Open-mindedness and hospitality

At the lake shores or in mountain huts, in the villages or in city quarters, people like to speak different languages and dialects. That is why one can hear, in the most frequent tongues, apart from the official languages and apart from English, Spanish, Serbian, Croatian, and Portuguese, the Turkish languages and Albanian.

Traditionally, foreigners receive a hearty welcome, as much by the Swiss of old stock as by those by adoption who light up the international communities. Switzerland, and particularly Geneva, is since long considered a land of asylum. This is due to its status of city of welcome, a role it played during the persecutions of the Protestants who adhered to the Reform. While welcoming numerous reformers like William Farel, Jean Calvin or Theodore de Bèze, the city earned itself its nickname of protestant Rome, or city of Calvin. Many international personalities found refuge here, like was the case for Lenin, before the Russian Revolution of 1917. The enrichment, but also the tolerance and the pragmatism are in place in LAKE GENEVA REGION that offers you the harmony of a multicultural community.

Moreover, even if the region is not part of the European Union, the numerous bilateral agreements that it has passed with all its neighbours guarantee the same political and economic opening. These agreements focus on the following points:

• free circulation of people,
• technical and commercial obstacles,
• public markets,
• air transportation,
• ground transportation,
• agriculture
• research

Beyond Europe, Switzerland has likewise reached numerous bilateral agreements with various countries, such as the United States or Japan.

Gastronomy

Switzerland is quite cosmopolitan in matters of gastronomy. There are hundreds of restaurants (Switzerland has about 30 000 traditional public establishments of all kind, there is one public establishment for an average of 250 inhabitants) that serve cooking from five continents.

The main cooking prepared in small inns, taverns, guest tables, farmhouses or larger restaurants is rather of French inspiration. Of course LAKE GENEVA REGION also relies on an important regional cooking tradition, with genuine, typical and delicious dishes that honour the rural flavour.

For your pleasure, passing by markets or at producers, you will be able to discover thousand traditional specialities, one more unique than the other, in each of the seven cantons of LAKE GENEVA REGION.

On top of the numerous traditional or creative tables, motivated by the culture of « receiving well », the region also has a high concentration of gastronomic restaurants, among which 45 restaurants having 1 and up to 3 stars in the Michelin Guide. Gourmets will have a great time!