Thonon-les-Bains is a town on the southern shore of Lake Geneva in the northern part of the French Chablais region, and is the sub-prefecture of the Haute-Savoie department.
Geographical location
In the commune of Thonon, you will find the river Dranse, which flows down from the Haut Chablais, as well as a pond called “L’étang de la dame”. You will be able to stroll on its port, at the edge of the lake Léman, which ensures lake connections with Lausanne in Switzerland.
History and heritage
The Castle of Ripaille
Lake Geneva
The cultural centre of the Visitation
The Basilica of Saint François de Sales
Cultural and sports facilities
Cultural events
Many shows are held in Thonon throughout the year:
- The Festival des p’tits malins in October: theatre, dance, songs, book festival and cinema are on the programme.
- Les nocturnes chablaisiennes: every Friday evening, the terraces come alive and the musicians meet the public. It is also an opportunity to discover the local produce and specialities and to meet the associative world.
- Argentinean tango classes at the Visitation cultural centre.
- Concert at the port of Rives: on the terraces of the port in August.
- Fiesta des petits Loups: every Wednesday evening in summer at the port of Rives: humour and acrobatics for children.
- Fireworks on 14 July in Thonon and on 15 August in Evian.
The Montjoux Festival
This pop rock and French song festival was created in 1997. It is a growing success with more than 14,000 spectators who attend 3 evenings of concerts each year during the first week of July in the beautiful setting of the Domaine de Montjoux. Each year, 12 concerts are offered to the public. The following artists have already performed: Mika, M, Tryo, Renaud, Yannick Noah, Garou, ShakaPonk, Soprano, Selah Sue, Bernard Lavilliers, BB Brunes and Bénabar. The shows are performed on two stages. An off part of the festival is dedicated to new emerging talents.

Due to the health crisis linked to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 editions are cancelled. In order to cope with the growing success of this festival and to accommodate a larger audience, the organisers plan to transfer it to the neighbouring town of Publier. The large Place du Miroir should be the chosen site with a capacity of 10,000 spectators per evening.
The Christmas market
The Rock’n Poche Festival
Due to the health crisis, as in 2020, the 2021 edition of the Rock’n Poche Festival is cancelled. It is replaced by“La Guinguette des Alpages” which offers four concerts over two days at the end of July.
The municipal sports school
This is an innovative scheme which allows children from CE1 to CM2 to practice 4 disciplines during a year plus cross-country skiing. Every 7 weeks or so, the children start a new discipline. The structure offers to discover nine sports disciplines in total with sports professionals: rugby, swimming, athletics, judo, handball, American football, fencing, basketball and cross-country skiing.
Top rated hotels
Depending on your budget, we have selected five hotels in Thonon-les-Bains that offer excellent value for money and have very good customer reviews:
The Originals City, Hôtel L’Arc-En-Ciel
Hotel Les Marronniers
From € 69 per night.
Hotel À la tasse à moustache

Ibis Thonon Centre
From € 66 per night.
Le Comte Rouge
Ideas for activities to visit Thonon-les-Bains
This spa town offers many ideas for outings:
Thonon-les-Bains thermal centre
The Chablais Museum
The Lake and Fishing Ecomuseum
The Dranse Delta Nature Reserve
As you continue to the mouth of the Dranse, you may come across herons and goosander. Some trees are eaten by beavers. Afterwards, you have to take the path back to the car park. During the summer, a naturalist guide can accompany you (information at the Thonon-les-Bains tourist office).Address: Avenue de Saint-Disdille, Delta de la Dranse, 74200 Thonon-les-Bains.
Education
The capital of the Chablais region has many educational establishments:
- Sixteen nursery and primary schools,
- Seven secondary schools,
- Six high schools, three of which are professional and two private.
The markets of Thonon-les-Bains
- The big Thursday market which takes place in the renovation area every Thursday from 9 am to 1 pm. On 15 August and Ascension Day, the market is maintained. The food section offers food products from the region. You will also find clothes, local crafts and decoration.
- The small Monday markettakes place on the Place du Marché and Avenue François de Salle, and is devoted solely to local market gardeners and producers. Open every Monday from 7am to 1pm except Whit Monday.
Public transport
To discover the town and its surroundings, the Thonon-les-Bains agglomeration has a wide range of public transport services:
- The BUT network (Bus Urbains Thononais) which connects nine communes (Allinges, Anthy sur Léman, Evian-les-Bains, Margencel, Marin, Maxilly-sur-Léman , Neuvecelle, Publier and Thonon-les-Bains) with 10 regular bus lines. You can get all the traffic information live.
- The Léman Express is a rail service that links the city’s urban areas with the whole of Geneva. By using the Léman Pass, you can discover Geneva with a cross-border journey in a single ticket. This intermodal offer allows you to combine all public transport: train, bus and funicular.
A“Cityz” car-sharing station is available on rue Jean Blanchard near the SNCF station with two self-service vehicles.
Town Hall
The Thonon-les-Bains Town Hall: located on Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, is open from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 12 pm and from 1.30 pm to 5.30 pm. Official website of the Thonon-les-Bains Town HallThe Thonon-les-BainsTourist Office