THONON-LES-BAINS AND CYCLING
On 16 July 1977, Bernard Quilfen, a 28-year-old former locksmith who had turned professional a year earlier, embarked on a crazy adventure, setting off after eight of the 230 km of this mountain stage from Besançon to Thonon. Well advised by his sports director, Cyrille Guimard, who helped him pace himself, he held off the peloton and won at Lake Geneva after a solo breakaway of 222 km. It was the fourth longest breakaway in the history of the Tour de France after those of Albert Bourlon (253 km in 1947), Thierry Marie (234 km in 1991) and Jose Perez Frances (223 km in Barcelona in 1965). After his career, "Quiqui" became a permanent sports director between 1982 and 2011, spending 14 seasons with Cofidis. He passed away in 2022. In 1957, Jacques Anquetil won his second stage victory in the Tour in Thonon, but this stage was marked above all by the spectacular withdrawal of Federico Bahamontes, who was the victim of a calcium injection administered incorrectly by his sports director Luis Puig, future president of the UCI. During the Tour's last finish in Thonon-les-Bains, Sean Kelly won by sprinting ahead of a group of fifteen breakaway riders.
THONON-LES-BAINS
Rives Harbour
This is the marina of the town of Thonon-les-Bains and a very popular place for walks. It is home to the Ecomuseum of Fishing and Lake Geneva, dedicated to fishing on the lake, housed in preserved and restored fishermen's huts. The fishing village was developed in 1987 with a quay, following on from the creation of the landing stage. The harbour funicular connects the port of Rives to the upper town, built on a plateau overlooking Lake Geneva. It was built in 1888. It is 230 metres long with a 40-metre elevation gain, and its route is curved. Also located in the Rives district, the Tour des Langues, which still dominates the fishing village, was built in the 12th century. It was here that butchers came to pay their taxes to the lord, depositing the tongues of the oxen or cows they had slaughtered. The neighbourhood is also home to the Château de Rives, a former 14th-century priory (listed as a historic monument in 1932), which houses the Museum of the City of Thonon.
Ripaille Castle
Construction: 14th to 19th century.
Style: Medieval and Renaissance.
History: Ripaille Castle is a 15th-century pleasure palace located on an estate on the shores of Lake Geneva. In this château, Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy welcomed Pope Eugene IV around 1440. Shortly after this visit, the Duke of Savoy became Pope Felix V, although his election was not recognised by the majority of the Catholic Church. His supposed mitre is kept in the treasury of the Abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune. The estate includes a 53-hectare forest, an arboretum with 58 different species of trees, and a vineyard classified as an AOC Vin de Savoie.
Special feature: within the forest park, a monument to the Righteous was inaugurated in 1997.
Listed as: Historic Monument in 1942, 1991 and 2025 (entire estate).
Sonnaz Castle
Construction: 17th century.
History: Sonnaz Castle is a residence belonging to the noble Gerbaix de Sonnaz family, built in 1666 on the ruins of the former Thonon Castle. The latter was built in the 15th century by Mary of Burgundy, wife of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, and then ceded to the Gerbaix de Sonnaz family.
Current use: Château de Sonnaz now houses the Musée du Chablais and the tourist office.
Town hall
Construction: 19th century.
History: in 1536, the Bernese conquered the left bank of Lake Geneva. They established the bailiwick of Thonon and built an official building, which was destroyed by fire in 1815. After several projects, Vaud architect Henri Perregaux designed a building with large open arcades on the ground floor and an interior courtyard providing additional light. In 1823, the work was awarded to another Swiss architect, Charles Pellegrini from Ticino. It took almost ten years for the project to be completed.
Characteristics: Henri Perregaux designed other neoclassical town halls in Morges and Moudon, but the town hall in Thonon is undoubtedly one of his most ambitious works. This building, simple in style but with carefully studied proportions, is entirely openwork with semi-circular arches on the ground floor and two upper floors lit by rectangular windows. An axial avant-corps, on three axes of openings, features a balcony with sober ironwork and a pediment bearing a coat of arms.
Listed as: historic monument in 1972.
Saint-Hippolyte Church
Construction: 14th to 18th century.
Style: Baroque.
History: originally dating from the 12th century, it was built over a Romanesque crypt in the 14th century and was remodelled in the 17th century in the Savoy Baroque style, with exuberant decorations and frescoes. The church became a papal chapel in 1439, was used as a Protestant temple during the Bernese invasion in 1536 and returned to Catholic worship in 1594 under the influence of Saint Francis de Sales.
Distinguishing feature: the crypt is the oldest part of the building, dating from the 12th century, and bears witness to the original Romanesque church. It features remarkable Romanesque capitals, some inspired by those of the Abbey of Saint-Martin-d'Ainay in Lyon, and arcades on columns that may have been reused.
Listed as: historic monument in 1909.
