What we love in Geneva is this urban nature. A walk along the lake, a ride on a boat and then a café on a terrace in the Old Town. The Rhône crossing the city, saying hi to the building with its crystal-clear water. Welcome to Geneva!

The symbol of the «world’s smallest metropolis» is the “Jet d’eau” – a fountain with a 140-metre-high water jet at the periphery of Lake Geneva. Most of the large hotels and many restaurants are situated on the right-hand shore of the lake. The old town, the heart of Geneva with the shopping and business quarter, holds sway over the left-hand shore. It is dominated by St. Peter’s Cathedral, however the actual centre of the old town is the Place du Bourg-de-Four, which is the oldest square in the city. Quays, lakeside promenades, countless parks, lively side streets in the old town and elegant shops invite guests to stroll. One of the best-maintained streets is the Grand-Rue, where Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born. The «mouettes», a type of water taxi, enable crossings to be made from one lakeshore to the other, while larger vessels invite visitors to enjoy cruises on Lake Geneva.  
  
Geneva is Switzerland’s most international city, as it is where the European seat of the UNO is based. Even the International Red Cross directs its humanitarian campaigns from here. Besides being a congress city, Geneva is also a centre for culture and history, for trade fairs and exhibitions. The «Horloge Fleuri», the large flower clock in the “Jardin Anglais” (English Garden), is a world-renowned symbol of the Geneva watch industry.  
  
Culturally, this city on the westernmost fringe of Switzerland has much to offer. International artists perform in the Grand Théâtre and Geneva Opera House, and an extremely diverse range of museums such as the “Musée international de l'horlogerie”, a watch museum with a collection of jewellery watches and musical clocks, and the International Museum of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, which provides an insight into the work of these humanitarian organisations, invite city guests to visit them.  
  
A rewarding excursion destination is Mont Salève, which is situated in neighboring France. The cableway lifts visitors to an altitude of 1100 metres in less than five minutes, giving rise to outstanding vistas across the city of Geneva, Lake Geneva, the chain of Alps, the Jura and Montblanc. Geneva lies idyllically between Alpine peaks and vineyards by the largest lake in Western Europe.

Geneva

With more than 7,000 pieces ranging from prehistoric finds to contemporary paintings, the Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève is one of Switzerland’s largest and most important museums.

The multi-disciplinary exhibitions focusing on archaeology, fine art and applied art promise multi-faceted insights into the history of art and evolution of culture from prehistory to the present day. The heart of the museum, which opened in 1910, consists of its art collections. Highlights of the department for applied arts include musical instruments, watches, jewellery and textiles along with Byzantine art and icons. The fine art section gathers collections of work ranging from the Middle Ages to the 21st century, and features important groups of paintings by Ferdinand Hodler, Félix Vallotton and Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot. One of the museum’s greatest treasures is the altarpiece painted by Konrad Witz in 1444, regarded as the first realistic portrayal of landscape in European painting.

### Highlights

  
Autumn 2018  
**The spirit of Hodler in Genevan painting**, **Maison Tavel**  
  
8 February - 26 May 2019  
**Caesar and the Rhône. Ancient masterpieces from Arles**  
  
10 May 2019 - 5 January 2020  
**metamorphoses**  
  
5 April - 30 June 2019  
**mastering light, Claude Lorrain and the perception of the landscape**

Art and history museum - Geneva

Highlights