GENEVA
Capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.
Population: 210,000 (Genevois) 610,000 in the metropolitan area.
Specialities: longeole (aniseed sausage), cardoons, pear rissole, prune cake, Tomme Vaudoise, Geneva-style pork fricassee, Geneva-style Arctic char, fondue, raclette. Marmite de l’Escalade (chocolates).
Celebrities: John Calvin (Reformer), Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, Albert Cohen, Joël Dicker (writers), Jacques Necker (French Minister of State), Lenin (lived in exile in Geneva from 1906 to 1909), Henri Dunant (founder of the Red Cross), Michel Simon, Jean-Luc Bideau, Bernard Haller (actors), Paul-Émile Victor (explorer),
Sport: Servette (football), Genève-Servette Hockey Club (ice hockey), AGA (athletics), Lions de Genève (basketball), Servette Rugby Club (French Fédérale 2). Alinghi (sailing, America’s Cup). CS Chenois Genève (volleyball, football). Events: Geneva Marathon (May), Christmas Cup (swimming), Course de l’Escalade, Bol d’Or (sailing – June). Tour du Lac Léman rowing race. International horse show. Tour de Romandie (cycling).
Economy: The economy of the city of Geneva has shifted from the secondary to the tertiary sector. The city of Geneva was once renowned for its electrical and railway industries across a wide area. Geneva is the city that hosts the most international organisations in the world. The canton of Geneva is home to 39 international organisations and 431 non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The European headquarters of the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) are among these international organisations. Geneva and New York are the two most important centres for international cooperation in the world, with Geneva leading in terms of the number of institutions, meetings and conferences.
Culture and festivals: OpenGeneva Festival (March), Watches and Wonders, International Exhibition of Inventions (April–May), Book and Press Fair (March), Lake Parade (July), Les Automnales (November), Geneva Lux (December–January).
Heritage: Lake Geneva. Jet d’Eau, Flower Clock, Wall of the Reformers, Brunswick Monument, Palais des Nations. Saint-Pierre Cathedral. International Museum of the Reformation. City Hall. Halle de la Maison de Ville. Notre-Dame Basilica. Museum of Art and History. Maison Tavel. Rath Museum. Mamco. Ariana Museum. Petit Palais Museum.
Websites: ge.ch / geneve.ch / geneve.com / agirageneve.ch / museesdegeneve.ch / myswitzerland.com
FOOD
Longeole
Longeole is a sausage made from pork and flavoured with fennel seeds, a speciality of the canton of Geneva and the Genevois region, with its origins traced back to Pommier Abbey in Haute-Savoie. It has been protected by a Protected Geographical Indication since 2009. It is made from pork, jowl and/or neck fat, raw pork rind and fennel seeds. It takes around 3 hours to cook in gently simmering water. Longeole is said to have been invented by a monk from Pommier Abbey named Father Longeot, who is said to have had the idea of adding a handful of local black fennel and some pork rinds to a standard sausage mixture.