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TOP HOTELS in
GENEVA , SWITZERLAND
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Beau
Rivage
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superb 1865 former mansion
overlooks Lake Geneva and
is 500 meters from the historic
old town. |
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Alpes
Hotel Geneve
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Just
five kilometers from Geneva's
city center, this modern hotel
is in a convenient location for
a skiing holiday in the Alps.
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Cheap
Hotels in Geneva,Switzerland
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The
smallest of the big capital cities" can
boast a wide array of music, opera, theatre,
musicals, dance and cinema events, as
well as an exciting nightlife. Sport enthusiasts
are not forgotten since the canton houses
numerous facilities and welcomes large
sporting events every year.
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At
the crossroads of mankind's ideas, Geneva has
regularly been visited by prominent figures, starting
with Julius Caesar who, in 58 BC, made Geneva
into a border post. A shelter for Jean Calvin
and the Protestants persecuted in their countries
during the 16th and 17th centuries, Geneva became
over the years the " city of peace " and now houses
the headquarters of several humanitarian institutions.
The Old Town with its historical
streets and buildings, the museums and monuments
recall Geneva's rich past, but also illustrate
the creativity and cultural potential of today's
city. Definitely cosmopolitan, Geneva now has
approximately 400,000 inhabitants, with a third
of foreigners from over 200 countries. Archaeological
traces confirm that Geneva has been inhabited
for the past 12,000 years. It was a border post
of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages. Later
the town was dominated by the princes of Savoy
until its destiny was reversed by the proclamation
of the Reformation and of the Republic in the
16th century. Calvin then laid the cornerstone
of "Protestant Rome". During the 18th century,
the city developed into a centre for banking,
watch-making and enamel, as well as a capital
of science and printing. Voltaire and Rousseau
contributed to making its reputation widespread.
In 1815, the canton joined the Swiss Confederation.
The
Genevan Henry Dunant created the International
Committee of the Red Cross here in 1864.
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The
neo-classical transformation of this small
city (25,000 inhabitants at the dawn of
the 19th century) went hand in hand with
the modernisation of the hotel trade.Geneva's
international vocation was confirmed after
the First World War when the city became
the headquarters of the League of Nations,
predecessor of the United Nations and many
other international organisations. The construction
of the Reformation Wall in the Bastions
Park began in 1909, the year which marked
the 400th anniversary of the birth of Jean
Calvin and the 350th of the foundation of
the Academy of Geneva. The monument is backed
against part of the ancient defensive walls
that surrounded the city until the middle
of the 19th century.
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