Old town and Plainpalais
Where can you feel the pulse of Geneva and discover its history? In the old town! This historic center revolves around the Place du Bourg du Four and Saint-Pierre Cathedral. It's bounded by the Grand-Rue, on the lake side to the north, and the line of the old city walls, today's Promenade des Bastions, to the south. Next to the Place du Bourg de Four, you'll find the Palais de Justice, museums, boutiques and terraces. Go to the other side of the old town to reach the Bastions and the Plainpalais district, towards the wooden bench of La Treille, said to be the longest in the world! Below you'll find the Place Neuve, the Opera House, the Musée Rath and the Parc des Bastions. A veritable green lung, it is home to the University of Geneva and the famous Reformers' Wall.
The old town. This is one of Geneva's favorite places for strolling, with its many steep cobbled streets and the Place du Bourg de Four. Take a leisurely stroll through the old town to grasp its two thousand years of history. This historic center showcases the judiciary via the Palais de Justice building, museums, boutiques and restaurant terraces. The settings of the establishments are often unique, as along the Grand-Rue between antique and art stores, second-hand booksellers, galleries, chocolate shops and small designer boutiques. Numerous fountains, such as the one in Place du Bourg du Four, are gathering places and meeting places. Many typical restaurants offer delicious cuisine, both inventive and traditional, and you'll find numerous establishments serving Swiss specialties. Don't miss a drink at La Clémence, a café that has been bringing passers-by together for five hundred years. Have fun searching for Geneva's only king (Gondebaud, Burgundian period), hidden in a small niche. A political, religious and judicial center, the old town also serves as a cultural and educational hub. From the Place du Bourg de Four, the Rue des Chaudronniers leads to the medieval arcades of the Collège Calvin and the neoclassical colonnades of the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire (Rue Charles-Galland). A little further on, the gilded bulbs of the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross astonish with their rounded, deeply oriental appearance, in perfect contrast to the sharp protrusions of Saint-Pierre Cathedral. The Maison Tavel is a medieval architectural ensemble dating back to 1334. The State Chancellery on rue de l'Hôtel de Ville has been the heart of Geneva's political power since the 16th century. Below the old town is the "lower streets" district.
Parc des Bastions. Below the old town, on the Plainpalais side, it can be reached via the picturesque Rue de la Terrasse or the Treille ramp, from which a fine panorama opens up over the whole of the south of the city. From the lower streets, in the continuation of rue de la Corraterie, you'll find Place Neuve, with the Grand Théâtre, the Conservatoire de Musique and the Musée Rath. From this square, you enter the Parc des Bastions, a popular strolling area for locals, with its life-size chess sets and beautiful lawns. In this green setting, you'll find the charming Bastions restaurant with its lovely terrace in summer, which becomes an ice rink in winter. The park also contains buildings from the University of Geneva, which was built in 1873, such as the library, and is therefore a popular meeting place for students. Parc des Bastions still boasts many unique trees from the time when it was the city's first botanical garden, in 1817. The park is especially popular with visitors for one of the city's most famous monuments: the Wall of the Reformers, featuring the emblematic figure of Calvin, a symbol of the importance of the Protestant faith in Geneva. It's also a rallying point for the city's major events, such as the Escalade race and the outdoor skating rink in winter.
Plainpalais is a former commune of the canton that became part of the city in 1931. Its suburbs, Palais (a marshy plain), Saint-Léger and Saint-Victor, distributed between the Rhône and Arve rivers, have become districts of Geneva (Plainpalais, la Cluse, Jonction, Tranchées, Champel, Bout-du-Monde, Acacias and les Vernets). Bordered by the Rhône to the north, the old town, Bastions and Rive to the east, the Arve to the west and Carouge to the south, the Plainpalais district is organized in a geographical rhombus on either side of avenue du Mail and boulevard Georges Favon, around the "Plainpalais plain". This former marshland has remained free of construction thanks to its classification as a public utility. It remains a privileged gathering place, hosting occasional events (big screens for major sporting events, concerts, the Swiss national holiday, the Knie national circus) and a large flea market on Wednesdays and Saturdays (8am-3pm) and every first Sunday of the month, which attracts the discerning bargain hunter. The vegetable market is held every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday under the mostly century-old plane trees, and the flea market every Wednesday, Saturday and first Sunday of the month from 6am to 6pm in winter, and from 6am to 7pm in summer.
The square is also home to a huge skate park with a concrete bowl, a real treat for skateboarders.
On a completely different note, you'll be amazed by the impressive and frightening bronze statue of Frankenstein's monster. In author Mary Shelley's novel, written in Cologny (near Geneva), the monster flees across the Plainpalais plain.
You'll find a wide variety of restaurants in this popular student district. Along the cosmopolitan rue de Carouge, they are mostly inexpensive, with a culinary orientation to world flavors, a total change of scenery. Parallel to Rue de Carouge, Rue Prévost-Martin, which runs to Place des Augustins, offers a number of good places to grab a quick bite to eat, in a trendy setting with designer bars.
The Jonction and Bains districts. On the other side of the Plainpalais plain, in the Jonction district, you'll appreciate the student cafés-restaurants of the rue de l'École de Médecine, the refined, contemporary, artistic establishments of the "quartier" des Bains, as well as the latest novelties and designer boutiques along the boulevard Carl Vogt, which has been undergoing a major transformation in recent years. The Quartier des Bains is the "hub of modern art", with its Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art(MAMCO). It is bounded by rue de l'École de Médecine, l'Arve, rue des Bains and rue du Stand. The Association du Quartier des Bains brings together fifteen renowned art galleries and cultural institutions. Its aim? To promote contemporary art With this in mind, once a year it organizes the famous Nuits des Bains.
Push open the doors of alternative cafés for café-concerts, café-conferences and workshops. When it comes to trendy ready-to-wear boutiques, you'll want to head for the little side streets, such as Rue Jean Violette, Rue Prévost-Martin and Place des Augustins. On Boulevard Carl Vogt, you'll be captivated by an unusual piece of architecture: a diamond-patterned roof housing the Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève (MEG). Beneath this aluminum iceberg are vast, rich collections of works from all five continents. A life-size journey through the world's culture.
La Jonction. As you descend towards the Rhône, you come to a district that Genevans call "Jonction", because it precedes the confluence of the clear waters of the Rhône and the murkier waters of the Arve. This district is home to many bars. It's the heart of Geneva's alternative scene. You can quench your thirst in the bars near the Forces Motrices building. Built in 1883 in the middle of the Rhône, the BFM was originally a factory that supplied water to Geneva's fountains, houses and factories. Completed in 1892, the building was listed as a historic monument in 1898.
It's a fascinating, monumental place. Chosen to house the new Grand Théâtre in 1994, its rehabilitation and redevelopment are remarkable. Set on the Rhone, with its immense bay windows alongside elegant buildings, the site could be a work of art in itself. The site is well worth a visit. Concerts, dance performances and exhibitions are held here in an absolutely unique setting. L'Usine is a not-to-be-missed venue, famous in Geneva's nightlife world. Housed in a former gold refining factory, this self-managed association represents alternative cultural life. The cultural center organizes concerts and plays. It is also home to the popular nightclub.
Rive and Eaux-Vives
Rive is a group of streets dedicated to commerce: the rue de Rive, the lower streets below the old town, the cours de Rive with its numerous arcades and the boulevard Helvétique which hosts the markets and the famous Halles de Rive. The famous rue du Rhône and the quays are more touristy and middle-class areas, with a wide range of tapas bars and lounge bars, rooftops and gourmet restaurants. The Eaux-Vives district extends from the harbor to the route de Malagnou, from the Rive traffic circle to the Eaux-Vives and La Grange parks. The popular Eaux-Vives district has its own identity. The backbone is the rue des Eaux-Vives. All along it are various restaurants and stores. Close to the lake, the city center and beautiful parks, it offers a range of more affordable restaurants than on the quays, with a wide variety of culinary universes.
Shoreline and lower streets. Rue du Marché, which becomes Rue de la Croix d'Or on the way to Rive, is the city's main shopping street. It is crowded on Saturdays. In Switzerland, almost all the stores are closed on Sundays and you have to hurry to do your shopping before 6pm on Saturdays. The "lower streets" are known to offer an interesting composite of 18th and 19th century buildings as well as more recent achievements. Like the Genevans, we appreciate the Place du Molard and its beautifully illuminated cobblestones in the evening. It is a very good place to have a drink on the terrace and enjoy the colorful atmosphere of the place between neoclassic and medieval. You can also enjoy a meal in one of the restaurants on the square or go directly into Globus, one of the two big stores of the city, which offers excellent food on the first floor and well-stocked clothing departments on the upper floors.
On Eaux-Vives. Eaux-Vives was a separate commune from Geneva in the early 19th century. It was a fishermen's village on the shores of the lake with several pontoons where their boats were moored, including the Port Noir from which the Mouettes (seagulls) still leave for the right bank. The banks of the lake were then undeveloped shores. There were also craftsmen who occupied the high streets of the district, some of whose arcades are still visible, notably on rue Maunoir. The district changed especially after the European revolutions of 1840-1850, when aristocratic families came to seek refuge in peaceful Switzerland from the turpitude of the creation of nation-states. The great Geneva politician James Fazy gave the city an unprecedented urban impulse and transformed the harbor. Along the new alley that runs along the lake, houses were built throughout the end of the century. These large and sometimes eccentric residences, "the mansions", belonged to rich local and European families. Let's mention two beautiful examples of this seaside architecture: the Maison Royale (48, quai Gustave Ador, 1885) on the left bank of the harbor and on the right bank the Hotel Beau Rivage (13, quai du Mont-Blanc, 1865) belonging to the Pâquis district. The city became a favorite vacation spot for the upper middle class and the European aristocracy, who could no longer rest in a Europe that was in the grip of the social revolutions of the second half of the 19th century.
This seaside touch became a reality with the first baths in Eaux-Vives, created by the Société des Bains du Soleil et du Lac in 1916. Today, the district is both urban and lakeside like its right bank counterpart, the Pâquis. The Eaux-Vives district is one of the most pleasant, it is preserved by its magnificent parks. It is also in this neighborhood that you will find the brand new public beach of Geneva, which will be built in 2019.
Grottos, Pâquis and Nations
The Grottes district is characterized by its working-class, supportive atmosphere, while the Pâquis district is cosmopolitan and lively. Finally, the Nations district gives Geneva its truly international dimension, with the presence of the European headquarters of the UN, the UNHCR, the International Red Cross and two hundred other international organizations. The superb parks in the Pâquis extension, stretching along the shores of Lake Geneva and leading to the Place des Nations, the UN's entry point, are well worth a visit. The Botanical Garden, opposite the WTO, is a superb plant paradise for children and parents alike.
The Pâquis district. Located on the right bank of Lake Geneva, Pâquis was separated from Geneva until the 19th century. They owe their name to the pastures that extend down to Lake Geneva and belong to the Petit-Saconnex commune. Fortifications on today's Boulevard du Mont-Blanc marked the boundaries of the district. Urbanization began in the early 19th century, when in 1850 Pâquis became part of Geneva and one of its suburbs. It is this late urbanization that gives the streets that make up Pâquis their architectural homogeneity. Already at this time, hotels and inns were being built around the Cornavin gate, the point of convergence between the roads serving Switzerland and neighboring France. Before heading to Left Bank Geneva, people stopped off in the area to recover from their journey and spend the night. What's more, the location to the south of the riverbank soon became a preferred site for luxury hotels, which were established on this new land facing the lake. In parallel with this seaside aspect, the interior of the district was given over to pleasures: casinos, then estaminets and finally brothels appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. The district's identity is marked by these contrasts, a skilful blend of elegant bourgeois houses, palaces where aristocratic families stay, and hot alleyways where people go to party. Since the 1860s, the atmosphere has changed! The district is a major tourist center, bringing together hotels, restaurants, entertainment and trendy spots, all of which are charged with an electric yet diverse atmosphere. Restaurants offer a wide choice of cuisine from all over the world. The district is also home to a large number of hotels offering a wide range of prices. Today's Pâquis district is criss-crossed by the street of the same name, along which you'll find a succession of bars, spicy restaurants and trendy spots. Rue de Berne also marks the entrance to the red district, which is tightly controlled but lacks the transition to the chic banks of Quai du Mont-Blanc. The district's cultural mix favors the establishment of restaurants with global flavors. A heterogeneous universe that represents Geneva's cultural diversity.
Geneva's main railway station, Gare Cornavin, undoubtedly owes its name to the Episcopal vineyards it once cultivated. It is a crossroads for all public transport lines, at the junction of the Mont-Blanc bridge and Rue de Lausanne, covering regional, national and international destinations. As the nerve center of the entire district, around 15,000 people pass through here every day. The station houses an underground gallery with numerous stores, some of which are open later than usual in Geneva. During one of its renovations in the 1930s, the rubble accumulated during the demolition gave rise to Genève Plage on the opposite bank. From its many renovations, it has retained its façade and murals, which are dear to the hearts of the Genevan people and worth arriving early to view. In front of this imposing ensemble, crossing the square via the Passage des Alpes leads to the atypical Grottes district (on the opposite side of the lake), while Rue James Fazi, which crosses Rue Chantepoulet, leads to the Saint-Gervais district. Rue de Cornavin descends towards the Rhône to join the small streets surrounding the Manor department store (known in Geneva as Placette, after Place De-Grenus). These central lanes are ideal for a shopping stroll or a stroll to the quays des Bergues and the small islands on the Rhône, such as Ile Rousseau, Pont de la Machine or Quais de l'Ile. Upstream, Avenue de France and Route de Ferney join the freeway that bypasses Geneva towards France, and Lake Geneva towards the rest of Switzerland.
Stroll along the Quai du Mont-Blanc to admire the lake, which runs alongside the small marina before the Bains des Pâquis. After the pier, this is extended by the Quai Wilson, stretching along the banks opposite the palace of the same name, former headquarters of the League of Nations. It then leads to the magnificent Parc de la Perle du Lac (the first of six parks making up the Monrepos park complex). On a clear day, this park offers a sumptuous panorama of the Mont Blanc massif. It includes the Villa Rose Lammermoor, headquarters of the Hautes Études Internationales, the Villa Bartholoni, home to the Science Museum, and the World Trade Organization (WTO) building. These elegant 19th-century mansions have been converted into luxury hotels and palaces, while the railway station is home to mid-range hotels, and the more popular districts (Pâquis and Grottes) to budget hotels and youth hostels.
The Grottes district is in no way a cave or even a grotto. Its name comes from a small, often muddy river, the Nant des Crottes, which was renamed Nant des Grottes in the 19th century. It's a rather atypical district that you have to walk through to understand its urban foundations and the participatory vocation of its inhabitants. They are viscerally attached to their little neighborhood of popular buildings renovated at the turn of the century and new constructions from the 1980s. Indeed, this neighborhood had a bad reputation at the turn of the century. It was home to a large number of immigrants, including political refugees wanted by the police all over Europe (Kropotkin and Lenin are said to have stayed there). The city intended to demolish the building, but the various projects eventually came to nothing, and the 1970s saw the Grottes become a district of squats and self-managed premises. In short, an alternative world on the bangs of a Geneva at the height of its financial glory. This squat identity remains very strong in this deeply supportive neighborhood. In the 1980s, however, we saw the construction of the Smurfs houses (rue Louis Favre), buildings built according to Gaudí's architectural principles without right angles that resemble colored mushrooms, as well as the renovation of the facades (resulting in the pretty pastel colors of the walls). Rue des Grottes is the backbone of this little corner where, from Rue Sibérie to Rue de Faucille, the shadow of revolution is never far away. Today, Les Grottes is a collection of small tree-lined streets, interconnecting courtyards, community centers, self-managed stores and the charming Parc des Cropettes, all of which are so popular with its residents. It's a world of its own that's worth exploring and immersing yourself in the district's curious (for Geneva) identity. This is Geneva's alternative district, with many self-managed spaces.
The Nations district, at the far end of the right bank, adjacent to the Conservatoire, the Botanical Gardens, Ariana Park and the Glass and Ceramics Museum, occupies the hillside overlooking Lake Geneva. Opposite, the Salève, the Alps and Mont Blanc offer a magnificent panorama. This is the district of international Geneva, and the best place to talk diplomacy, health, economics or law. This is the setting in which, since 1945 (and before that the League of Nations), the major institutions of multilateralism have been based, led by the UN, but also the UNHCR and the OPI (intellectual property). These organizations, located around Avenue de France and Parc de l'Ariana, are also well worth a visit, as are the Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum and the Palais des Nations building. The Place des Nations and its emblematic three-legged chair (in reference to support against anti-personnel landmines) is the heart of international citizens' gatherings, around the 192 flags that line it. The district is young, dynamic and multicultural, and many delegates from all over the world stay in the area. The Botanical Garden, also known in Geneva as the UN Garden with its animals and greenhouse, is a favorite with children, while parents enjoy the exceptional view. Prégny-Chambésy and its Domaine des Penthes with the Museum of the Swiss in the World is a stone's throw away. Apart from the international organizations and a few establishments, the area is fairly empty of stores, and you'll have to head back towards the center, or to the Avenue de Lausanne, to find a little more shopping activity and restaurants.
The neighborhoods near the airport are located partly in Geneva (Petit and Grand-Saconnex) and partly in the surrounding area (Vernier). The airport is also close to Meyrin and CERN. The area around the airport is dominated by large retail outlets, including Emotions Airport Shopping (open on Sundays), Migros, Balextert, Ikea and offices. Restaurants are grouped near or at the airport (Swiss Chalet, Montreux Jazz Café, L'Olivo, L'Altitude) and in the surrounding communes of Petit and Grand-Saconnex (Café du Soleil), and a little further afield in Vernier and Satigny (Café de Peney). It's also the place to be for museums and events, with the Palexpo center hosting the emblematic GIMS motor show, or the Arena and its international shows by popular artists.
Carouge
It is sometimes called the "Greenwich Village" of Geneva. Only 10 minutes by streetcar from Place Neuve, Carouge has its own personality. It is different and knows how to cultivate its difference. Carouge has a special status in the history of Geneva and its canton. A small town detached from the left bank by the course of the Arve, it was built in the 18th century on the orders of the King of Sardinia to compete with Geneva.
Originally, it was made up of a few houses and belonged to the hamlet of Lancy. Between 1772 and 1783, a new town was developed, open to the modern Piedmontese urbanism, without fortifications or walls, with aligned streets and large squares. It advocated freedom and tolerance. Even today, this open-mindedness runs through its veins. It is appreciated for its cultural dynamism, its human size, its trendy fashion and craft stores, its art and design galleries, its inns and cafés, not to mention its terraces along the Market Square.
The name of Carouge comes from quadruvium, "crossroads", in the center of which Sigismund was crowned king of the Burgundians in 516. It keeps this quality of open city, after having been French, Italian and under the supervision of Geneva, it asserts its singular identity. A rare phenomenon in its position as a border town, it has never had any fortifications. Now a commune of the canton of Geneva, it has often been assimilated to a district of the city of Calvin. The inhabitants of Geneva and artists like to walk there to smell a little different air.
Since the 18th century, privileges were granted to foreigners to encourage their settlement and thus boost the economy of Carouge. The Turinese power made it an island of civil tolerance with 143 inns and cabarets in 1792, but also religious tolerance since Catholics, Freemasons, Protestants, Jews... Thanks to its strategic position on the banks of the Arve river which allowed the transport of goods on the Rhine-Rhone axis, without passing through Geneva, and its Arve bridge (a real road crossroads in the direction of Ain and Savoy), Carouge became an important center of trade and crafts. It was elevated to the rank of royal city in 1786 by King Victor-Amédée III. Ceded in 1816 by the Treaty of Turin, it became one of the communes of the Canton of Geneva. In 1862, it became the fourth European city, along with Geneva, to have a horse-drawn omnibus (the ancestor of the streetcar). Since then, it has become an industrial city while preserving the heart of its old town where it is pleasant to walk along the canal and in the shady streets. Classified as a "city of national importance", it is a unique example of post-medieval urban planning in Europe. The city was built and developed on both sides of the ancient street which crosses it diagonally from the Arve cove. The architectural style of the old town is popular, with a one-story gray rendered facade, arched windows on the first floor (often housing a workshop) and rectangular windows on the upper floor, and a courtyard side with a courtyard staircase and a small garden. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the buildings were enhanced and transformed. Carouge still has many historic houses, including the Montanrouge house (1789) which has housed the Carouge museum since 1984 (works by local artists, earthenware, pottery, paintings).
