Geneva Attractions

The only Swiss museum devoted entirely to ceramics, this collection of over 16,000 objects illustrates seven centuries of ceramics in Switzerland, Europe and the East. The Ariana Museum also has examples of 20th C work.

The Petit Palais, is a private art museum featuring the French painters from 1880 to 1930 including the: Impressionists; Neo-impressionists; Nabis; Fauves; Painters of Montmartre and the artists: Cézanne; Manet; Renoir; and Gauguin.

Swiss painters are featured with examples from Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen and Rodolphe-Théophile Bosshard.

Southeast of Geneva's Temple de Saint-Pierre in the picturesque Place du Bourg-de-Four, on the site of the Roman forum, stands the handsome Palais de Justice, built 1707-12. It has housed the law courts since 1860.

On the north side of Geneva's Lac Léman (the Rive Droite) the Quai de Mont-Blanc extends northeast from the bridge, with a view of the Mont-Blanc chain (particularly fine in the late afternoon in clear weather). At the landing stage in front of the Hôtel Beau Rivage the Empress Elizabeth of Austria (b. 1837) was assassinated by an Italian anarchist in 1898.

Beside the Jetée des Eaux-Vives, the breakwater enclosing Geneva's harbor (beacon), is the Jet d'Eau, a mighty jet of water which soars up to a height of 145 m/476ft (1,360 HP pump; does not operate in bad weather).

Geneva's Ecole des Beaux-Arts (Art School) behind the Art and History Museum to the southwest, houses the collection of graphic art of the Cabinet des Estampes at 5 Promenade du Pin.

The primitive art of Africa, Oceania, Melanesia and America is displayed.

Boat services in Geneva include:

Regular steamer services to places on the Lac Léman, run by the Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le Lac Léman (CGN; head office in Lausanne-Ouchy; branch office in Geneva, "Le Bateau", Jardin Anglais); round trips and cruises; shuttle services and short trips in the port area and round about by the Mouettes Genevoises (motor-launches). (Not all boat services in Geneva operate during the winter.)

On the east side of the Route de Lausanne is Geneva's Conservatoire Botanique, with an excellent specialized library and famous herbaria (in the garden pavilion), new greenhouses and an aviary.

To the southeast of Ariana, lying between the Route de Lausanne and the Geneva-Lausanne railroad line and between the Avenue de la Paix to the south and the Chemin de l'Impératrice to the north lies the Jardin Botanique, a botanic garden established in 1902, with greenhouses (exotic plants, etc.), a fine Alpine garden, a small animal enclosure (fallow deer, llamas, peacocks, cranes, parakeets) and a refreshment pavilion (summer only).

Beyond Geneva's Quai de Mont-Blanc is the imposing Brunswick monument, a mausoleum modeled on the Scaliger tombs in Verona, which was built for Duke Karl II of Brunswick (1804-73), who left his money to Geneva.

The private Collection Baur is predominantly Far Eastern art.

Asian ceramics, jades, lacquers, netsuke and ornaments of sabers.

Furnished Regency, Louis XV, Louis XVI and Chippendale interiors, portraits by Vigée-Lebrun, plus 18th C porcelain, tapestry and enamels.

To the west of Geneva's Temple de Saint-Pierre the peaceful tree-shaded Cour Saint-Pierre has a number of historic old houses, the most elegant of which is the Maison Mallet (Louis XV style, 1721).

On the south side of Geneva's Lac Léman (the Rive Gauche) the Promenade du Lac runs east from the Pont du Mont-Blanc, flanked by the Jardin Anglais (large flower clock, cafe), with the Monument National (figures of "Helvetia" and "Geneva"), erected in 1869 to commemorate Geneva's entry into the Confederation (1814). From here Quai Gustave-Ador leads northeast, following the shore of the lake (commercial and boating harbor).

Switzerland has a fireworks festival in Geneva on Lake La Mans in August and another festival at the same time in Zurich.

This scenic rail route features shoreline scenery.

From Geneva's Hôtel de Ville begins the Grand' Rue (pedestrians only), the well-preserved main street of the old town, with house fronts of the 15th-18th C. (at No. 40 the birthplace of Jean-Jacques Rousseau).

A collection remembering Henry Dunant (1828-1910), philanthropist and writer and the pioneers of the Red Cross.

This three-day festival takes place in early December.

The Museum of the History of Science is the only museum of its kind in Switzerland. A display of Geneva's scientific past, its collections are composed of numerous old scientific instruments including microscopes, barometers, sun dials, astrolabes, books and documents donated by the families of Geneva's scientists and scholars.

From Geneva's Place des Nations the broad Avenue de la Paix extends north in a wide curve, passing the Ariana on the right and the Soviet embassy on the left. Opposite the west entrance to the Palais des Nations is the attractive villa, Vieux-Bois, which houses the Geneva Hotel School restaurant.

On the south side of Geneva's Route de Ferney, which leads uphill from the Place des Nations, can be seen the Hôtel Continental (1964) with its 15-story tower and beyond it the elegant Parc de Budé residential quarter.

Southwest of Geneva's Temple de Saint-Pierre is the Hôtel de Ville (15th-17th C.), seat of the cantonal government, which has a ramp without steps, leading to the upper floors. The Tour Baudet contains the cantonal archives. On the ground floor of the southeast wing is the Alabama room, in which the first Geneva Convention (on the Red Cross) was signed in 1864.

Geneva's Ile Rousseau lies between Pont du Mont-Blanc and the Pont des Bergues. On the island is a statue of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (by Pradier, 1834).

Other bridges are the Pont de la Machine (pedestrian bridge; under it a dam) and the double Ponts de l'Ile (until the 19th C. the only bridge), crossing an island in the Rhône on which stands the Tour de l'Ile, a relic of the medieval fortifications.

In a heavily built-up area below Geneva's Natural History Museum to the southwest rises the Immeuble Clarté, the only building of any size in the country designed by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier (along with his cousin P. Jeanneret). The outer walls, mainly of glass, of this block of apartments (1930-32) have no load-bearing function, being suspended from a steel skeleton.

Beyond the Brunswick monument are Geneva's Jetée des Pâquis (breakwater; bathing area, beacon).

On the south side of Geneva's Temple de Saint-Pierre is the former church of Notre-Dame (originally early 13th C.), in which Calvin, Beza and John Knox preached. Since the Reformation it has been called the Temple de l'Auditoire. Partly rebuilt in the 19th C., it is now used by Scottish, Dutch, Italian and Spanish Protestants (John Knox Chapel; restored 1959; exhibition of historical documents).

The Ethnographic Museum of Geneva contains about 100,000 objects and documents, the second largest collection of its kind in Switzerland. Objects exhibited reflect the diversity and the creativity of traditional cultures from the Five Continents including South American colonial silverware, Japanese weapons and art objects. Tibetan, Australian Aboriginal and rural African cultures are stressed.

The Annex at Conches houses temporary modern exhibitions on regional, alpine and urban ethnography.

Geneva's Musée d'instruments anciens de musique (Museum of Old Musical Instruments) is located at 23, rue F.- Lefort.

The Château de Penthes, houses the Musée des Régiments Suisses au Services Etranger (Museum of Swiss Regiments in Foreign Service). Documents, books, medals, weapons, uniforms and flags tell the political and military history the Swiss foreign regiments from to 15th to 20th C.

The Museum of Watchmaking emphasizes the formal and decorative aspects of clock-making, especially in the 17th century. The history of time- measurement is depicted 1550 to present day.

Dinosaur skeletons greet the visitor on the central podium of the Museum of Natural History. 88 species of mammals and 193 species of birds are exhibited in natural dioramas including endangered or extinct species. 8 subspecies of tigers known in the world, of which 3 are currently extinct are on display. Fish, spiders, reptiles and amphibians are also on exhibit.

The various periods of the life on Earth are displayed through minerals and the history of evolution.

In Geneva's Lac Léman there are two erratic boulders known as the Pierres du Niton ("Neptune's Stones"), on the larger of which is a Swiss Ordnance Survey reference point (373.6 m/1,226ft a.s.l.).

South of the railroad station, extending towards Lac Léman, is Geneva's old watchmaking quarter of Saint-Gervais, in the midst of which is the Temple of Saint-Gervais; the present church (Protestant) dates from the 15th C. (tower 1435).

Quai Wilson runs north past the large Palais Wilson in which the League of Nations met from 1925 to 1936.

This renewed English-style landscape park possesses a wonderful number of trees of exceptional size. Included are a rose garden and a nursery garden.

One of Geneva's busiest traffic arteries is the Pont du Mont-Blanc (1862; rebuilt 1969), the first of its eight bridges over the Rhône, spanning the river at the point where it leaves Lake Geneva. At the southern end is the entrance to a park garage under the riverbed.

European prints including Russian prints from 1910-1924 plus contemporary works and temporary exhibits.

At the southeast end of the hill on which Geneva's old town is built is the Promenade St-Antoine, a former bastion. Below this is the Collège St-Antoine, founded by Calvin in 1559, now one of the eight cantonal secondary schools.

Beyond the rail line, to the west, is Geneva's Quartier Les Grottes, a model example of sympathetic restoration. Extensive and innovative renovation is planned with grants available in order to help preserve the character of the quarter and to allow the existing residents to remain.

From Geneva's Pont du Mont-Blanc Rue du Mont-Blanc goes northwest past the Hôtel des Postes (on right: the main Post Office, with a special philatelic department) to the main station, the Gare de Cornavin (Swiss and French Railroads), with underground shopping passages and Geneva's tourist office.

The busiest streets in Geneva's lower town are the Rue du Rhône and a succession of streets which run parallel to it - Rue de la Conféderation, Rue du Marché, Rue de la Croix-d'Or (these last two for pedestrians only) and Rue de Rive - with a series of squares (originally landing-stages), passages and cross streets linking the two. Opposite the island in the Rhône is Place Bel-Air, around which are a number of banks.

To the east of Geneva's Museum of Art and History, beyond the Boulevard Helvétique, stands the Russian Church (1866), with nine gilded domes.

The Centre pour l'Image Contemporaine is concerned with art and new technologies: photography, video, computer, cinema, multimedia and the web. It is a production, presentation, discussion and archival center for contemporary images. It's Media Library has over 800 titles.

Along Geneva's lakeside road, past the Jet d'Eau on the right, are the Parc de la Grange (rose-garden) and the Parc des Eaux-Vives (restaurant), both with beautiful mature trees and flower-beds. Beyond this are the yacht harbor and the Genève-Plage bathing area.

Facing Geneva's Hôtel de Ville is the Old Arsenal, a former 16th C. granary which served as a weapons arsenal in the 18th C. Restored in 1971, it now houses the State archives.

This annual eight-week festival runs from early July to late August and includes a different performance every week. Each year the theme and style of music of the festival changes, although the events usually include orchestral and choral concerts.

Geneva's Temple de la Fusterie stands in the middle of Place de la Fusterie, east of Place Bel-Air. This Neo-classical structure was built by J. Vennes in 1713-15 as a Protestant church and restored in 1975-77 for use as an ecumenical facility.

Along Geneva's Rue du Rhône, at the corner of Place Molard, is the Tour du Molard (built 1591, several times altered or restored), the remnant of an old arcaded building, with a bas-relief of 1920, "Genève Cité de Refuge".

The U.N. Philatelic Museum displays stamps and philatelic documents from 1919 to the present day.

Stamp catalogs and magazines are installed for visitors. A 10 minute audio visual program shows the United Nations history through its stamps.

The philosopher Voltaire's (1694-1778) manuscripts and printed papers are housed in this 18th C mansion.

Visitors will learn about the knights of the Order of Malta in this museum as well as life in Compesières. Highlights include the painted cross from the 15th century which embellished the Chapel of Mouxy, Compesières's outbuilding, and a golden baroque copper ostensory.

The evolution of the mechanization of agriculture is shown through a display of vehicles, machines and tools plus actual harvests and seasonal activities.