Thonon-les-Bains

Thonon-les-Bains (French pronunciation: [tɔ.nɔ̃.lɛ.bɛ̃]; Arpitan: Tonon), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a subprefecture of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains is part of a transborder metropolitan area known as Grand Genève. It is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman, or simply Le Léman).

Thonon-les-Bains Tonon (Arpitan)
Subprefecture and commune
Thonon-les-Bains Town Hall
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Thonon-les-Bains
Thonon-les-Bains Thonon-les-Bains
Coordinates: 46°21′46″N 6°28′30″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Haute-Savoie
Arrondissement	Thonon-les-Bains
Canton	Thonon-les-Bains
Intercommunality	Thonon Agglomération
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Christophe Arminjon
Area 1	16.21 km2 (6.26 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	37,027
• Density	2,300/km2 (5,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	74281 /74200
Elevation	371–569 m (1,217–1,867 ft) (avg. 425 m or 1,394 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

Château de Ripaille

Thonon-les-Bains was the historic capital of Chablais, a province of the old Duchy of Savoy. 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.

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. A petition circulated in this part of the country (Chablais, Faucigny, Northern Genevois), but it collected no more than 13,600 signatures. The duchy was reunited after a plebiscite organised on 22 and 23 April 1860 under Napoleon III, 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

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 3,010 —     1800 3,198 +0.87% 1806 3,251 +0.27% 1822 4,179 +1.58% 1838 4,428 +0.36% 1848 4,488 +0.13% 1858 4,825 +0.73% 1861 4,918 +0.64% 1866 5,530 +2.37% 1872 5,272 −0.79% 1876 5,501 +1.07% 1881 5,444 −0.21% 1886 5,447 +0.01% 1891 5,780 +1.19% 1896 5,666 −0.40% 1901 6,268 +2.04% 1906 7,043 +2.36%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1911 7,232 +0.53% 1921 8,042 +1.07% 1926 10,270 +5.01% 1931 11,291 +1.91% 1936 12,183 +1.53% 1946 13,181 +0.79% 1954 14,016 +0.77% 1962 17,080 +2.50% 1968 20,700 +3.26% 1975 24,454 +2.41% 1982 24,844 +0.23% 1990 28,401 +1.69% 1999 28,927 +0.20% 2007 31,562 +1.10% 2012 34,661 +1.89% 2017 34,756 +0.05%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968–2017)

Transport

Thonon-les-Bains station 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

Château de Thuyset.

• Arboretum de Ripaille
• 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

Twin towns (sister cities)

Thonon-les-Bains is twinned with:

• Eberbach, Germany
• Mercer Island, United States
• Čačak, Serbia

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Savoie department

External links

• Official website (in French)
• Office of Tourism (in French)