Geneva is cosmopolitan, cultured, immaculate... and among Europe's most interesting cities to visit offering a wide variety of attractions and activities - too many to list here! This page provides a information about Geneva's highlights!

Excursions
Jet d'eau (Water Fountain)
In 1891, the City of Geneva decided to install the Jet d'eau (Water Fountain) where it is today, on the Rade, together with electric lighting. To project half a cubic meter of water per second up to 140 meters high requires two powerful groups of motor pumps representing a global weight of over 16 tons and a total power of close to 1000 kilowatts, fed by an electric tension of 2400 volts. The water is drawn in a circular water-sump and is directed towards an exit pipe where the speed reaches 200 km/h (130 miles per hour).

Mount Saleve
Hiking up the Saleve, the chain of hills that skirts Geneva in France is a wonderful excursion. Riding a cable car is another way to sample the mountain's incredible views of Geneva, the French Alps, and the lake.

Cities
Berne
Berne, Switzerland's captivating Capital is only a 2 hour rail trip from Zurich. This is a city of medieval magic, listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage. Attractions include the famous clock tower, the bearpits - home to Berne's heraldic animals - and excellent shopping arcades.

Lausanne
Lausanne is a truly elegant city and less than an hour by train from Geneva, on Lake Geneva. Its hillside setting on the lake facing the Alps is truly spectacular. Lausanne is a university city with a vibrant student population. The Swiss Hotel School is located here, as well as the International Olympic Committee headquarters, which has a fascinating Museum on the Olympics with all kinds of exhibits and a library of Olympic videos.

Summer Sports
Swimming
Designated areas for swimming in Lake Geneva and sunbathing are open May to September.
The city's most popular beach at Port-Noir offers a mutlitude of options. The Jura Mountains are a stunning backdrop to the immaculate green lawns and flowerbeds. The facility has a heated Olympic-size pool, a waterslide, basketball and volleyball courts, a giant chessboard, and a landing stage for water skiing and windsurfing.

Strolling
Environment - Parks
The word «urban district» is often used to call Geneva. However you only have to fly over the City to notice that it has very close links with the surrounding country-side and this gives it the privileged position of having less pollution of any city in Europe.
The City of Geneva is therefore deservedly called the city of parks. Geneva has an area of 330 hectares of parks of which the following are the most famous : La Grange, Les Eaux-Vives or Mon-Repos. Around the shores of Lake Geneva, concrete walkways give way to trees and lawns and making it another perfect area for strolling.

Rafting
For rough-water action, there's Rafting Geneva, across the Acacias Bridge from downtown. The company runs daily canoeing, rafting, and hydrospeed trips, as well as paragliding off Mount Saleve.

Winter Sports
Geneva is very close to the French Alps which includes the famous resorts of Chamonix, Megeve and Avoriaz-Morzine. You will have the opportunity for all sorts of winter activities including: skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, curling, ice climbing, sleeding, cross country skiing, snowshoe trekking, snowtubing and zorbing.

Indoor sports facilities are readily available in Geneva including swimming, tennis, squash, bowling, fitness and much more.

Entertainment
Opera House
The Geneva Opera House is without doubt one of the best known in Switzerland and indeed Europe. A varied program has made it one of the city's most-frequented cultural institution. Its reputation has grown steadily throughout the world ever since it opened in 1876.

Shopping
There are some very nice streets in Geneva which are a must for shoppers: Rue Basses, Rue du Rhone, Rue de la Confédération, Rue du Marché, Rue de la Croix-d'Or and Rue du Mont-Blanc. Dozens of watch stores, elegant fashion stores, department stores, boutiques with top quality products. There's an excellent web site by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry with lots of great information, including links to watch brands.

Events
Fete de Geneve
Every year between late July and early August, Geneva welcomes a huge popular festival where all kinds of people and nationalities meet. Created in 1947 and now famous all over the world, Geneva Festival is made of several entertainment areas located around the lake to satisfy fans of fun fairs, music of all types, humorists, night-clubbing, folklore, popular balls, fashion, global gastronomy, etc. The musical fireworks are undoubtedly the grand finale of the Festival, a fantastic show let off by the world's most famous firework manufacturers who put the lake on fire.

The Music Festival offers hundreds of concerts of all types in Geneva streets, performed by local amateurs and well-known professionals.

Geneva's International Motor Show is acknowledged by the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) as the only annual fair in Europe. Considered as the most open and representative car exhibition in the world, it always displays a large range of premieres, news and prototypes in the individual cars, bodywork and accessories fields.

Geneva International Hot Air Balloons Fiesta
In March, 30 balloons will gather together above the city of Geneva, a beautiful site highly appreciated by the world's best pilots.

Museums, International Organizations & Art
International Organizations

Geneva has always been a friendly city and is very international. This is confirmed by the presence on its soil of 17 international organizations, around 150 non-governmental organizations (NGO's) and 140 permanent missions to the United Nations and over 400 international companies. The European home of the United Nations is located at the Palais des Nations and the Museum of the League of Nations and the Rockerfeller Library are just next to it. Geneva is also the founding city and home to the International Red Cross.

The Red Cross Museum shows photos, films, objects and documents are presented through audio-visual displays and computer terminals. The unique setting of the Today area plunges you into the thick of current actions and gives you access to the latest news from the field. The Café Dunant is a multimedia area which provides information on the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in an interactive and entertaining way.

Art Galleries
Geneva includes more than a 100 Art Galleries that are spread over the entire city.