The city of Geneva is about 1 1/2 hours from Chamonix. The city itself is situated around Lake Geneva with the Alps as the backdrop. The majority of the buildings seem to be neoclassical from the 17-18 centuries, separated by wide boulevards, now filled with either a bank or a very high end store like Mont Blanc, Patek Philippe or Christie's Auction House.
A brief history from the guide:
Dominated by the Romans, the Burgundians and then the Franks, the city of Geneva was already an independent diocese by the end of the 13th century. In 1536 it adopted the Protestant Reformation with the arrival of John Calvin. During the night of 11 to 12 December 1602 the Genevans repelled the troops of the Duke of Savoy who were trying to seize the city by scaling its fortifications. In 1798 Geneva was occupied by the French and became the administrative centre of the Departement du Leman. The Republic was restored on 31 December 1813, two years later Geneva became part of Switzerland. The International Committee of the Red Cross was founded in the city in 1863 and, the following year, the basis of international humanitarian law was laid with the signing of the First Geneva Convention. In 1919 the city was chosen as the headquarters of the League of Nations, the forerunner of the UN, which today has its European headquarters in Geneva.
And that about sums up what there is to see and do in Geneva! Caroline and I arrived about 7 PM and after checking into my hotel (several students from BSAO were meeting Caroline there for the remainder of the weekend) we went to explore the city.
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| Flower Clock: symbol of their famous watch making history |
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| Saint Peter's Cathedral where Calvin preached |
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| Reformation Wall: at the center stand 4 key figures of the Reformation with statues and bas-reliefs representing the leading Protestant figures of the other Calvinist countries and depict decisive moments in the history of Protestantism. |
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| Key figures of the Reformation: Guillaume Farel, John Calvin, Theodore de Beze and John Knox |
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| Jet d'eau at night |
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| Statue of Geneva native Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
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| Monument Brunswick |
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