Where to run in the world > Europe > Switzerland > Geneva
Geneva
This easy 4 kilometers route takes you through the picturesque old town and then back along the water. Start at Hôtel des Bergues. Take a right and run along the Rhône river, crossing it at the second pedestrian bridge, Pont de la Machine. On the opposite bank continue right along the river to Place Bel-Air. Take a left up Rue de la Monnaie and continue up the cobbled hill of Rue de la Cité into the old town. Take the first right onto Rue de la Tertasse and drop down to Place Neuve to the Opera House and Grand Théâtre. (If you prefer, you can begin this run at Hôtel du Rhône, where you head off to your left along the river, crossing at Pont de l'Ile. Continue through Place Bel-Air, cross onto Rue de la Monnaie, then continue as before.) Enter the iron gates ahead and run through the Parc des Bastions between the old city wall and the magnificent public library. At the other end of the park turn left onto Rue St. Léger, pass under the bridge, then take the first left onto Rue de la Croix-Rouge until Place Neuve and make a sharp right uphill onto Rampe de la Treille. Turn left onto Rue Fazy. Pause at the crossroads with Grand-Rue and Rue Hôtel de Ville and take in the Arsenal with its cannon and mosaics, the Town Hall and its courtyard, and Maison Tavel, the oldest private house in Geneva (now an historical museum). Turn left onto Grand-Rue, right onto La Pélisserie, followed by Rue Calvin. At number 11 you will find the house of religious reformer Jean Calvin - because of him, Geneva is known as the "Rome of the Protestants." At the fountain leave Hôtel des Armures on your right (its restaurant is known for traditional Swiss food) and head toward Cathedral St. Pierre (climb the 157 steps of its north tower and you will be rewarded with breathtaking vistas). Go around the cathedral from the left, and at the back take Passage des Degres-des-Poules (a small stairway down through houses), then turn right uphill onto Place du Bourg-de-Four, where tables outside hip café La Clémence are jammed on warm evenings. Leave the plaza by Rue des Chaudronniers, cross over two bridges and then make a left at Rue Le Fort. A beautiful gold-domed Russian Orthodox Church will be on your left - head round to the back and take the stairs down to Rue Ferdinand-Hodler and turn left. Head down toward the lake, turning right on Rue Pierre-Fatio past the Roberto Italian restaurant. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the Rive open market is also in full swing in the neighborhood. Turn left at the lake and follow the shore through the Jardin Anglais, then cross the river at Pont du Mont-Blanc and finish back at the Hôtel des Bergues.
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