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Geneva, the jewel of Switzerland
The pleasant Swiss town is not lacking in uniqueness. Bordered by Lake Geneva and its 140 m high jet d'eau, it offers an unrivalled quality of life. The surrounding Alps and their invigorating purity give the city a powerful mountain energy, in an urban frenzy on a human scale.
It doesn't take long to realize just how rich Geneva is. A blend of nature and urbanism, it also boasts a number of assets. The old town, or ville haute, is steeped in history, with its 16th-century heritage. Century.
With the Reformation, in 1536, Geneva effectively established itself as a symbol of Protestantism and a radical renewal of Christianity. The International Reformation Museum is a highly symbolic site, housed in the Maison Mallet, built by Huguenot refugees on the former site of the movement's adoption.
Then, many institutions would later emerge from the hand of Pastor Jean Calvin (who preached many times in the cathédrale Saint-Pierre, or on the place du Molard). The seigniory of Geneva will exist for seven years, during which time it will be granted regal rights, and special privileges will be granted to local burghers and citizens.
From the 1600s, the presence of Italian and French Protestants, particularly following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, doubled Geneva's population, while bringing economic dynamism and cultural syncretism to the city.
Still alive today, this prosperity can be felt in the presence of watchmaking industries (which formed a group of jewelry and related trades, known as the Fabrique), or more recently, gilding and silk
Much later, in a context of industrialization, Geneva became home to numerous workshops (automotive, electrical ...), as evidenced -notably- to this day by the building of the former Forces Motrices factory.
There's more to Geneva than Calvinism and Protestantism. Filled with a most exciting heritage, where everything is in the detail and care, Geneva knows how to seduce. Its many parks and monuments are anchored in neighborhoods each more singular than the last, where sometimes imposing buildings play in favor of its exponential credibility.
Those lucky enough to cross the border by train are quickly disoriented, by an arrival at Cornavin, a cosmopolitan and ebullient district, where beautiful hotels are at one with the infrastructure of the electric streetcar; emblematic. A particular favorite is the sturdy hôtel Cornavin, drawn in Hergé's 1956 "L'Affaire Tournesol".
With its room 122 and a small lobby for Tintinophiles, it's well worth a look and a nostalgic memory! Not far away, the passage des Grottes is home to the basilique Notre-Dame and the former école des Arts Industriels (Haute Ecole d'Art et de Design). Nothing less.
You'll have to cross to the other bank to admire the maison Tavel, today musée d'Art et d'Histoire and a unique testimony to Swiss medieval architecture, highly symbolic as the oldest preserved private dwelling in Geneva. Just a stone's throw away: the Grand-Rue; with its old storefronts and antique shops, its cobblestones and ... its history. Characters such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges had indeed established their quarters here and maintained their little habits.
A beautiful blend of intellect, literature and architecture is distilled in these bistre streets, yet full of Lumières.
Scattered throughout the neighborhood, and not to be missed, either: the seat of the cantonal government (the hôtel de ville), the rue du Soleil Levant and its lovely shaded terraces, the place du Bourg-de-Four -a true focal point-, a lively one, with its fountain, and from which you can make out the green copper spire of the cathédrale Saint-Pierre.
Further up, the promenade la Treille (the city's oldest, with the oldest wooden bench in the ... World, established on a former vineyard hillside) unfolds between the place Neuve, the rue des Granges and its townhouses, and the mur des Réformateurs (with its statues and bas-reliefs) of the promenade des Bastions.
A city of water, Geneva is nothing without the lac Léman, and its masterful jet d'eau over 140 m., erupting like a geyser. Its astronomical figures (500 l./second, 200 km/h on exit, 9000 watts of lighting...) abound in the sense of the curiosity it arouses. Initially triggered by accident, it was eventually maintained, given its characteristic singularity and tourist interest.
Omnipresent, the Rhône and the Arve complete the lake, and join at the Pointe de la Jonction. This former market-gardening area has now become a magnificent green space, inviting you to relax, with its deckchairs, Italian poplar banks, and a guinguette supplemented by frequent entertainment during the summer.
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Opposite, opening onto Lake Geneva, the île Rousseau, and its statue, adjoin the pont du Mont-Blanc -and its flags, easily reminiscent of the Pont de l'Europe. It also offers a first-rate view of the advertising signs of Switzerland's finest houses: Rolex, Tissot, Richard Mille ... . Also, lovers of finery will know how to get to rue du Rhône without a hitch, to pick up jewelry and other objects of the finest craftsmanship.
Just a stone's throw away, the port Wilson, and once again, magnificent buildings opposite, imposing themselves as belvederes and overlooking the bains de Pâquis, very discreetly laid out, but popular, where local residents love to get their feet wet.
The beautiful Helvetian city is also known for being home to a number of international institutions, which can attract the attention of any peregrinator. A veritable center of expertise since 1919 and the creation of the League of Nations (forerunner of the UN and ILO), Geneva is recognized as a leader in the fields of peace, security and disarmament, as well as for its action in the areas of human rights, health, the environment and sustainable development.
Thus, it is home to several dozen international organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Bank, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Office (ONU) and its Palais des Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Geneva is an undeniably dynamic city. Alongside its economic and institutional activity, the city is also making a name for itself on the contemporary cultural scene. Its scene is diverse and sometimes alternative; the city is home to some fine initiatives, such as the Usine, a self-managed socio-cultural venue that brings together no fewer than twenty entities (workshops, music rooms, cinema ...), the Grand Théâtre du Léman, the large Arena, the Galpon, the Ecurie, the MotelCampo -nightlife oblige-, or the fédération des artistes de Kugler and its eight associations.
To perfect all this offer, there's material to satisfy gourmets eager to eat at the end of a cultural day. There's no shortage of fish -from the lake, of course-, perch fillets, longeole, cardoon gratins, rissoles and various fricassees, not to mention prune tarts and chocolate marmites.
Geneva is retro, yes. Contemporary? Even more so. Bohemian? Sometimes, if you get lost in Carouge and its Italian village life. A true fusion of all these elements, its eclecticism is pleasing, and sometimes bewildering. From flamboyant green spaces to massive religious or public buildings, from trendy bars to museums, symbolizing ancestral traditions of precision with haute horlogerie, which spans the centuries, the Swiss city is also young, cultured, on the cutting edge in many fields (CERN ...).
It would take much more than a few lines to relate the special atmosphere that this definitely oxymoronic city exudes.
Bonus!
Other activities and discoveries to do in Geneva:
- The Christmas village, and its typically Swiss decor, in the Parc des Bastions;
- The Christmas market, in an artistic and refined Carouge;
- The Red Cross Museum, and the work of Henry Dunant;
- The mont Salève, ideal for its breathtaking views, and ideal departure point for hikers, vttists or paragliders;
- The horloge fleurie, and its 12,000 or so flowers, in the heart of the English Garden;
- The Broken Chair, in the International Quarter;
- The Geneva Lux festival, which lights up the city in winter;
- Many boat trips, including the one linking Geneva to Yvoire (a medieval town on the French side of the lake);
- Beaches, and water sports: stand up paddle, pedal boat...;
