Thonon-les-Bains Christmas Market

In Thonon-les-Bains, the Christmas market known as “Les Féériques” takes over the Belvédère every winter, the terrace suspended above the waters of Lake Geneva. The capital of the Chablais gathers some fifty chalets there, along with a natural ice rink and an enchanted forest that turn the spa town into a storybook setting for more than a month. The Thonon-les-Bains Christmas market enjoys a rare backdrop: between the upper old town and the port of Rives below, linked by the funicular, you move from Savoyard food stalls to a panorama over the lake and the mountains of the Swiss shore. A mountain feel, the smell of mulled wine and tartiflette, lights reflected on the water: winter on Lake Geneva has its charm.

The Belvédère, heart of the Thonon-les-Bains Christmas market

Everything is organised around the Belvédère, the natural balcony that overlooks the lake and opens a clear view to the ridges of the Jura and the Valais summits. The craft village sits near the upper station of the funicular, while the food village huddles around the ice rink. Some fifty wooden chalets shelter makers and artisans from the Chablais: soaps, decorations, toys, textiles, jewellery and pottery sit alongside producers from the valley. You move from one stall to the next in a few steps, hot chocolate in hand, with the big illuminated tree as a landmark and the lights dancing on the surface of the lake from late afternoon onwards.

The setting goes beyond the stalls. In front of the tourist office, an enchanted forest unfolds a multisensory world where children follow an immersive trail of lights, sounds and frosted sculptures. Santa's house collects the letters and the wishes hung on the wishing tree, an obligatory stop for the youngest. On the town hall forecourt, a sound and light show (projection mapping) dresses the façade over the evenings, and the streets of the centre hide a treasure hunt through enchanted bubbles. The Luna Park and its rides take over Place de Crête to extend the day on the thrill side, a few minutes from the Belvédère. Between two stalls, children go from the ice rink to Santa's house while the parents compare local vintages with the winegrowers. Thonon keeps its heritage as a spa town and lakeside resort, and that identity of a town of waters comes through in the gentleness of the site, set on the edge of an immense stretch of water.

Savoyard specialities: the Chablais on your plate

The food village clearly plays the mountain card. Tartiflette steams in big pans, tartes flambées come out of the oven, and roast chestnuts scent the aisle that runs along the ice rink. On the cheese side, the Chablais and Haute-Savoie put their best forward: tomme de Savoie, reblochon and abondance from the neighbouring valley, to take home for a fondue or a raclette. Diots (Savoyard sausages) simmered in white wine and rissoles, those sweet pastries filled with pear or apple, complete the round. Savoy wines hold their rank as well, starting with ripaille, a dry, fruity white made from chasselas grown on the slopes of the Château de Ripaille just nearby, or crépy from the shores of Lake Geneva. The féra, the lake's emblematic fish, turns up in the restaurants around town to extend the meal, often served meunière or as a fillet. Honey from Chablais hives, mountain fruit jams and Savoy biscuits fill the baskets too, along with crozets, the small square buckwheat pasta cooked as a gratin in winter. To recreate the mood at home, a good mulled wine recipe with spices and orange already does part of the work.

• Tartiflette and diots in white wine, the Savoyard classics served steaming at the food village.
• Tomme de Savoie, reblochon and abondance, to take home for a fondue or a raclette.
• Rissoles, small sweet pastries filled with pear or apple, a Chablais festive speciality.
• Savoy wines, ripaille and crépy above all, grown on the nearby slopes above the lake.
• Mulled wine, hot chocolate and roast chestnuts, the combination for evenings spent walking the Belvédère.

Ice rink, opening hours and practical access

The big natural ice rink occupies the centre of the market, with its ice path that you follow facing the panorama over the lake. It is one of the signatures of the event, as popular with families as with anyone after a photo at sunset, when the low light sets the surface of the lake alight. Santa arrives to open the season, and a big parade comes down the town hall steps one Saturday in December, two highlights that punctuate the programme. Over the weeks, concerts, children's workshops and costumed characters fill out the diary, with quieter slots on weekdays and denser crowds at weekends and during the school holidays.

Entry to the market is free, you only pay for what you eat or take home in your bag. For the 2025-2026 edition, the village ran from 27 November to 4 January; the 2026 edition is announced from 26 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 on the official Féériques website (checked on 10/09/2026), with the detailed programme to follow in the autumn. The hours recorded give a good idea: the craft village opened on Mondays from 2pm to 8pm, Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday from 11am to 8pm, Fridays and Saturdays until 9pm, with the food village running until 10pm at the end of the week (2026 hours to be confirmed).

By train, Thonon-les-Bains station connects to Geneva and Évian via the Léman Express and the regional network, and leaves you a short distance from the town centre. The funicular, one of Thonon's assets, shuttles between the upper town and the port of Rives: handy for reaching the Belvédère without climbing the hill, and pretty along the way with its view over the lake. By car, several car parks ring the centre, but the spaces fill up fast on December weekends, so aim for early morning or the end of the day. The Belvédère site is flat and broadly accessible; allow one to two hours to go round the chalets, more with the ice rink and a food stop.

What to see around the Thonon-les-Bains Christmas market

Thonon is worth a full weekend. The Château de Ripaille, a former residence of the dukes of Savoy set on an estate of forest, arboretum and AOC vineyard, can be visited a few minutes from the centre and deserves the detour for its history and its slopes. The port of Rives, below, keeps its colourful fishermen's huts and its lakeside promenade, with the CGN boats heading for Yvoire, a medieval village listed among the Plus Beaux Villages de France, one crossing away. The upper town, with its squares and terraces turned towards the lake, keeps the atmosphere of the spa resort from the days when Thonon lived to the rhythm of visitors taking the waters. The Belvédère gardens themselves, outside the chalet season, offer a favourite viewpoint over the lake and the Swiss shore, with Lausanne visible on a clear day across the water.

Thonon's position also makes it a good base for exploring Haute-Savoie and the Chablais. The Évian-les-Bains Christmas market is only a few minutes away along the lake, just as focused on the water. A little further south, the Annecy Christmas market and its old town on the canals, then the Chamonix Christmas market at the foot of Mont Blanc, trace a fine festive route between lakes and mountains.