Thonon-les-Bains (; ), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

of the

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...

department in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in Eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 2018, the commune had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains is part of a transborder metropolitan area known as

Grand Genève () is a ( or ), a public entity under Swiss law, in charge of organizing cooperation within the cross-border metropolitan area of Geneva (in particular metropolitan transports). The Grand Genève GLCT extends over Switzerland (entire Canton of ...

. It is situated on the shores of

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

(, or simply ).

History

Thonon-les-Bains was the historic capital of

Chablais The Chablais (; ; ) was a province of the Duchy of Savoy. Its capital was Thonon-les-Bains. The Chablais was elevated to a duchy in 1311 by Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor. This region is currently divided into three territories, the '' Chablais s ...

, a province of the old

Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy (; ) was a territorial entity of the Savoyard state that existed from 1416 until 1847 and was a possession of the House of Savoy. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy f ...

. The Chablais Savoyard is the portion of Chablais in France. Chablais Valaisan and Chablais Vaudois are those portions of Chablais in the adjacent Switzerland cantons Valais and Vaud.(cite: Chablais Wikipedia) The town was the capital of the

Dukedom of Chablais The title Duke of Chablais (, ) was a subsidiary title of the Duke of Savoy and later the King of Sardinia, both of the House of Savoy. The title is named after the province of Chablais, whose capital was Thonon-les-Bains. The title was granted ...

. During the debates on the future of the Duchy of Savoy in 1860, the population was sensitive to the idea of a union of the northern part of the duchy with

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. A

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

circulated in this part of the country (

, Faucigny, Northern Genevois), but it collected no more than 13,600 signatures. The duchy was reunited after a

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

organised on 22 and 23 April 1860 under

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, in which 99.8 percent of the Savoyards voting were reported to have answered "yes" to the question "Does Savoy want to be reunited to France?"

Population

Transport

Thonon-les-Bains station Thonon-les-Bains station ( French: ''Gare de Thonon-les-Bains'') is a railway station located in Thonon-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, south-eastern France. The station was opened in 1880 and is located on the Longeray-Léaz-Le Bouveret railway. The ...

has rail connections to Lyon, Évian-les-Bains, Annemasse and Geneva. Local transport is assured by BUT (Bus urbains thononais). The lines are: * Line A: Destination Grangette / Destination Multiplex * Line B: Destination Z.I VONGY / Destination Place des arts * Line C: Destination Collège Théodore Monod / Place des arts * Line D: Destination Collège theodore Monod or Espace Leman / Place des arts * Line L: Destination Amphion Village / Place des arts * Line P: Destination Marin / Place des arts * Line M: Destination La Chavanne / Place des arts * Line N: Destination Parking des chateaux / Place des arts Map of the network: http://www.leman-but.fr/ftp/FR_plan/Plan%202012%202013.pdf Line H and J are used in Évian-Les-Bains, and not Thonon-Les-Bains.

Main sights

Arboretum de Ripaille The Arboretum de Ripaille (53 hectares) is an arboretum and forest located on the grounds of the Château de Ripaille, Thonon-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, Rhône-Alpes, France. It is open daily except Monday, but closed in December. The arboretum is ...

* Château des Guillet-Monthoux * Château de Ripaille * Château de Sonnaz * Château de Thuyset * ''Saint-Hippolyte'' church (12th century), rebuilt in Savoy Baroque-style during the 17th century *

Funiculaire de Thonon-les-Bains The Funiculaire de Thonon-les-Bains, or Thonon-les-Bains Funicular, is a funicular, funicular railway in the spa town of Thonon-les-Bains, in the France, French ''departments of France, département'' of Haute-Savoie. The line links the Belveder ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Thonon-les-Bains is twinned with: * Eberbach,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Mercer Island Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue t ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Čačak Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Climate

References

External links

Official website

Office of Tourism
Communes of Haute-Savoie Spa towns in France Subprefectures in France Populated places on Lake Geneva {{HauteSavoie-geo-stub