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Geneva, Feature
Conscientious Geneva
Helena Thompson seeks out the wild side
Did you know that medieval people practised graffiti? Neither did I until Geneva's oldest house, Maison Tavel, showed me the evidence. Like much of Switzerland's capital city, this prim and proper establishment has a secret spark of individuality.
Geneva is where Byron, Shelley, Wagner and Liszt passed out their rebel days. Once haven to political incorrects Voltaire and Hugo, the cosmopolitan combo of Swiss self-sufficiency and French savoir-faire continues to spawn free thinkers; it's no coincidence that one of the few museums in Europe to display African and Asian art is in Geneva. A fair number of them are hidden away of course, working for the World Health Organization or the International Red Cross.
But the rest can be found sprawled around Lac Leman, staring into the century old fountain. I gape with the best of them - it's not every day you get to see the highest fountain in the world spray water up to 140 meters high - and discover that even the laziest inhabitants of this clean-minded city drop no litter.
As the sun sets over the mountains, my companions come to life. Then it's off to Arthur's, where house music lures over a thousand people into its multi-level dance area. Only the truly open-minded would prefer to while away the evening dining on the Swiss delicacy of pig's foot.
