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Townscape

The townscape of Geneva, though undramatic, is full of variety. On a steep-sided hill on the left bank of the Rhône rises the old town, dominated by the cathedral, with its picturesque old streets, flights of steps, fountains and historic buildings. On the west, south and east it is surrounded by a ring of imposing buildings and broad streets on the line of the old fortifications. The business life of the city is concentrated in the area below the old town to the north and in Saint-Gervais, formerly an outlying suburb. On both sides of the lake are elegant promenades and extensive parks and gardens. In the northern part of the town are the main railroad station, industrial establishments, craft workshops and residential areas. Most of the international organizations have their headquarters still farther north, in spacious park-like grounds. Geneva is the capital of the smallest Swiss canton, the République et Canton de Genève. It is almost entirely surrounded by French territory (free trade zones) and is connected to the rest of Switzerland only by the lake and a narrow corridor along the northwest shore of the lake. It has two small enclaves around Céligny in the canton of Vaud.

Ariana Museum

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.

Palais des Nations

Northeast of Geneva's Place des Nations, in a large area of parkland sloping down towards the lake, stands the Palais des Nations, a monumental complex of buildings clad in light-colored marble.

This area, which now enjoys extraterritorial status with full judicial, fiscal and postal rights, was formerly part of the Parc de L'Ariana, which was bequeathed to Geneva by P. G. Revilliod in 1890. In 1929 the town handed over the area, 200,000 sq. m/239,200 sq. yd in extent, to the League of Nations, which had held an architectural competition in 1927-28 for the design of new headquarters.

Place du Bourg-de-Four

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.

Quai de Mont-Blanc

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.

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January - February -> -2(°C) - Winter

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