Streets squares and districts to visit Geneva

Here, we are in the heart of a Geneva that is open to the world. This neighborhood is home to a large number of international organizations: the UN of course, the UNHCR, the ICRC, the WTO, the ILO, the WIPO, the ERI and many others. In the center of the square, the work of the Geneva artist Daniel Berset: Broken Chair (1997), a giant chair with a piece of one of its legs amputated, symbol of the fight against antipersonnel mines erected by Handicap International. Facing the square, the great entrance of the Palais des Nations, an alley lined with the 192 flags of the member states.

It is the "Quadruvium" (Latin word for crossroads) where Sigismond (king of Burgundi) was crowned and to which the city probably owes its name. The name of this square is due to its circular shape and its crossing function between two main traffic lanes. Especially in the past, with a road coming from Annecy and the other from Chambéry. This meeting place was very frequented by the people of Carouge and the Savoyards, who were discussing in a convivial atmosphere. There you can see the monument of the Nine Municipalities together; this work which was made by a pupil of Rodin, James Vibert, dates from 1925 and its 11 figures of women celebrate the annexation of several communes (of which Carouge obviously forms part) to the canton of Geneva. The monument was planned for the centenary of the event, but the First World War has delayed its inauguration.

Place de Neuve or Place Neuve? For "real" Genevans, it's Place Neuve, the official name being Place de Neuve... The square stands on the site of the Porte de Neuve, built in 1564 as part of the medieval city walls. A cultural mecca dotted with ^18th-century townhouses, the Conservatoire de Musique, built in 1835, the imposing Grand Théâtre and the Musée Rath, inaugurated in 1826. The Grand Théâtre was built in 1874-1879 by Jacques-Olivier-Goss, inspired by the construction of the Opéra Garnier in Paris at the same time.