The city of Annemasse is the second largest city in Haute-Savoie after Annecy with 35,000 inhabitants! Annemasse is located on the southern shores of Lake Geneva on the Swiss border with the city of Geneva.
Annemasse is a city at the head of a conurbation of 12 communes, 2 kilometres from Geneva, 31 kilometres from Thonon, 43 from Evian and 45 from Annecy. The commune covers 498 hectares at an altitude of between 400 and 500 metres. Many of the town’s inhabitants go to work in neighbouring Switzerland to take advantage of the attractiveness of salaries.
Annemasse is bordered by Ville-la-Grand, Ambilly, Véthraz Monthoux, Cranves Sales, Etrembières and Gaillard, which together with Machilly, Saint Cergues, Juvigny Lucinges and Bonnes make up the Annemasse agglomeration.
The commune has two peaks: The Mont Salève (altitude 1,300 metres) and the Voirons (altitude 1,450 metres) and is crossed by a river: the Arve. Annemasse is the entry point to the Arve Valley!
History and heritage of Annemasse
Originally, the town is of Celtic and Roman origin , its open geographical configuration did not allow its development between the city of Calvin and the Princes of Savoy. It was thearrival of the train in 1880 that allowed the first industries to be established. After the Great War, the population rose from 6,000 in 1926 to 8,000 in 1936. The watchmaking industry was present from 1950 onwards.
Until 1990, the activity grew with a parallel expansion of the town in the Perrier sector. Later on, the installation of the tramway would allow traffic to flow more freely.
Annemasse seen from the sky – Click to enlarge
Top rated hotels
Depending on your budget, we have selected five hotels in Annemasse that offer excellent value for money and have very good customer reviews:
Comfort Annemasse Geneva
Ideally located 2 km from the train station and 8 km from Geneva, this hotel offers fully equipped rooms and a private car park. The daily press is freely available at the reception.
From 68 € per night.
Campanile Annemasse Gare- Genève
A hotel in the centre of Annemasse and close to the train station. The rooms and breakfast room are very functional and well maintained. Parking is available in the adjacent streets, which are subject to a charge, and in the Chablais Park car park.
Prices start at € 70 per night.
Oskar Hotel
A very well run hotel located 300 m from the Parc Montessuit tramway to the Léman Express station. The hotel is air-conditioned. The staff is very helpful and knowledgeable for all your questions about Annemasse.
From 72 € per night.
Sure Hôtel by Best Western Annemasse
The hotel is located in the city centre, 5 minutes from the train station. It is served by two bus lines at the foot of the hotel. Ideal for business or to discover the Geneva area. The breakfast is very copious with fresh baguette.
From 59 € per night.
L’Atalante
Located in the city centre of Annemasse, this hotel offers free, guarded parking and functional rooms with a desk if you are travelling on business. Office services are available. A good 3-star hotel for a stopover on the edge of Switzerland,from €68 per night.
Cultural and sports facilities
Annemasse has many cultural facilities
- Three libraries
- A cultural centre for young people: reading, gaming, games library.
- The municipal archives, open to all.
- The Conservatory: a site for musical education and concerts with a rich agenda.
- The Château Rouge cultural centre offers all disciplines of live performance, particularly contemporary music, theatre and dance. Cross-border cooperation with neighbouring Switzerland enables original shows to be put on. This facility has a large hall with 1,500 seats, a 700-seat concert hall, rehearsal studios and a café-concert area. The very varied programme can be compared to that of the Brise-Glace in Annecy. Address: 1 route de Bonneville, 74100 Annemasse.
- The Auditorium: is a 243-seat auditorium which hosts acoustic concerts, debates and conferences.
- A contemporary art centre: La Ville du Parc dedicated to exhibitions and artists in residence.
- The Genevois School of Fine Arts.
Cultural events punctuate the year’s agenda
- The Musical’été Festival: world music and jazz during the month of August.
- The Kétavous street: from March to November, 7 places to play music.
- Bonjour l’hiver: in December to enjoy the Annemasse Christmas Market and Village.
- Cinéma de Plein Air: during the month of August, open-air screenings at Place de la Libération and Place Fantasia.
Annemasse’s sports facilities are varied
- The municipal sports school: a bridge between the school and the sports clubs.
- The Camille Claudelgymnasium.
- The sports centre.
- The M. Bruchon airfield.
- The canoe and kayak base on the route d’Etrembière.
- The sports and leisure grounds and the roller park in the impasse des Rocailles.
- The aquatic centre Le Château Bleu.
Parks and Gardens
You can enjoy six parks in Annemasse as well as a 1,500 m² enclosed dog park. There are seven squares with games for children and bicycle paths. The 5,000 m² Gavilles natural area enhances a wetland by preserving the stream of the same name in the town. The walk is easy and gives a pleasant view of the Salève.
Tourist routes
From Annemasse, you can discover the emblematic sites of the Haute-Savoie. By taking the roads by car or motorbike, you can visit the Geneva mountains, the Vaud Alps and the Gruyère via the Pillon pass, the French side of Lake Geneva, the tour of Lake Annecy, the Green and Risse valleys, the Aravis pass and the Colombière pass. These different tours can easily be completed in a day, taking advantage of the good restaurants to discover the local specialities.
Walks and hikes around Annemasse
We propose a selection of beautiful walks:
The loop of the vaults
On the way you will discover: the ancient inscriptions, the vaults, the old 19th century hotels, the Eaux-Belles spring and the beautiful Hermitage castle. This loop takes 3 hours and covers 8 km. Address: route du Salève, parking de la Chapelle, 74 100 Etrembières. The departure is next to the castle of Etrembières.
The Chemin du Foron
This urban walk takes place over 18 km in 3 hours. The route runs along the border with Switzerland, passing through the communes of Annemasse and Ville-la-Grand. The start is from the Place de la Gare in Annemasse or from the lake in Machilly. The finish is in Bons-en-Chablais.
The Signal des Voirons
This natural site is classified Natura 2000. At the top of the loop, you can admire the Salève, the Chablais mountains and Lake Geneva. The departure is at the level of the lake of Machilly on the south parking. The ascent starts on the tarmac path of Sauget. Then you have to turn right on a rather steep path and go up to the Sauget farm. Finally, you have to go out on a tree-lined path and cross a stream.
Donkey trekking on the Salève
This is a mountain hike with a donkey and a guide. Departure is from the car park of the Salève cable car, the Croisette, Beaumont or the Maison du Salève. The price is between 190 and 290 € depending on the duration and the place of the outing.
Education
Each school year, more than 3,700 pupils are enrolled in Annemasse’s 11 public schools:
- Eight nursery schools,
- Seven elementary schools,
- Extra-curricular activities for children aged 3 to 11 are set up in the schools, they are grouped together under the name CLAE (centre de loisirs associé à l’école),
- Six collèges,
- Four high schools.
The markets of Annemasse
You can do your shopping in one of the three markets we present below.
- Market, Place de la Libération on Tuesdays and Fridays from 8am to 1pm. More than 200 traders selling food, manufactured goods, flowers and plants.
- Market, Place de Jumelage and Jean Jaurès market in Le Perrier from 8 am to 1 pm: food and manufactured products.
Public transport
The town of Annemasse offers a very complete multimodal transport system throughout its agglomeration. It is the TAC network (transports annemassiens collectifs) which manages this offer with :
- A bus network with 2 main lines (L3 and L5) and 4 secondary lines (L4, L6, L7 and L8).
- The Tram Annemasse Genève which joins the tramway on the Swiss side of the border. The line serves 4 stations in the towns of Annemasse, Ambilly and Gaillard. This tramway has a frequency of 9 minutes with a capacity of 80 seats.
- Annemasse station is home to 4 of the 6 lines of the Léman Express, which links 45 stations on either side of the border over 230 km.
- A car-sharing service called “Citiz” allows people to use their cars for journeys that require them.
You can consult the lines and schedules in real time.
Town hall
- Annemasse Town Hall is located at Place de l’Hôtel de Ville. Open from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Official website: Mairie d’Annemasse
- Agglomeration community: www.annemasse-agglo.fr
- Tourist Office: Les Monts de Genève
