Thonon-les-Bains, France sits where Lake Geneva meets the Chablais, giving hikes here a rare sense of lift from waterfront promenades to serious alpine ground. The GR 5 heads south toward the big arc of the French Alps, while the Tour des Portes du Soleil pulls you into the Abondance Valley, Châtel, and the high pastures below Mont de Grange and Cornettes de Bise.