Geneva

Geneva (French:Genève, German:Genf), Switzerland’s second-most populated city and the country’s biggest French-speaking metropolis, is one of the world’s main capitals of international diplomacy, serving as the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross since its founding in 1863. Although the United Nations is now headquartered in New York, it maintains a significant presence in Geneva via the Palais des Nations and several of its sister/child organizations, such as the World Health and International Labour Organizations. The city of Geneva has a population of 200,000 people, whereas the metropolitan area has a population of 915,000 people.

In Geneva, 82 buildings or structures are recognized as Swiss historic sites of national importance, and the whole old city is included in the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Religious structures include the Cathedral St-Pierre et Chapel des Macchabés, Notre-Dame Church, the Russian Church, the St-Germain Church, the Temple de la Fusterie, and the Temple de l’Auditoire.

Civic buildings include the former Arsenal and Archives of the City of Genève, the former Crédit Lyonnais, the former Hôtel Buisson, the former Hôtel du Résident de France, and the former Bibliothèque of la Société de lecture de Genève. Former Ecole des Arts Industriaux, Archives d’Etat de Genève (Annexe), Bâtiment des Forces Motrices, Library de Genève, Library Juive de Genève «Gérard Nordmann», Cabinet des estampes, Centre d’Iconographie Genevoise, Collège Calvin, École Geisendorf, University Hospital of Geneva (HUG), Hôtel de Ville et Tour Baudet Clarté Immeubles, Rue Saint-Laurent 2 and 4, Immeubles House Rotonde, 11–19 Rue Charles-Giron, Rue Beauregard 2, 4, 6, 8, Immeubles Rue de la Corraterie 10–26, Rue des Granges 2–6, Rue des Granges 8, Rue des Granges 10 and 12, Immeuble at 14 Rue des Granges Immeuble and Former Armory at Rue des Granges 16, Immeubles at Rue Pierre Fatio 7 and 9, House de Saussure at Rue de la Cité 24, House Des Arts du Grütli at Rue du Général-Dufour 16, House Royale et les deux immeubles à côté at Quai Gustave Ador 44–50, Tavel House at Rue du Puits-St-Pierre 6. Turrettini House, Rue de l’Hôtel-de-Ville 8 and 10, Brunswick Monument, Palais de Justice, Palais de l’Athénée, Palais des Nations with SDN and ONU libraries and archives The Eynard Palace and Archives of the City of Geneva, Place Neuve et Monument du Général Dufour, Pont de la Machine, Pont sur l’Arve, Poste du Mont-Blanc, Quai du Mont-Blanc, Quai et Hôtel des Bergues, Quai Général Guisan and English Gardens, Quai Gustave-Ador and Jet d’eau, Télévision Suisse Romande, Victoria Hall, University of Geneva

Archeological sites include the Fondation Baur and the Museum of the Arts of the Extrême-Orient, the Parc et campagne de la Grange and the Library (neolithic shore settlement/Roman villa), the Bronze Age shore settlement of Plonjon, the Temple de la Madeleine archeological site, the Temple Saint-Gervais archeological site, and the Old City, which includes Celtic, Roman, and medieval villages.

Museums, theaters, and other cultural institutions: Conservatoire de musique at Place Neuve 5, Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques, Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques, Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques, Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques, Conservatoire et Jardin bot Cantonal Fund for Contemporary Art, Rousseau’s island and the monument, Musée Ariana, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Musée d’ethnographie, Musée Rath, Muséum d’histoire naturelle, Musée Rath, Muséum d’ethnographie, Musée Rath, Muséum d’ethnographie, Musée Rath, Muséum d’ethnographie, Musée Rath, Muséum d Plainpalais Community Hall and Pitoff Theatre, Villa Bartholoni, and the Museum of History and Science.

Geneva has a moderate, oceanic climate. Winters are generally mild, with minor frosts at night and melting temperatures throughout the day. Summers are somewhat warm. Precipitation is ample and fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, except autumn, which is significantly wetter than the other seasons. In the winter, ice storms around Lac Léman are extremely common. Many people love swimming in the lake throughout the summer and use public beaches such as Genève Plage and the Bains des Pâquis. In certain years, snow falls in Geneva during the cooler months of the year.

Skiing is possible in the neighboring mountains, which get a lot of snow. Many world-famous ski destinations, such as Verbier and Crans-Montana, are just a little more than two hours distant by automobile. The southerly view from the city center is dominated by Mont Salève (1400 m), which is close over the border in France. Most of the city can see the iconic Mont Blanc, which is surrounded by the mountain alp range that surrounds adjacent Chamonix, one of the closest French skiing locations to Geneva. Other Northern Alps ski destinations that are readily accessible from Geneva Airport include the Grand Massif ski resorts of Samoens, Morillon, and Flaine, as well as Le Grand Bornand and La Clusaz.

Geneva is situated at 46°12′ North, 6°09′ East, near the south-western extremity of Lake Geneva, where it empties into the Rhône. It is bounded by the Alps and the Jura mountain ranges.

The city has a total area of 15.93 km2 (6.2 sq mi), whereas the canton has a total area of 282 km2 (108.9 sq mi), which includes the two minor exclaves of Céligny in Vaud. The area of the lake linked to Geneva is 38 km2 (14.7 sq mi) and is frequently referred to as Petit lac (small lake). The canton’s border with the rest of Switzerland is barely 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) long. The border with France is 107.5 km (66.8 mi) long, with the Département de l’Ain to the north and east and the Département de la Haute-Savoie to the south and west.

0.24 km2 (0.093 sq mi) or 1.5 percent of the city’s land is used for agriculture, while 0.5 km2 (0.19 sq mi) or 3.1 percent is forested. The remaining land area is divided as follows: 14.63 km2 (5.65 sq mi) or 91.8 percent is settled (buildings or roads), 0.49 km2 (0.19 sq mi) or 3.1 percent is rivers or lakes, and 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres) or 0.1 percent is unproductive ground.

Industrial structures accounted for 3.4 percent of the built-up area, while housing and buildings accounted for 46.2 percent, transportation infrastructure accounted for 25.8 percent, and parks, green belts, and sports fields accounted for 15.7 percent. Heavy woods cover the whole wooded land region. Crops are grown on just 0.3 percent of agricultural land. Lakes account for 0.2 percent of the municipality’s water, while rivers and streams account for 2.9 percent.

Geneva’s elevation is 373.6 meters (1,225.7 feet), which corresponds to the elevation of the biggest of the Pierres du Niton, two enormous boulders erupting from the lake during the previous ice age. General Guillaume Henri Dufour designated this rock as the reference point for surveying throughout Switzerland. The Arve, Geneva’s second major river, runs into the Rhône immediately west of the city center. Mont Blanc is visible from Geneva and is about an hour’s drive from the city center.

The economy of Geneva is mostly service-oriented. The city has a significant and historic financial industry that specializes in private banking (managing assets worth around $1 trillion USD) and international trade financing.

JT Worldwide (JTI), Mediterranean Shipping Company, Vitol, Gunvor, and Mercuria Energy Group have their international headquarters in Geneva. Merck Serono, SITA, Société Générale de Surveillance, STMicroelectronics, and Weatherford International are among the companies involved. Many other multinational corporations, including Caterpillar, DuPont, and Cargill, have international headquarters in the city, as do Take Two Interactive, Electronic Arts, INVISTA, Procter & Gamble, and Oracle Corporation. Hewlett Packard’s headquarters for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East are at Meyrin, near Geneva. PrivatAir’s headquarters are at Meyrin, near Geneva.

Watchmaking has a lengthy history (Baume et Mercier, Charriol, Chopard, Franck Muller, Patek Philippe, Gallet, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Rolex, Universal Genève, Raymond Weil, Omega, Vacheron Constantin, Frédérique Constant, and so on). Firmenich and Givaudan, two prominent worldwide makers of flavors and perfumes, have their headquarters and primary manufacturing facilities in Geneva.

The private sector is organized into many employer unions, such as the Fédération des Entreprises Romandes Genève (FER Genève) and the Fédération des métiers du bâtiment (FMB).

Many individuals also work in the various international organizations’ headquarters in Geneva (about 22,233 in March 2012).

The Geneva Motor Show is one of the world’s most major car events. Palexpo, a massive conference center near to the International Airport, hosts the event.

Geneva was named the world’s fourth most expensive city in 2009. Geneva climbed four spots from seventh position the previous year. Geneva is placed fourth, after Tokyo, Osaka, and Moscow, which are first, second, and third, respectively. Geneva also defeated Hong Kong, which finished sixth.

Geneva has a 6.3 percent unemployment rate in 2011. In 2008, there were five persons working in the main economic sector, and around three enterprises were active in this industry. In the secondary industry, there were 9,783 people working and 1,200 firms. The tertiary industry employed 134,429 people and supported 12,489 firms. The municipality had 91,880 individuals who were working in some capacity, with females accounting for 47.7 percent of the workforce.

The total number of full-time equivalent jobs in 2008 was 124,185. The primary sector employed four people, all of whom worked in agriculture. The secondary industry employed 9,363 people, with manufacturing accounting for 4,863 (51.9 percent) and construction accounting for 4,451 (47.5 percent). The tertiary sector employed 114,818 people. In the tertiary sector, 16,573 or 14.4 percent worked in wholesale or retail sales or motor vehicle repair, 3,474 or 3.0 percent worked in goods movement and storage, 9,484 or 8.3 percent worked in a hotel or restaurant, 4,544 or 4.0 percent worked in the information industry, 20,982 or 18.3 percent worked in the insurance or financial industry, 12,177 or 10.6 percent worked as technical professionals or scientists, 10,007 or 8.7 percent worked in education, and 15,029 worked

In 2000, 95,190 people commuted into the municipality, while 25,920 people commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of employees, with around 3.7 workers coming for every one leaving. Around 13.8 percent of the workforce in Geneva is from outside Switzerland, whereas 0.4 percent of the natives travel out of the country for employment. 38.2 percent of the working population utilized public transit to go to work, while 30.6 percent drove themselves.

Swisscom, Salt, and Sunrise are the primary providers of local cellular service. Yallo, Migros, and Coop all have their own mobile promotions. However, don’t be shocked if you discover your phone using a mobile phone in neighboring France. If you purchase one in Switzerland, you must either accept the occasional roaming price or be prepared to manually configure the phone.

If you plan on remaining for an extended period of time, you should consider acquiring a SIM card and/or a phone since it is more cheaper and simpler than dealing with payphones. To minimize fraud, you must now register your identity and address when applying for a SIM card.

Payphones are still pretty widespread here, but very few of them take coins, so plan on purchasing a prepaid card or using a credit card (no surcharge).

Internet cafés have just recently started to take hold in Geneva, and there are currently many that are open late.

In practically all public parks, the city of Geneva has a very excellent coverage of the Free WiFi network. Simply search for the “ville-de-geneve” network.