France

To experience Thoiry is to go on safari at the terrific animal park then to brush off the imaginary African dust and relax in the splendour of the Renaissance château. Thoiry's at the foothill of Alpine country (ski resorts are nearby) and it boasts old buildings, orderly streets and flowers galore.

Before the 20th century

Raoul Moreau, King Henry II's treasurer, was flush with money and searching for a site from where he could find the Philosopher's Stone. Moreau believed the most esoteric and harmonious site for this type of research would be at a small hill, 44km (28mi) west of Paris and 25km (15.5mi) north of Versaille in the Gex country, surrounded at the same distance by hills of similar heights. This was Thoiry, meaning 'villa of Tullius'.

Moreau wanted to synchronise time and space, so the renowned Renaissance architect, Philibert de L'Orme, used Pythagoras' geometrical Golden Mean to design a château (1559) on Moreau's chosen hill. The castle's 'Grand Vestibule' was positioned to line up directly with the sun rising in the east at summer solstice (21 June) and setting in the west at winter solstice (21 December); the effect is seen as a transparent arch of light. De L'Orme also constructed enormous windows (unheard of in the day) to enable the best views of the landscaped, flower-filled gardens. Moreau was able to research in a haven that, according to him, had secured Apollo's celestial energy.

Before Moreau and de L'Orme's vision put Thoiry on the map in 1560, the small town was occupied by Romans, as evidenced by two unearthed cemeteries dating from 6-7th centuries. Its parish church is said to date from the 12th century and dedicated to St Maurice, a massacred soldier who was often invoked for relief from gout and cramps.

Since Roman times, Thoiry was used mostly as a crossing point on the way to Geneva. When the Lyon-Geneva road was built in 1740 the crossing point became Saint-Genis, henceforth Thoiry's rival town. Thoiry's inns and street market jumped ship to this new road but the peasants who used the hills to farm their livestock remained.

The first festival at Thoiry took place in 1799; laws were read out and a 'tree of freedom' planted. In 1884 a school opened for 172 pupils. A few years later, the citizens, who were a religious lot, set up a cross (the Reculet Cross) on Reculet Hill, which still stands today.

Modern history

In September 1926 the German chancellor and the French Foreign Minister met in secret for a four-hour lunch at a hotel in Thoiry (in 1972 a main street was named Briand-Stresemann after them). Discussions included the Rhineland-reparations deal, reducing military occupation of the Rhine, the Saar, Eupen-Malmedy, German disarmament, and termination of Allied occupation, but neither country ended up abiding by its agreements.

The owner of Thoiry's splendid château is the distinguished La Panouse family. Upkeep was tough with 10,000 windowpanes to keep clean so the Viscount de La Panouse opened the castle to the public in 1966. He received 20,000 visitors in the first year but money was still tight, so his son, Vicomte Paul de La Panouse, came up with a novel idea: turn the 150ha grounds into a wildlife park. This raised the number of visitors to a million in 1969. The park was like no other at the time, the difference being that the animals roam free while the imprisoned are the spectators - caged in metal automobiles - checking out the beasts from a safe distance in their cars.

In 1992 the Château de Thoiry cricket club staged and won the inaugural European Club Championship.

Recent history

These days the animal park receives about 400,000 annual visitors.

The Val Thoiry shopping centre has shops for wine, home furnishings, computer games and clothing. It has a bakery, supermarket, newsagency, hairdressers, real estate agent and a few bars. Sunday mornings (weather-permitting) a down-town market sells local produce and household knick-knacks.

The medieval-looking, 12-century church of St Maurice and the 1885 convent, the Holy Convent of Phillippe, are still notable.

Top Accommodation

Top Restaurants

Thoiry's climate is similar to Paris', less than an hour's drive away. Its average temperature is 3°C (37°F) in January and 19°C (66°F) in July, but the mercury sometimes drops below zero in winter and can climb to around 35°C(95°F) or higher in the middle of summer.

Average weather

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Transport

Getting around

Thoiry is small enough that you can easily get around on foot.

Getting there and away

You need a car to get to Thoiry as it is a small village in the Rhône-Alpes region (eastern France). You can also get there from Geneva by the (infrequent) Y bus, following Route de Meyrin to Blandonnet, Saint Genis, Sergy, and then into Val Thoiry (the shopping centre), which is the termination point of the Y line.

Thoiry doesn't have an airport but Geneva's international airport is only about 16km (10mi) away.