Thame is on the River Thame (a tributary of the River Thames at Dorchester), which forms the boundary between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
The town was developed as a market town from 1231 with old Thame at Priestend. Its medieval origins are apparent in its cigar-shaped layout of the central market and regular burgage (land) plots, which includes the Buttermarket - deliberately sited on the cooler north side - and Cornmarket, which together formed the Middle Row. Thame Park, on the Postcombe Road, is an 18th century remodelling of a 12th century Cistercian Abbey.

Buildings of interest in the town include the 16th century Almshouses and adjacent Grammar School, attended by John Hampden who died at the Greyhound Inn, of wounds received at the Battle of Chalgrove Field during the Civil War in the 1640´s. The town contains many fine 16th century and 17th century houses and a number of Georgian buildings faced with the distinctive, local salt-glazed brick. The Parish Church of St Mary (previously part of the Prebend of Lincoln) dates back more than seven hundred years. Thame has approximately 185 listed buildings, including the Town Hall built in 1887.

Thame Town Council is based at the Town Hall and offers a wide variety of public services particularly through the One Stop Shop that provides help and information on the work of the Town, District and County Councils. This is supplemented by the Citizens´ Advice Bureau and Tourist Information Centre situated at the Market House.

Over recent decades Thame has come to rely less on agriculture for its livelihood although the annual Thame Agricultural Show, held on the third Thursday of September, flourishes, as do the weekly Tuesday street market, monthly farmers´ markets, September and October fairs and Christmas street event. Thame has a thriving economy with a wide variety of shops in the High Street and several industrial areas on the outskirts of the Town.

Facilities include Thame Leisure Centre, which is being enhanced with the construction of a new swimming pool and health & fitness suite, Thame Football Club, Thame Rugby Club and a new skate park.