Travel Guide to Geneva, Switzerland

Geneva is not very popular with tourists, because it has the reputation of a boring, unattractive and too traditional city, but in reality the things are absolutely different. Geneva can boast of a splendid location on the bank of Lake Geneva, narrow streets near Bourg-de-Four Square, where you can spend hours walking, historical buildings (among them the Museum of Modern Art), a large number of wonderful parks, good restaurants, bars and night clubs.

Saint Pierre's Cathedral. Saint Pierre's Cathedral is situated at a height of 404m above the sea level (it's the highest place in the ancient part of the city), where by one of the versions the Roman temple used to be located. Starting with the 4th – 6th centuries small Christian basilisk started to appear there. During one of the greatest archeological dig under the cathedral they found the remains of the previous temples, the baptismal chapel of the 4th century and the mosaics of the 5th century. Saint Pierre's Cathedral was built in 1150-1232 in the Roman style with gothic elements. Its capitals were made in the style of late Romanism and early Gothic.

From the 13th century the outlook of the cathedral has been changed a lot. Its two unfinished towers date the 13th century. In 1749-1756 the former front was changed for the portico with six Corinthian columns. In 1895 the pointed metal tower replaced the bell tower of the 15th century. Inside the cathedral id decorated in an austere Calvinistic style, that's why it's extremely unpretentious. In the north aisle there is a three-cornered chair, which belonged to theologian, founder of Calvinism John Calvin (1509-1565). In Rohan chapel in 1889 they placed the monument for Anri de Rohan (1579-1638), the leader of French protestants in the times of Louis XIII.

The Maison Tavel. In the ancient part of the city you should necessarily visit the Maison Tavel, the oldest house in Geneva (it was mentioned in 1303 and restored in 1334). In this building with gothic front take place The Museum of Ancient Geneva, where you can look at the relief that tells how Geneva look like in 1850 before the city wall was demolished. The relief was created in 1880-1896 by A. Manen on a 1:250 scale. Besides that, in the museum you can look at the exposition about the life of the Geneva citizen of those times.

Place Neuve. To the south-west from the ancient part of the city you can find Place Neuve, in the center of which the equestrian statue of general Dufour (1787-1875) by sculptor Alfred Lanz (1879-1894). During the topographical shoot of Switzerland in 1832-1864 under the direction of Dufour the topographical map of the country was created (it got the name 'Dufour's map'). During the Civil war of 1847 the general struggled against 7 catholic cantons, named Zonderburg.In 1857 Dufour contributed to Prussia's refusal from nowadays Swiss Neunburg.

The Reformation Wall. In the adorable Bastions Park you can find the Reformation Wall. Geneva used to the refuge for the leader of the Protestant Reformation John Calvin and his companions-in-arms. By the way, at first Calvin was banished because of the radical position. But after his return in 1541 Geneva turned into 'Reformative Rome'. It was the place, where all the Calvinism supporters gathered.

The building works of the Reformation Wall started in 1909, on the occasion of Calvin's birthday and 350th anniversary of the Academy for clergymen, created by him. The memorial picture is placed at the ancient defense wall. In its central part 5-meter figures of the great reformers (Guillaume Farel, John Calvin, Théodore de Bèze and John Knox) are located. To the right and to the left of them you may see the figures of other reformer from different countries.

The Jet d'Eau Fountain. In the water area of the Geneva Lake the main attraction of this city is situated – it is The Jet d'Eau Fountain, which means 'a water stream'. Primordially the fountain was the safety valve of the hydroelectric power station, but nowadays it turned into the symbol of Geneva. The water didn't use to stream so high, but when in 1951 the special pump the water started rising with the height of 140m. In evenings the fountain is beautifully lit.

If to go across Quai du General-Guisan Boulevard along the lake, you may see another Geneva attraction – The Flower Clock in the English Garden. This clock consists of thousands of flowers and it is homage to Geneva industry. Several times a year the flower composition is renewed in according with seasons.

Read more about Geneva:
Restaurants and cuisine in Geneva
Local traditions and lifestyle
'Must visit' places in Geneva
Nightlife and attractions in Geneva
Preparing for Geneva: Advices
Geneva photogallery