We’ve got another exciting week ahead of us in Geneva. I will be missing out since I’m heading to the Valais to hike with my parents in Val Derborence and then moving on to Bettmeralp in order to cheer on my husband as he races in the Aletsch Glacier Half-Marathon.
But back here is Geneva we’ve got the pope visiting, the Fête de la Musique and one of the four seasonal celebration weeks of my favorite store called the Cercle des Agriculteurs (Landi).
Pope Francis in Geneva
Thursday, June 21
Pope Francis will be visiting Geneva on Thursday in order to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Christians. Later at 17:30 he will be holding mass at Palexpo and then fly back to Rome around 20:00. More than 41,000 people will be present for mass.
Alamy/Michael Dunlea
Before I go on to describe the likely chaos that will hit Geneva’s roads, I want to point out the history of the Swiss Guard protecting popes for over 500 years (more information here). They may wear colorful costumes today but back in the 1500s they were hired mercenaries and today they are once again becoming combat-ready. I’ve come across an interesting video regarding future challenges at Swiss Info and an interview by The Local.ch with a young Swiss Guard.
Now on to the practicalities of traffic. Geneva is a small city where a major disruption on one side of the city (for example at Palexpo) can easily block the entire city. So my advice is embrace the excitement of having the pope in Geneva and either bicycle, walk or take public transportation to work on Thursday. If you are traveling to or from the airport, the police are saying you may need an extra three hours to get from your home to your gate.
For complete information go to the Cantonal page here where road closures are outlined and a link to the map below is provided.
Fete de la Musique
Friday, June 22 through Sunday June 24
The Fête de la Musique is all about free music throughout Geneva. Our parks, concert halls, squares and churches will be hosts to every imaginable type of music and some unimaginable music (Electro Yoga?). The Grutli cinema will also be playing films such as La La Land and Purple Rain.
2003 © Nicolas Fournier
From nine in the morning until a bit past midnight the city of Geneva will be in full swing. The online program can be found here. It’s possible to sort the days by music style, location, time of day, or artist; plus they’ve added separate tabs listing family and commune programs.
On Fête l’été au Cercle de Meinier
Monday, June 18 to Saturday, June 23
I have shared in many blogs that this is my favorite store in Switzerland. In French a Cercle is a cooperative. This shop is full of low priced Swiss items, like calf, sheep and goat bells; local staples like sugar, flour, oils, beer and wine. I rent garden equipment, buy edelweiss and most recently purchased a fantastic leather Argentinian-style cowboy hat.
Starting Monday, the 150th anniversary summer celebration of Cercle des Agriculteurs (a.k.a. Landi) begins in Meinier (Rte de Compois 14). The brochure I picked up today while purchasing Weck jars, says one can expect “Goodies, promotions and drawings all week long. On Friday and Saturday there will be food trucks, entertainment, beer and wine tasting along with local, Geneva products.”
We are a group of international women living in Geneva, Switzerland. If you would like to learn more about our activities and excursions, visit our website at www. aiwcgeneva.org.
Living In Geneva 