Living in Florissant - Champel: go quiet and green just outside the city

Even this close to the city centre, Champel is all about calm and tranquillity. This rather chic neighbourhood is known for opulent buildings and villas. In the 1960s, the district started turning toward a more diverse social mix with the construction of several low-rent housing projects. However, it’s still known as a peaceful, rather bourgeois neighbourhood.

Overlooking the cliffs of the Arve, some spots offer a beautiful panorama of the Salève and the Jura. Below lie the many sports fields of the "Bout du Monde" (end of the world!), the favorite place for footballers and joggers. The district extends to the North into the Florissant area, along the eponymous road. This poetic name is inherited from the past, when the area was a vast meadow known for the number and beauty of its flowers.

The Florissant-Champel district still has one of the largest green spaces in Geneva, the Parc Bertrand. It’s also home to the impressive HUG campus, Geneva's university hospital.

In the South of Geneva, a 17-meter high medieval-looking tower is standing over the Arve. Its history is interlaced with the creation of the Therapeutic Baths of the Arve. At the end of the 19th century, this healthcare institution was a favorite destination for wealthy patients from all over Europe and beyond. The Champel Tower was built for them: they would go there to relax over a cup of tea and enjoy a breathtaking 360-degree view of the city of Geneva, the Jura, the Alps and the Salève.

Once the property of a respected Genevan dynasty, this 18th-century estate was donated to the city of Geneva in the 1930s. In the Parc Bertrand, you can sunbathe in comfortable sun loungers or enjoy the outdoor training facilities. The children will rather have fun on the playground and splash around in the children’s pool! As for the strollers, they’ll discover some rare species of trees such as giant sequoias, a Himalayan birch or an Austrian black pine.