier destination for mountaineering, hiking, skiing, and scientific research. Modern infrastructure including cable cars, huts, and emergency services now mitigate many historic dangers, though the mountains remain inherently hazardous.
Visit: Swiss Alps National Heritage Sites (park)
Rue de Lausanne — Regional administrative center and police headquarters
Sion, the capital of Valais canton, serves as the location of official police records and bureaucratic infrastructure essential to Elin's investigation. She must navigate regional law enforcement and historical records housed in Sion's administrative offices to piece together what happened at the sanatorium decades earlier. The city represents institutional authority that has historically overlooked or suppressed the sanatorium's crimes.
Sion is one of Switzerland's oldest cities, with settlement dating back to Roman times. Its two distinctive castles—Tourbillon and Valère—perch on hillsides overlooking the city and have dominated the regional landscape for over a millennium. The city served as the ecclesiastical and political center of Valais for centuries.
Sion is a vibrant capital city of approximately 34,000 residents with medieval old town architecture, museums, and modern amenities. The two castles remain prominent landmarks offering historical tours, and the city serves as the administrative and cultural hub of the Valais region.
Visit: Sion Old Town & Castles (historic site)
Bernese Oberland valley — Reference point for Alpine geography and climbing culture
Grindelwald is referenced in the novel as part of the broader Alpine region's mountaineering culture. The mention of this famous climbing destination underscores the sanatorium's location within a landscape where adventurous pursuits have historically occurred, adding layers to the region's danger and the ease with which accidents—or foul play—might occur in the mountains.
Grindelwald became famous in the 19th century as a destination for early mountaineers and Alpinists. It was one of the first Alpine villages to develop tourism infrastructure to support mountain climbers attempting peaks like the Eiger and Jungfrau.
Grindelwald remains one of Switzerland's premier mountain destinations, hosting thousands of climbers and hikers annually. It features mountain railways, guides, sports equipment shops, and hotels catering to the adventure tourism market.
Visit: Grindelwald Mountain Resort (landmark)
Medical University of Lausanne, Rue du Bugnard — Historical medical records repository
Elin accesses historical medical records and research documentation through Swiss archives to uncover the sanatorium's experimental practices. These institutional records reveal the unethical treatments and patient abuse that occurred decades earlier, providing crucial evidence linking past crimes to present horrors. The archives represent the thin documentary trail of a suppressed and forgotten facility.
Swiss medical institutions began systematizing archival records in the 19th century as part of broader professionalization of medicine. Many archives contain detailed documentation of historical medical facilities, treatments, and research, including ethically questionable practices now recognized as abuse.
Medical universities and archives throughout Switzerland maintain extensive collections documenting the history of healthcare and medical research. These institutions support historical research and provide public access to records of scientific and medical significance.
Visit: University of Lausanne Medical Archives (library)
Avenue de la Gare — Junction town at base of mountain valleys
Martigny functions as a transit hub and gateway to the mountain valleys where the sanatorium is located. Characters pass through this town when traveling to and from the resort, and it serves as a point of access to the wider region's infrastructure. The town's role as a crossroads underscores both the sanatorium's relative isolation and its accessibility for those in the know.
Martigny was established as a Roman settlement (Octodurus) and has served as a crucial junction point in the Valais for two millennia. The town sits at the confluence of major valley routes and became increasingly important with the development of rail transport in the 19th century.
Martigny is a town of approximately 8,500 residents serving as a regional commercial and transportation hub. It features a train station connecting to major Swiss rail lines, museums including the Foundation Pierre Gianadda, and modern amenities alongside historic architecture.
Visit: Martigny Town Center (landmark)
International city serving as backdrop for investigation origins
Geneva serves as the broader institutional and international context for the novel. Elin's investigation connects to international medical ethics concerns and the larger framework of Swiss institutional accountability. The city represents the civilized, regulated world that stands in stark contrast to the lawless secrecy of the remote sanatorium.
Geneva became a center of medical innovation and international humanitarian law during the 19th and 20th centuries. The city hosts the International Red Cross, the League of Nations (later UN), and numerous medical institutions and research centers that have shaped global healthcare standards.
Geneva is Switzerland's second-largest city and a major international hub hosting UN agencies, the Red Cross headquarters, and numerous medical and scientific institutions. The city is known for diplomacy, banking, watchmaking, and chocolate.
Visit: Geneva City Center (landmark)
Grand ballroom — Laure's sister's wedding celebration
The sanatorium's converted grand ballroom hosts Laure's sister's wedding, which provides the narrative entry point for the horror to unfold. Guests celebrate in the elegant, decaying venue while Laure experiences uncanny visions and discovers disturbing evidence of the building's past. The contrast between the joyful wedding celebration and the mounting dread creates visceral narrative tension as Laure realizes something is terribly wrong with both the place and her own perceptions.
The ballroom was originally constructed during the sanatorium's heyday as a space for patients' social events and therapeutic recreation. Many sanatoriums of this era featured ornate public spaces designed to maintain morale among long-term patients.
The ballroom exists only within the fictional narrative and the real architectural inspirations of abandoned Alpine sanatoriums, many of which featured similar grand public spaces that now stand empty or in decay.
Beneath the sanatorium — Hidden passages connecting buildings
The sanatorium's network of underground tunnels connects different wings and served multiple purposes during its operating years—patient transfers, staff circulation, and allegedly, concealment of illegal activities. Elin discovers evidence of unethical experiments and disappearances traced through these passages. Laure also encounters disturbing reminders of the past hidden in these tunnels, including physical evidence of the abuses that occurred. The passages represent the institutional infrastructure designed to hide rather than illuminate the facility's true operations.
Many large sanatorium complexes built underground passages for practical reasons: to allow patient transfers in harsh weather, to segregate different patient populations, and to provide staff circulation routes. These passages, often forgotten after facilities closed, became repositories for abandoned equipment and records.
The tunnels exist only within the novel's fictional framework, though they are inspired by real architectural features of historical sanatoriums throughout the Alps, many of which contained similar extensive passage systems now inaccessible or partially collapsed.
Upper floor of sanatorium — Site of unethical experiments
The isolation ward housed experimental medical treatments and research conducted without proper consent or oversight. Elin uncovers documentation of dangerous procedures performed on vulnerable patients, including Will's involvement and potential victimization. The ward's location away from public areas of the resort allowed staff to conduct activities hidden from guests and inspection. Laure's visions lead her to this wing where she discovers physical evidence of the experiments' horrifying nature.
Many Alpine sanatoriums in the early 20th century conducted experimental treatments for tuberculosis, including pneumothorax procedures, lung collapse therapy, and unproven pharmaceutical interventions. Vulnerable patients far from family oversight were often subjected to dangerous procedures without informed consent.
The isolation ward exists within the novel's fictional construct, inspired by real medical history and the architecture of abandoned sanatoriums where such research spaces can still be seen in various states of decay throughout the Alps.
Alpine forest approach route — Elin's arrival and investigative journey
Elin approaches the remote sanatorium via the treacherous forest path, which is presented as the primary and often only practical access to the facility. The dense Alpine forest creates a sense of entrapment and isolation as she ventures deeper toward the desolate resort. The path's difficulty mirrors Elin's psychological journey as she uncovers increasingly disturbing truths about her brother's fate. The forest also represents the boundary between the civilized world below and the forgotten horrors above.
Alpine forests in the Valais are ancient ecosystems, with some groves predating recorded history. Traditional mountain paths through these forests served travelers and traders for centuries before modern roads were constructed.
The Alpine forests of the Valais remain protected natural areas and are popular destinations for hiking and forest bathing tourism. Well-maintained trails now allow tourists to explore the wilderness safely.
Visit: Valais Alpine Forest Trails (park)
Lac de Géronde area — Atmospheric location near sanatorium region
The glacial lakes of the region provide atmospheric backdrop and occasional references to the sanatorium's location within the Alpine landscape. The cold, deep waters reflect the novel's themes of hidden depths and buried secrets. Characters occasionally reference the lakes as they navigate the mountain terrain, and the water features contribute to the setting's sense of remote, elemental danger.
The glacial lakes of the Valais were formed during the last ice age and have been important water sources and travel routes throughout human habitation of the region. Many Alpine lakes were used for power generation and transportation in the industrial era.
The Alpine lakes of the Valais are popular destinations for hiking, water sports, and scenic photography. Several lakes are now part of protected natural areas and serve as reservoirs for hydroelectric power generation.
Visit: Lac de Géronde & Alpine Lakes (park)
More by Sarah Pearse: All Sarah Pearse books
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