Geneva, Capital of the World

Geneva, with a population of about 186,000, is called the smallest of the big capitals, because it is home to the headquarters of the United Nations European Office, the World Health Organization, and more than 200 international organizations, such as the European Center for Nuclear Research. Many conferences are held in Geneva all year round with the participation of high-ranking representatives from all over the world. “Post tenebras lux” (from darkness to light) is the motto of Geneva, which managed to preserve its independence for 250 years, a unique case in the history of Europe.
Geneva, surrounded by mountains, stretches on a hill near the coast of a huge blue alpine lake and the Rhone River, on the very border with France. Lake Geneva is the largest reservoir of fresh water in Western Europe (89 billion cubic meters). Geneva’s embankment of Mont Blanc has been the traditional habitat of the “Russian Swiss” for the past 200 years. Not far from here at different times lived Herzen, Ogarev, Dostoevsky, Karamzin, Tolstoy, Bakunin, Tyutchev, Tolstoy. The proud symbol of the city is the fountain, the jets of which embody the aspiration upwards, into the realm of the spirit.

During the tour you will visit the international quarter (the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, ISO, ITU, WIPO, the World Council of Churches, ILO, WHO, the Palace of Nations – the European Office of the United Nations, the International Red Cross, WMO, WTO, Wilson Palace – the UN Human Rights Center), the embankments of Lake Geneva (the mausoleum of the Duke of Brunswick, the monument to Rousseau, the Flower Clock, the Geneva Fountain with a height of 140 m, the Rose Garden of La Grange Park – 14 thousand roses), the Le Tranche district of the XIX century, the Orthodox Church of Geneva.

Walking will take place in the old city (New Square, the memorial "Wall of Reformers", the Town Hall, the former arsenal, the house of Tavel - the oldest private mansion of the XIV century, St. Peter's Cathedral, the auditorium of Calvin, the Palace of Justice, Bourg de Four, the Church of St. Magdalene, the commercial quarter - Marche Street). Geneva is a city of parks. The most beloved among them is Park La Grahde with a rose garden and a huge flower clock. They've become world famous.

Their diameter is 5 meters, and the second hand is 2.5 meters (the largest in the world). Constantly 6,500 colors are ready to support the indescribable beauty of the watch. Also at your service is a park of cars, the Clock Museum, the Red Cross Museum, the Museum of Porcelain and Ceramics, the Museum of Art History, the Art Museum, the Museum of the History of Science, the Museum of Modern Art. Choose any one to your taste!

We will visit the wonderful parks of Geneva.

On the left bank is La Grange Park with the famous rose garden, laid on the occasion of the International Rose Exhibition, regularly held in Geneva from 1948 to the present day. On the right bank of the lake are parks Monrepo, Pearl du Lac, Arianne, Barton and located a few hundred meters from the building of the European office of the UN Geneva Botanical Garden, tropical greenhouses which have become one of the main attractions of Geneva. The Botanical Garden is a real open-air museum, where vegetation from all over the world is presented - mountain, tropical and Mediterranean flora, collections of coniferous and broadleaf trees, many flowers. Among all this splendor and riot of colors, a unique greenhouse in the form of the Capitol, a park with deer and pink flamingos, enclosures, ponds, as well as outdoor cafeterias and small shops with interesting souvenirs stand out.