Access GenevaA fountain taller than the cathedral, and a lake you can swim in.
Pedal boats in Geneva colors at the harbor, the city flag and the Jet d'Eau rising over the Rade
GENEVA · SWITZERLAND

A small republic of reformers and watchmakers built its town on a hill where the Rhône leaves the lake.

Calvin's “Protestant Rome”, a republic until it joined Switzerland in 1815, and now the United Nations' European home: an old town on its hill, a harbor with a fountain about 140 meters high, and the Rhône running out through the middle.

Photo: Karlheinz Klingbeil from Germany, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Read the city

What Geneva is

Geneva — Genève in French, the language of the city — is Switzerland's second-largest city, with about 209,000 people in its own small municipality, set at the southwestern tip of Lake Geneva where the Rhône flows out. France wraps around it on three sides, less than two kilometers from the center. The city is two banks joined by bridges: the old town climbs a hill on the left bank, while the main station and the international quarter spread over the right, and choosing between them is most of where to stay. Trains from the airport reach Cornavin station in about seven minutes (getting here), and you get around on foot, by tram, and on the small boats that cross the lake.

What you walk past

The Romans took the town in 121 BC, and Saint-Pierre Cathedral, begun around 1160, stands on the hill where it grew. John Calvin arrived in 1536 and made Geneva the “Protestant Rome”; the Reformation Wall, begun in 1909, shows him with three fellow reformers in statues five meters tall. On the night of 11–12 December 1602 the citizens threw back a surprise attack by Savoy, and the city still celebrates it as the Escalade. Geneva stayed its own republic until it joined the Swiss Confederation on 19 May 1815. The organizations came after: the Red Cross committee first met here in 1863, and the Palace of Nations, built for the League of Nations between 1929 and 1938, has housed the United Nations since 1946 (international Geneva).

What it is known for

For the Jet d'Eau, the fountain that has stood at the end of its jetty since 1891. For watchmaking, the city's largest trade after banking, and for perch from the lake and the chocolate cauldron broken open at the Escalade (eating and drinking). Begin with the sights, see what is worth booking ahead, pick a season and an itinerary, and keep a day for the day trips along the lake or over the border into France.

Schematic of Geneva: the end of the lake, the Rhône and the Arve, and the old town on its hillLake Genevathe Rhônethe Arvethe old townto Lausannethe international quarter1Reformation Wall2345Île Rousseau6Jardin Anglais7Jet d'Eau8Place de Neuve9Art & History10Russian Church11La Grange12Jonction13Quai du Mont-Blanc14Bains des Pâquis15Botanical Garden16Palace of Nations17Red Cross Museum18Ariana
  1. The Reformation Wall and the Parc des Bastions
  2. The Hôtel de Ville, the Old Arsenal and the Treille
  3. Place du Bourg-de-Four and the Grand-Rue
  4. Saint-Pierre Cathedral
  5. Île Rousseau and the Pont de la Machine
  6. The Jardin Anglais and the Flower Clock
  7. The Jet d'Eau
  8. Place de Neuve and the Grand Théâtre
  9. The Musée d'Art et d'Histoire
  10. The Russian Church
  11. Parc La Grange and Its Rose Garden
  12. The Jonction, Where the Rhône Meets the Arve
  13. The Quai du Mont-Blanc and the Brunswick Monument
  14. The Bains des Pâquis
  15. The Botanical Garden and the Lakeside Parks
  16. The Palace of Nations and the Broken Chair
  17. The Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum
  18. The Musée Ariana
Schematic, not to scale — north is up; the numbers are the sights below.
IFrom the Bastions to the jetty, seven stops

A walk from shade into light

  1. Farel, Calvin, Beza and Knox at the center of the Reformation Wall, with Geneva's arms set in the paving
    Farel, Calvin, Beza and Knox at the center of the Reformation Wall, with Geneva's arms set in the pavingSchweiz41, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
    I

    The wall of the reformers

    Start in the Parc des Bastions, below the old ramparts. Built into the city's former walls and about a hundred meters long, the Reformation Wall was begun in 1909, four hundred years after Calvin's birth. At its center stand Farel, Calvin, Beza and Knox, each five meters tall, under the city's motto, Post Tenebras Lux: after darkness, light.

  2. The arcades of the Old Arsenal, across the street from the Hôtel de Ville
    The arcades of the Old Arsenal, across the street from the Hôtel de VilleChabe01, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
    II

    The longest bench

    Climb the ramp to the Promenade de la Treille, where horse chestnuts have shaded the terrace since 1721 and a wooden bench some 120 meters long is said to be the longest in the world. Behind it rises the Hôtel de Ville, whose ramp tower, built between 1553 and 1584, climbs floor after floor on a gentle slope with no stairs at all.

  3. Benches and bicycles under the trees of Place du Bourg-de-Four
    Benches and bicycles under the trees of Place du Bourg-de-Four3lisai-4u, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
    III

    The old market square

    A few lanes on, Place du Bourg-de-Four sits on the site of the Roman forum and the medieval market. Cafés spill around a small 18th-century fountain, and the Grand-Rue leads away past the old houses of the upper town.

  4. The columned neoclassical front of Saint-Pierre Cathedral
    The columned neoclassical front of Saint-Pierre CathedralTorbjorn Toby Jorgensen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
    IV

    The cathedral on the hill

    At the top stands Saint-Pierre Cathedral, begun around 1160, where Calvin preached. The Reformation stripped its interior bare, and a neoclassical front was added in the 18th century. Beneath it an archaeological site runs down to the tomb of an Allobrogian chieftain from the first century BC.

  5. Île Rousseau in the Rhône on a winter day, its pavilion among bare trees
    Île Rousseau in the Rhône on a winter day, its pavilion among bare treesMHM55, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
    V

    The island in the Rhône

    Down the hill, the Rhône pours out of the lake between the two banks. Île Rousseau, a small island with the philosopher's statue, sits in the current; a little downstream the Pont de la Machine is named for the hydraulic machine built there in 1709 to pump river water to the city's fountains.

  6. Spring flowers planted in the face of the flower clock in the Jardin Anglais
    Spring flowers planted in the face of the flower clock in the Jardin AnglaisDaniel CULSAN, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
    VI

    The flower clock

    On the left-bank shore, the Jardin Anglais was laid out in 1855. Its flower clock, planted in 1955 and replanted through the seasons, is a working clock face made of flowers, and its 2.5-meter second hand is claimed as the longest in the world.

  7. The Jet d'Eau beyond the clear shallows and moorings of the harbor
    The Jet d'Eau beyond the clear shallows and moorings of the harborKarlheinz Klingbeil, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
    VII

    The fountain on the jetty

    Follow the quay to the Jet d'Eau. It began in 1886 as a safety valve on the city's hydraulic network, moved to the end of this jetty in 1891, and since 1951 has thrown about 500 liters of lake water a second some 140 meters into the air. You can walk out along the stone jetty beside it, and if the wind turns, you will get wet.

IIBefore you go

Three things to know first

Switzerland · Canton of GenevaAbout 209,000 peopleFrenchSwiss francA republic until 1815The UN's European home since 1946

IIIEleven practical questions, and the journal

Under the gold and the red

  1. The SightsEighteen places, one page eachThe SightsFrom the Jet d'Eau to the Palace of Nations: what each one is, what you see, and how long to give it.
  2. Getting HereRail, air and roadGetting HereAn airport minutes from the main station, trains from Paris and across Switzerland, and France on three sides.
  3. Getting AroundTrams, boats and your feetGetting AroundThe trams and buses, the yellow water buses across the harbor, and how much you can simply walk.
  4. The LakeWhere Lake Geneva endsThe LakeThe harbor, the boats, where to swim, and the steamers that sail the length of the lake.
  5. International GenevaThe UN, the Red Cross and the restInternational GenevaWhat the organizations on the right bank are, and which of them a visitor can go inside.
  6. Booking AheadWhat to arrange firstBooking AheadThe few things in Geneva worth fixing a time for, and the many that need nothing.
  7. When to ComeThe year in GenevaWhen to ComeSummer on the water, the bise in winter, the Escalade in December, month by month.
  8. Eating & DrinkingLake perch and the canton's wineEating & DrinkingThe dishes of Geneva and its lake, the vineyards on the city's edge, and where the city eats.
  9. Where to StayTwo banks and a hillWhere to StayEach part of the city for a night or a week, drawn on a map.
  10. ItinerariesOne day, two days, threeItinerariesRoutes by the length of your stay, shaped around the hill, the lake and the weather.
  11. Day TripsLausanne, Annecy, the mountainsDay TripsWhere the trains and the lake steamers out of Geneva lead in a day.
  12. The JournalQuestions answered at lengthThe JournalVisitor questions about Geneva, answered in full, with new pieces as they are written.
IVNumbered as on the drawing

All eighteen sights

The hill on the left bankThe old town around the cathedral

  1. Saint-Pierre CathedralSaint-Pierre CathedralIV
  2. Place du Bourg-de-Four and the Grand-RuePlace du Bourg-de-Four and the Grand-RueIII
  3. The Hôtel de Ville, the Old Arsenal and the TreilleThe Hôtel de Ville, the Old Arsenal and the TreilleII
  4. The Reformation Wall and the Parc des BastionsThe Reformation Wall and the Parc des BastionsI
  5. Place de Neuve and the Grand ThéâtrePlace de Neuve and the Grand ThéâtreVIII
  6. The Musée d'Art et d'HistoireThe Musée d'Art et d'HistoireIX
  7. The Russian ChurchThe Russian ChurchX

The left-bank shoreGardens and the fountain along the Quai Gustave-Ador

  1. The Jardin Anglais and the Flower ClockThe Jardin Anglais and the Flower ClockVI
  2. The Jet d'EauThe Jet d'EauVII
  3. Parc La Grange and Its Rose GardenParc La Grange and Its Rose GardenXI

The Rhône and the right-bank quaysThe island, the bridges, the baths and the rivers' meeting

  1. Île Rousseau and the Pont de la MachineÎle Rousseau and the Pont de la MachineV
  2. The Quai du Mont-Blanc and the Brunswick MonumentThe Quai du Mont-Blanc and the Brunswick MonumentXIII
  3. The Bains des PâquisThe Bains des PâquisXIV
  4. The Jonction, Where the Rhône Meets the ArveThe Jonction, Where the Rhône Meets the ArveXII

The international quarterUp the right bank toward the flags

  1. The Palace of Nations and the Broken ChairThe Palace of Nations and the Broken ChairXVI
  2. The Red Cross and Red Crescent MuseumThe Red Cross and Red Crescent MuseumXVII
  3. The Musée ArianaThe Musée ArianaXVIII
  4. The Botanical Garden and the Lakeside ParksThe Botanical Garden and the Lakeside ParksXV

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