Morzine's location has been key to its development throughout its history. Morzine is located in the Haute Savoie region of France. It is close to the border between France and Switzerland. The closest major city is Geneva, approximately 60 kilometres away. Geneva is also the nearest airport. Geneva is the most populated city of Romandy, the French speaking area of Switzerland. The city has a population of approximately 198,000 whilst the city and surrounding suburbs have a population of about 483,000.
Thonon
Thonon-Les-Bains is a large town approximately 30 kilometres away from Morzine which has the facilities you would expect from a large town, such as cinemas, a hospital and a train station. Thonon sits on Lake Geneva, one of the largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the Rhone, with a surface area of 580 km squared, a maximum length of 73 km and a maximum width of 14km. Thonon is the historical capital of Chablais and has a population of about 35,000 and a surface area of 16.21 kilometres squared.
Taninges
Taninges is nearby historical town dating back to Roman times with a population of about 3,000. There still exists evidence of the original Roman settlement with some old cobblestones in the town.
Cluses
Cluses is another major town close to Morzine, about 28 kilometres away. It dates back to the Middle Ages and became an independent commune on 4th May 1310.
Annecy
Annecy is approximately 90 kilometres away from Morzine. It is the largest city in the Haute Savoie with a population of 51,000 within the city limits and 22,000 in the surrounding suburbs. It is also the capital of the Haute Savoie. It lies at the tip of Lake Annecy. Annecy was a settlement of the Romans and was the court of the Counts of Geneva from the 10th century before passing to the Counts of Savoy in 1401. In 1444 it became the regional capital for the areas of Genevois, Faucigny and Beaufortain.
Other resorts
There are also other ski resorts close to Morzine. The most notable of these are Les Gets, Châtel, Chamonix, Samoëns (part of the Grand Massif) and La Clusaz.
And of course the resort of Avoriaz, which is actually part of the same Morzine-Avoriaz village.