EXHIBITIONS

A drop of water from Lake Geneva magnified under the microscope reveals life intense, and often incredibly beautiful! Diatoms are found here, tiny, unicellular algae with astonishing shapes that live suspended in water. Present in all aquatic environments, they live either in colonies or in isolation. Lake Geneva counts over 500 different species. So, when you “drink the cup inadvertently during a swim, it may be “a whole world swallowed!

The mountains, a laboratory for Geneva’s scientists.

At the end of the 18th century, a handful of Genevan scientists and naturalists
discover the peaks surrounding Geneva.
An exploration that leads to a high point:
Horace-Bénédict de Saussure’s ascent of Mont-Blanc in August 1787.
A feat that will be widely echoed across Europe
which will generate unprecedented interest in the Chamonix valley.

Geneva’s Museum of the History of Science has in its collections objects and documents that bear witness to the sometimes unusual scientific experiments and projects that took place on Lake Geneva.

A 16th-century engineer from Geneva invents marvelous machines and hopes to sell his project to the King of France. He commissioned some magnificent plates to form the basis of this exhibition. You’ll discover astonishing systems for pulling boats out of the water, carrying passengers in comfort, taming the wind and even … raking wide.

Many people perished on Lake Geneva. Don’t be fooled by its appearance: the lake can be unpredictable. A dozen or so main winds blow across the lake, making it resemble a small inland sea: Bise, Bise Noire, Vent, Joran, Vaudaire, Maurabia, Bornan, Malan… They sometimes sweep the lake waters into an impetuous whirlpool whose fury capsizes boats. On stormy days, certain waves create oceanic rollers that can reach up to a hundred meters. 6 metres high. In foggy weather, sailors have reported seeing the evanescent silhouette of a phantom steamer disappear into the mist. But it’s not just the weather that’s to blame. The misguidedness of men is at the root of many tragedies.

A journey through the history of the conquistadors, as seen through some of the Martin Bodmer Foundation’s most precious works.

And the opportunity to discover an incredible evangelistic drawing manuscript that takes us almost back to the origins of 9th art.

he incredible cinematic epic of Lake Geneva.

We don’t know it well enough, but a great many films have been set on Lake Geneva, most of them by great directors and no less great actors/actresses.

The Bains des Pâquis, in collaboration with the Musée du Léman, set themselves the pharaonic task of bringing them all together in 5 exhibitions.

The incredible film epic of Lake Geneva.

We don’t know it well enough, but a great many films have been set on Lake Geneva, most of them by great directors and no less great actors/actresses.

The Bains des Pâquis, in collaboration with the Musée du Léman, set themselves the pharaonic task of bringing them all together in 5 exhibitions.

This exhibition is dedicated to all lovers of the Bains des Pâquis and visitors from all five continents.

There would be no Bains des Pâquis without the pier, the umbilical cord of the Pâquis district, sublimely linked to Eaux-Vives by the jet d’eau and Quai Gustave-Ador, to the Old Town by the cathedral, to Plainpalais by the television tower, to Ile Rousseau, Ile, Bergues, Saint-Gervais and Saint-Jean, all visible from our territory. Cologny, les Voirons, le Môle and Mont-Blanc, le Petit et Grand Salève, le Mont-de-Sion, the Jura chain, complete the landscape of the harbor and the lake, not forgetting the four-season sky, implored to help us live and not increase a popular entrance fee.

The Homeric adventure of Switzerland’s most iconic submersible. A revolutionary project in its day, still unsurpassed today. An improbable odyssey across several oceans. The quest for an enormous treasure. An investigation that traces over 60 years of history. A long and difficult plunge into the archives, punctuated by inconsistencies that obscure already complex research. Documents that haven’t been looked at in decades. Conflicting sources indicate dates and itineraries that don’t match. Forgotten information resurfaces, and astonishing photographs and videos, some never before seen, finally come to light. As the investigation progresses, the fog thickens and forms a nebula that adds to the mystery of this ship that has become a legend.