Geneva (French: Genève, German: Genf), Switzerland's second-most populous city, is one of the world's major centers of international diplomacy, having served as the site of the initial headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Although the United Nations is now headquartered in New York, the organization still retains a large presence in Geneva at the Palais des Nations and many of its sister/child organizations, such as the World Health Organization and ILO. Pop. Geneva was one of the eight host cities in the 2008 European Football Championships.Geneva is officially a French-speaking city, although with the large international presence English takes a close second. Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, and Arabic speakers abound and of course you will also occasionally hear German and Italian.
In 1536, a young man named Jean Calvin, fleeing Catholic persecution in France, spent a night in Geneva. As it turned out, he was to do a lot more there than sleeping. After being expelled from Geneva for nearly three years, Calvin returned triumphantly in 1541 to help elevate the city to the rank of a Protestant Rome. The intellectual influence of the Reformation extended to all realms of Genevan life: politics, economy, and administration.
Geneva was an independent republic from at least the 16th century until it became a Swiss Canton on 31 Dec 1813. This is a point of some pride to the Genevois, who still refer to their Canton as the République et Canton de Genève. A favorite festival is the yearly celebration of the Escalade, which commemorates a failed attempt in 1602 by the forces of the Dukes of Savoy to invade the city by climbing and otherwise breaching the city walls. Having turned aside this invasion attempt at the cost of only 16 lives, Geneva had secured its liberty, since the House of Savoy was never again strong enough on this side of the Alps to attempt such an invasion.
Geneva is still a very proud city. Some find it downright stuffy, although there is quite a bit more life to be found if you look under the surface, especially if you speak some French
Geneva airport is served by almost all European carriers as well as a few daily trans-Atlantic flights. These include Washington's Dulles (IAD) on United (UA), New York's Kennedy (JFK) on Swiss (LX), and from Newark International on Continental (CO). Otherwise, when flying from the U.S. you will have to change planes at your airline's hub airport.Within the last few years, Geneva itself has become a hub for the low-cost carrier Easy Jet serving a number of destinations in Europe including Great Britain.The airport itself has an UBS bank with ATMs and exchange machines in the arrival area. There is an American Express office just beyond passport control in the departure lounge. There are several cafes and duty free shopping as well, open 8AM-11PM.To get into town from the airport, taxis cost approximately 30CHF. The number 10 bus leaves every 15 minutes from 6AM-11PM. Get off at the 22-Cantons stop for train station. All trains leaving Geneva airport train station stop at the main train/bus station. Train/bus tickets are around 3CHF (valid for one hour) and can be purchased at machines at the bus stop and in the station.
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