Every design for Annemasse

At the station, Léman Express trains fill up with people heading across the border, because a large share of Annemasse works in Geneva, just a few kilometres away. Come the weekend, the traffic flows the other way, as Swiss residents cross over to do their shopping.

Annemasse is small on the map, yet it is Haute-Savoie's third most populous commune, after Annecy and Thonon-les-Bains, and the heart of the French side of Grand Genève. In Roman times it was a vicus called Namascae. The climate tells you where you are: cold winters, warm summers and the bise, the north-easterly wind that blows through a good part of the year. The centre is busy with shoppers, the Parc Montessuit offers a pause, and the old erratic boulder of La Pierre-à-Bochet sits as a reminder of the glaciers.

Above it all, the Salève stands to the south and the Voirons to the east, framing the end of every street that runs their way.