GENEVA, Switzerland — Shorter days but no shortage of things to do — and for free — in Geneva and surroundings! Here’s my monthly round-up.Unless noted otherwise, the events take place in canton Geneva. A few favourites are highlighted in blue and those that could be of interest to kids and families are in green (check the agenda for little ones on AmStramGram, Geneva Family Diaries, and HappyKid).
Navigate the list easier by clicking on the categories:
- Art & Other Exhibits
- Concerts
- Film Festivals and other Performing Arts
- Fairs and other Special Events
- Fitness Activities and Sporting Events
- Food and Drink
- Shopping: fleamarkets, home decor, vintage and ski sales, etc
Art & Other Exhibits
- 1-5 Nov: Exhibit of objects made with fimo clay/playdough in Bellevue, free
- 1-5 Nov: Latin sails of the Leman — an exhibit of the Lake Geneva typical sail boats from the turn of the century, Evian, France
- 1-19 Nov: Foot Notes, Michael Borzykowski explores the relationship of musicians’ feet and their instruments — mmm, free, Collex-Bossy
- 6-17 Nov: What does peace look like? At the UN in Geneva, registration required, free
- now until 8 Jan: Designs of the Italian renaissance, from the Art Academy of Dusseldorf archives, free
- now until 7 Jan: Body Worlds – the mystery of the human body illustrated by real dissected human bodies
- now until 12 Jan: Hadrian’s Villa explained – at the University of Geneva, free guided tours and exhibition
- now until early 2018: Printed Narrative Scenes on 19th Century Creamware — collection of plates, usually 12, telling one collective story
- now until 2018: Images of Science — exhibit of some of the best science images, free the first Sunday of the month
- now until 2018: The Boomerang Effect, Australia’s Aboriginal Arts, free the first Sunday of the month
- now until 2018: Swiss pottery and ceramic enamel from the 17th to 19th Centuries
- now until 2018: ANTS — all you ever wanted to know about these crawlers, free the first Sunday of the month
Concerts
- Throughout November: concerts and jam sessions at AMR, including various free every week
- 2-12 Nov: Nuits du Labyrinthe — a world beat music festival with sounds from Iran, Greece, Spain, medieval Italy, India, Mediterranean and more
- 5 Nov: Cuarteto Quiroga, from Spain in Jussy, free
- 5 Nov: Hotegezugt, klezmer music concert, free, Collex-Bossy
- 8 Nov: James Blunt in concert
- 9-19 Nov: Couleur Café — African music festival
- 10 Nov: Dama Blanca, Yaite Ramos Rodriguez Latin hip hop from Cuba, and La Nefera, a Swiss-Dominican rapper as part of Les Creatives festival
- 10 Nov: De La Soul — remember the 80s in New York? (I do!)
- 12 & 19 Nov: Profs en Scène, and 15 Nov: Schubert afternoon — concerts by the musical instructors of the Conservatory, free
- 13 Nov: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
- 17 Nov: Texas in concert, Thonex, canton Geneva
- 19 Nov: Trois-Chêne Orchestra, Chêne-Bougeries
- 19 Nov: Hommage to Thelonius Monk, Lancy
- 21 Nov: Al McKay´s Earth Wind & Fire Experience in Zurich
- 22 Nov: The Stranglers in Annemasse, neighboring France
- 23 Nov: Gilberto Santa Rosa in Zurich
- 25-26 Nov: Guitar Passion Festival, Lancy
- 26 Nov: Autumn concert, classical music, Carouge
- 27 Nov: Herbie Hancock in Lucerne
- 29 Nov: Hanson Quartet, classical music, Jussy, free
- 1 Dec: Corou de Bera, traditional polyphonic choir, free, Genthod
Films and other Performing Arts
- 1 Nov: Petit Black Movie Festival, Alice — for kids, free but registration required – other films on the 8, 12, 15, 19, 28 Nov in various parts of the canton – Click here for more info
- 3-11 Nov: Geneva International Film Festival
- 7-17 Nov: Frederick Wiseman, retrospective and lecture by the American filmmaker himself
- 10-26 Nov: Les Creatives – a female and feminist festival — the all female ensamble cover the performance arts, provide lectures, readings and more!
- 11 Nov: An evening of Burlesque
- 17-18 Nov: Festival Goyescas – Spanish music, dance, theatre, literature and gastronomy!
- 21Nov: La Cosa — a mix of dance, theatre, performance art and circus, Meyrin
- 21-25 Nov: Theatre in English, The School for Wives
- 23 Nov: The Swan Lake — by the St Petersburg’s ballet company
- 24 Nov: Gracias a la Vida — a musical-dance homage to Violeta Parra
- 24-26 Nov: The 10th annual Al Andalus Flamenco festival in Geneva
Fairs and other Special Events
- 3-24 Nov: Movember – every Friday, free health screening/exams for men of all ages
- 4 Nov: Church of Scotland fair, Scottish pipes and drums, homemade jams, tea, Scottish artisan beers and more!
- 10 Nov: Indian festival in Lancy – Bhajan chants, dance and more
- 10-12 Nov: Léman Boat Show — all about Lake Geneva water sports (part of Les Automnales)
- 11-12 Nov: Cat fair and exhibit as part of Les Automnales
- 12 Nov: Onex Protestant Church fair – food, music and small Christmas market
- 17-19 Nov: International Canine Exhibit — over 5,000 four-legged friends to admire
- 18 Nov: Discover Japan — origami and sushi workshops, tea ceremony, Kendo martial arts demo, and more at the library in the St Jean neighborhood, free
- 18 Nov: Arve River cleanup — volunteers needed to help clean the urban area of the river
- 18 Nov: Murder mystery dinner in Genthod (in French)
- 18-19 Nov: Japanese cosplay
- 23-26 Nov: Fureur de Lire — a literary roving festival with plenty of (mostly French) authors, performances, readings and lectures, free
- 24-26 Nov: Fashion Week Geneva, Africa fashion show
- 28 Nov: Fix your own electronic devices or print/recreate missing plastic parts at this Post Tenebras Lab workshop, free and open to Carouge residents only
Fitness Activities & Sporting Events
- Ice skating rinks open until 2018 – full list for the region here!
- 4 Nov: Basketball, Geneva Lions vs BBC Monthey, free
- 4 Nov: Giant Zumba party, DJs, paella and more, Confignon
- 5 Nov: Fête de la glace — Ice festival — a special disco day at ice skating parks in Geneva
- 5 Nov: Escalade training in St-Julien, France, free (prepare to walk or run the classic Geneva run)
- 5 Nov: Balade 4 “Sportive” – the Bernex Ski Club offers a free guided hike, registration required
- 10-12 Nov: Salon de la Montagne — Mountain sports, exhibit and workshops as part of Les Automnales
- 11, 12 & 18 Nov: the Art of Movement – karate, Shung do Kwan Budo, shiatsu, flamenco and more as part of Les Automnales
- 12 Nov: Escalade training at Aire-la-Ville, free, (prepare to walk or run the classic Geneva run)
- 19 Nov: Escalade training at the UN Plaza, free, (prepare to walk or run the classic Geneva run)
- 26 Nov: Escalade training at Bastions Park, free, (prepare to walk or run the classic Geneva run)
- 1-2 Dec: Supercross motorcycle race and exhibit
Food and Drink
- 3-5 Nov: Wine festival in Annemasse
- 4 Nov: Champagne Tasting (Salon du Champagne)
- 4 Nov: Cochonnaille (pork products fest) sponsored by the Avusy firefighters
- 4 Nov: the annual Pumpkin Market in Bernex, free (plus free 3hr parking)
- 4 Nov: Annual Bazar of Corsier
- 9 Nov: Whisky tasting, Bruichladdich distillery
- 10-11 Nov: La Chasse — learn how to cook seasonal game meat and set up the accompanying table, course includes material and meal, in Mont-sur-Rolle, canton Vaud
- 11 Nov: Graissage des bouches
- 11-12 Nov: Jussy town fair with fleamarket, food and entertainment, free
- 1 Dec: Advent Afternoon Tea at the Hotel d’Angleterre
- 15 Dec: Whisky tasting, Lutry, canton Vaud
Shopping: Fleamarkets, artisans and art fairs, vintage and ski sales, etc.
- 3-5 Nov: Plainpalais arts and artisans market
- 10-19 Nov: Swiss Army surplus sale, part of Les Automnales
- Find the full list of flea and artisan markets, and special sales here
- Christmas markets around Lake Geneva posted separately here
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