Category: France

  • Annemasse – Annemasse Railway Station to Bellegarde

    I didn’t get long to spend in Annemasse as I was getting a train to Chambery but first I had to get a train to Bellegarde. The station exterior above looked modern and well presented. The railway station was first opened in 1880 when the line was introduced to run from Paris to the Mediterranean.

    In March 1944 the allies dropped aid parcels in the area, with many of them landing near to the railway station. Today most of the rail routes are regional, there’s also a TGV service running through the station from Paris to Thonon-les-Bains.

    A memorial to those who had died in the wars.

    The ticket wasn’t unreasonable priced. I also much prefer the French tickets to those issued in the UK, they’re larger and have far more useful information on them. The cramming in information onto the smaller UK tickets usually means that it’s not as clear as it could be.

    A map at the station of the local rail routes.

    The train.

    The view from the train, which varied and was often interesting.

  • Annemasse

    I didn’t have very long in Annemasse during my visit, since I had a train to catch to Annecy. There seemed to be a lot of people going to work in Geneva from Annemasse, but the cost of living is much lower in France as opposed to Switzerland.

    A healthy local snack…..

    Église Saint-Joseph (St. Joseph’s Church) was constructed between 1941 and 1946, with the structure being made of reinforced concrete. The proposed bell tower wasn’t though ever built, so the church technically remains unfinished.

    Annemasse market, which takes place twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

    I have to confess, I never did work out exactly what this was….