The France–Switzerland border is long. Its current path is mostly the product of the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...
of 1815, with the accession of
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
,
Neuchâtel
, neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier
, twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (Fra ...
and
Valais to the
Swiss Confederation, but it has since been modified in detail, the last time being in 2002. Although most of the border, marked with
border stones, is unguarded, several checkpoints remain staffed, most notably on busy roads.
Detailed path
The
tripoint where the border meets the
Germany–Switzerland border and
France–Germany border
The Franco-German border (; ) separates France and Germany and has a length of , about half of it along the Rhine.
History
The Franco-German border can be traced back to the 17th century, and the various treaties following the Thirty Years' W ...
is on the river
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
(at ) north of
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...
. A monument has been built near it, known as the
Dreiländereck.
The border runs south of
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area, french: Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg, it, Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo, rm, Eroport da Basilea-Mu ...
and then towards the southwest, separating the villages of
Schönenbuch
Schönenbuch (Swiss German: ''Schönebuech'') is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland.
History
Schönenbuch is first mentioned in 1315 as ''Schoenenbuoch''. It became an independent munici ...
(Switzerland),
Neuwiller
Neuwiller (, Alsatian language, Alsatian and Basel German: ''Näiwil'', german: Neuweiler) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It is surrounded to the north, east ...
(France),
Leymen (France) and
Rodersdorf (Switzerland).
It then enters the
Jura chain, rising above 800 metres of altitude before meeting the La Lucelle river at 460 m, between
Roggenburg, Basel-Country
Roggenburg is a municipality in the district of Laufen in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.
History
Both Roman coins and the remains of a Roman watchtower have been discovered within the municipality. Roggenburg is first mentioned in ...
and
Kiffis
Kiffis () is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.
See also
* Communes of the Haut-Rhin département
The following is a list of the 366 communes of the French department of Haut-Rhin.
The communes cooperate ...
(France). It follows the Lucelle as far as
Lucelle
Lucelle (german: Lützel) is a village situated on the Franco-Swiss border. It is divided between the two countries, the northern half (47 inhabitants in 1999) being part of the commune of Lucelle, Haut-Rhin, in the Haut-Rhin department, the south ...
municipality, running across the grounds of
Lucelle Abbey
Lucelle Abbey or Lützel Abbey (french: Abbaye de Lucelle; german: Kloster Lützel) was a Cistercian monastery in the present village of Lucelle, in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace, France, but located right on the Swiss border.
The name o ...
. It then turns north to include the Swiss
canton of Jura; it crosses the
Doubs
Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.[Brémoncourt
Brémoncourt () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in northeastern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department
The following is a list of the 591 communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department o ...]
, to include the
Clos du Doubs
Clos du Doubs ( fc, Chôs di Doubs) is a municipality in the district of Porrentruy in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. It was founded on January 1, 2009 by the former municipalities of Epauvillers, Epiquerez, Montenol, Montmelon, Ocourt ...
region in Switzerland. It meets the Doubs a second time further upstream, at 481 m. From here, it follows the winding course of the river as far as the
Lac des Brenets
__NOTOC__
Lac des Brenets (Swiss name) or Lac de Chaillexon (French name) is a lake on the river Doubs on the border of Switzerland and France.
Characteristics
The depression in which the lake lies was formed by the movements of a glacier, whi ...
, north of
Le Locle
Le Locle (; german: Luggli) is a municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
It is the third smallest city in Switzerland (in Switzerland ...
, at 756 m.
After passing the
Col des Roches at 920 m, the border runs in a south-westerly direction, generally following the Jura ridge, reaching an altitude of 1,288 m (''Le Meix Musy''). It turns towards the south to include
Pontarlier in France and again to the southwest to include
Vallorbe and the
Lac de Joux
__NOTOC__
Lac de Joux () is a lake in the Vallée de Joux in the Canton of Vaud
Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the ...
in Switzerland. Here it reaches an altitude of 1,377 m, before crossing the
Orbe river upstream of
Bois-d'Amont
Bois-d'Amont () is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Jura department
The following is a list of the 494 communes of the Jura department of France.
The ...
.
South of
Les Rousses
Les Rousses () is a commune in the Canton of Hauts de Bienne of Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, on the Swiss border.
The Lac des Rousses is located northeast of the village of Les Rousses beside the ...
it turns to the south and then southeast, running towards
Lake Geneva
, image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg
, caption = Satellite image
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Switzerland, France
, coords =
, lake_type = Glacial lak ...
, rising to 1,400 m at , passing south of
La Dôle
La Dôle is a mountain of the Jura, overlooking Lake Geneva in the westernmost part of the canton of Vaud. Rising to an altitude of 1677 meters, it is the second highest peak in the Swiss portion of the Jura, after Mont Tendre. Administrative ...
peak. Some 3 km before reaching the lake, the border runs parallel to the shore of Lake Geneva, forming the strip of land ceded by France to Switzerland in 1815 as the
canton of Geneva
The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, Repubblica e Cantone di Ginevra; rm, Republica e ...
, so that the
City of Geneva has a land bridge connecting it to the rest of Switzerland.
The border now encircles the City of Geneva. West of the city, it follows the
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
for some 6 km, until the westernmost point of Switzerland, at . The border passes between Geneva and
Annemasse, heading east towards
Saint-Cergues
Saint-Cergues (; frp, San-Fargo) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
See also
*Communes of the Haute-Savoie department
The following is a list of the 279 communes of the F ...
; it finally finds Lake Geneva from the south, at
Hermance
Hermance () is a municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland.
History
Hermance is first mentioned in 1247 as ''intra Armentia''. In 1271 it was mentioned as ''Eremencia''.
Geography
Hermance has an area, , of . Of this area, or 57.6% ...
.
The border runs along the centre of Lake Geneva, but makes landfall before reaching the mouth of the
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
, at
Saint-Gingolph, which marks the western end of the
Saint-Gingolph–Saint-Maurice railway in Switzerland. A project exists to reuse a now-abandoned line to
Évian-les-Bains
Évian-les-Bains (), or simply Évian ( frp, Èvian, , or ), is a commune in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. In 2018, it had a population of 9,100.
A high-market holida ...
in France and thereby reconnect the two countries by train on the south shore of Lake Geneva. From here, the border runs south and southeast into the
High Alps, forming the western border of the
Valais. It passes Les Cornettes de Bise (2,431 m), the
Dent de Barme (2,759 m), Petit Ruan (2,846 m), the Pointe des Rosses (2,965 m), the Pointe de la Fenive (2,838 m) and
Le Cheval Blanc (2,830 m), placing the
Lac du Vieux Émosson in Switzerland. From Grand Perrond (2,672 m), the border descends to 1,130 m, crossing the road from
Martigny
Martigny (; german: Martinach, ; la, Octodurum) is the capital city of the district of Martigny, canton of Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 15000 inhabitants (''Martignerains'' or "Octoduriens ...
to
Chamonix, before ascending to
Les Grandes Otanes (2,656 m), the
Aiguille du Tour (3,541 m), the
Aiguille d'Argentière
The Aiguille d'Argentière () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif on the border between France and Switzerland.
The first ascent of the mountain was by a British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, n ...
(3,898 m),
Tour Noir
The Tour Noir is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif on the Swiss- French border. It is located between the Aiguille d'Argentière and Mont Dolent.
See also
*List of mountains of Switzerland
This article contains a sortable table of many of th ...
(3,837 m) and finally to the tripoint with the
French–Italian and
Swiss–Italian borders, at a point just west of
Mont Dolent, and at altitude.
Border checks
Since Switzerland's accession to the
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...
in 2008, there have been no permanent passport controls along the border, although there can be customs controls.
There are two airports near the border which have both Swiss and French passport and customs controls; passengers are free to choose one. These are:
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area, french: Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg, it, Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo, rm, Eroport da Basilea-Mu ...
which is located in France, but passengers can go to Switzerland without going through French border controls; and
Geneva Airport
Geneva Airport ,, german: Flughafen Genf, it, Aeroporto di Ginevra, rm, Eroport de Genevra formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport, is the international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It i ...
which is located in Switzerland, but passengers can go to France without going through Swiss border controls. The Geneva Airport runway was extended in 1960 after France and Switzerland swapped territories to make this possible.
Road customs control stations
From northeast to south:
*Basel/St. Louis-Autobahn (E25/A35/A3)
*Boncourt/Delle-Autoroute (E27/N1019/A16)
*Col France (D461/20)
*Vallorbe (E23/N57/9)
*Bardonnex (A41/1)
*Thônex-Vallard (A411)
*St-Gingolph (D1005/21)
There are several other roads which cross the border, but without staffed customs controls.
Railway and tram lines over the border
Several railway lines cross the border, as well as three tram lines:
*
Basel tram Line 3 was extended to
Saint-Louis in France in 2017
*
Basel tram Line 10 twice, with one station in France, in
Leymen
*
Geneva tram Line 17 was extended to
Annemasse in France in 2019
See also
*
France–Switzerland relations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:France-Switzerland border
European Union external borders
Borders of France
Borders of Switzerland
International borders