Thonon-les-Bains is the sub-prefecture of the Chablais and the second town of Haute-Savoie after Annecy, with about 37 900 inhabitants. The municipality stretches over nearly seven kilometres along the southern shore of Lake Geneva, facing Lausanne. It is laid out on two levels: the upper town, on the plateau, with the place du Château, the covered market and the pedestrian streets of the centre, and the lower town, at the water's edge, around the harbour of Rives, a former fishing village. A funicular has linked the two since the end of the nineteenth century.
The town grew by absorbing former villages, whose names survive as today's districts: Rives and Concise to the north, Vongy and Tully to the east, Corzent and Marclaz to the west. The château de Ripaille, a former residence of the dukes of Savoy, borders the lake to the north-east within a wooded estate. Spa treatment, drawing on the local springs, gave the municipality its name and part of its urban layout. The Rives landing stage runs the lake crossings to Switzerland.
The geography of prices follows this structure. The waterside districts, Ripaille and Corzent, command the highest values, carried by the proximity of the water and by a share of second homes. The town centre concentrates by far the largest sales volume, at levels close to the municipal average. The southern areas, Crête and Collonges, further from the lake, remain the most affordable.
