Laila Rodriguez
The free guided walks of Geneva
GENEVA, Switzerland – Get moving on Sundays thanks to GenèveRando, which with the financial support of the city of Geneva, organizes 2-3 hour walks to discover the city.
Fourteen guided walks are offered every third Sunday of the month, free of charge from April to October 2012.
This Sunday 20 May there are two great walks:
Architecture and Urbanism in Geneva during Rousseau’s era. A time when the city was experiencing an architectural revival of great public buildings and patrician houses. It starts at 10:00. Head to the Molard Tower and meet the group there. The walk ends at around noon at the Promenade Saint-Antoine.
From Parks to Gardens. The tour departs at 14:30 from the parking lot of the magnificent Penthes Castle (Ch. de l’Impératrice 18) and ends at 17:00 in Petit-Saconnex.
For more information contact: dimancheapied@geneverando.ch, visit the Dimanche a pied website, or call +41 (0)76 224 8407. The next tour is in June.
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Laila Rodriguez
The Auffahrtsumritt, which celebrates Ascension Day in Switzerland - Photo ©Auffahrtsumritt Beromünster
Switzerland – Most residents of Switzerland are enjoying a Thursday off; for many this is the beginning of a four-day weekend courtesy of an ancient Christian tradition: Ascension Day.
In Christian faith, Ascension Day, or the Feast of the Ascension, celebrates the day when the resurrected Jesus went up to heaven, 40 days after Easter Sunday.
Ascension is a recognized Federal holiday in Switzerland and one of several with religious connotations.
What is particular about this holiday is that it is recognized by both Catholic Church and Protestant Reformed Church cantons.
The most colorful celebration takes place in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
Laila Rodriguez
Swimming in Lake Annecy in neighboring France
ANNECY, FRANCE – Kayaking, sailing, rowing, climbing, orienteering, mountain biking and exploring the beautiful outdoors are some of the summer sports activities offered for free by the city of Annecy in neighboring France.
450 spots are offered, primarily for Annecy kids, and to other children willing to engage in fitness activities this summer.
Outings are offered to children aged 5 to 14.
Find all the information for a fun, outdoor summer here.
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Laila Rodriguez
La ville est a vous or Geneva neighborhood flea markets and outdoor parties return for twelve weekends between May and September 2012
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – To the delight of many Geneva residents the popular neighborhoods flea markets / public outdoor parties return.
The La Ville est à vous, also known as the city’s Fêtes de rues, is an event for citizens to “take back the streets,” using the public space for their enjoyment.
For its ninth edition, the city, through neighborhood associations, organizes 12 street fairs between May and September.
The fairs offer outdoor concerts, art performances, food stalls, a flea market in designated streets, and outdoor ludotheques or children’s play areas.
Anyone can set up shop on the streets and sell everything from bicycle parts to clothes you no longer fancy.
Laila Rodriguez
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Finding something to do on Sundays in Geneva and surrounding areas seems to be the perennial conundrum for many expats (and a few locals too) who find the area a bit tame on the weekends. Allow me the pleasure then, to bring you a selection of some of the most fun and interesting activities in the Lake Geneva region, and beyond.
Swinging in the outdoors
Just visit the Events page of GenevaLunch where I have posted an eclectic collection of what-to-do-on-Sundays, from antique fairs and flea markets to hiking and Nordic walking.
I hope you enjoy the list and happy Sunday everyone!
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Laila Rodriguez
Sonisphere in Switzerland will gather some of the heavy metal icons in one place
YVERDON-LES-BAINS, SWITZERLAND – Enter Sandman may be the best known heavy metal anthem in the world and now almost 21 years after its release it will be played live in Switzerland, courtesy of the itinerant one-day rock fest Sonisphere.
For the first time since the festival started touring Switzerland three years ago, it will stop in Suisse romande, at Yverdon-les-Bains.
The festival will be bringing along a litany of heavy metal / thrash revival from the 70s and 80s such as Slayer and Motörhead. The two groups along with Mastodon – a more recently formed heavy metal band from the US – will accompany the 2009 Rock’n'Roll Hall of Fame inductees.
This concert is an opportunity to see two of the so-called “big four” thrash metal bands of all time, Metallica and Slayer, in one place.
Laila Rodriguez
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Sebi Küttel and Paul Betschart, better known as Sebi and Paul, the two Swiss dairy farmers who will “do anything to make your perfect Swiss holiday” have brought their hayseed schtick to the City of Calvin and put it on video.
The pair, picked by the Swiss tourism department to be featured in diverse locales all over the country, let it all hangout at the Bains de Paquis, and visited some of the most famous Geneva landscapes (albeit they missed the Jet d’Eau and the Broken Chair).
I love Sebi and Paul, but don’t you think the producers got a little carried away trying to show the “fast ‘n furious” side of Geneva? Say, Chinese take-out and Tattoo parlors open after hours?
Still, it does the heart good to see a couple of – country mice going to “Sin City” – or better yet, Swiss woodchucks shopping for négligés at… Globus? Either way I’m a fan. And you?
Sebi and Paul do Geneva
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Laila Rodriguez
Brad Pitt, Geneva resident Kofin Annan, his wife and Angelina Jolie in the WEF in Davos, Switzerland in 2006 - UN Photo
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Being the Geneva scout I have become, I was delighted to find a connection to Angelina Jolie’s engagement ring: the jeweler Robert Procop, a Beverly Hills-Geneva designer who specializes in custom jewels made with conflict-free diamonds.
Procop’s Creative Studio may be in Beverly Hills but it is in the “gemstone laboratory and workshop” in the heart of Geneva where, according to the jeweler, “truly magnificent works of art” are fabricated. Procop sales team say the skills and expertise of master craftsmen in Geneva, “long celebrated for their impeccably made luxury goods and unwavering attention to detail,” are responsible for distributing gems to their offices, workshops and trade members across the globe.
The jeweler was not a random choice for the Pitt-Jolie combo as he not only “unequivocally” supports Jolie’s charitable efforts to help children by producing Jolie’s jewelry line (earnings go to charity), but also provides diamond buyers, in this case Pitt, with the assurance that the diamonds they purchase “are not conflict diamonds”.
Laila Rodriguez
The Assiette Genevoise restaurant discount card is a good deal for those who like to dine out often and explore new restaurants
GENEVA, Switzerland – In addition to the many group deals in the area (GroupOn, BuyClub, etc.), there is a way to pay less when eating out: buying a restaurant discount card.
The Assiette Genevoise, for example, is a two-eat-for-the-price-of-one card that can be used at more than 100 participating restaurants in the canton and in neighboring France, for one year.
The formula is simple: call ahead to reserve, present the card and pay only 50% of your food bill. The discount is made based on a party of two diners having a “main dish”; drinks are not included in the discount.
If that is not incentive enough, consider that the card is not marked with a name, thus family and friends can use it as well.
Discount cards around Lake Geneva
Laila Rodriguez
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – If you are an architecture buff, this one is for you. The UN in Geneva has added a third, thematic tour of the Palais de Nations, including an exhibit of original design sketches and models for the UN compound.
Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room at the UN features a ceiling decorated by Catalan Miquel Barceló - Photo UNIS Jean-Marc Ferré
The tour also includes seeing fine artwork on display at the Palais, including the large fresco by José Maria Sert in the Council Chamber and Miquel Barceló’s ceiling in the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilisations Room.
Additional details and info on the architectural tour can be found under the city’s guide to International Geneva.
The UN also offers seasonal guided tours of its pristine gardens. Click here to read more.
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