Geneva

Sorted, one week at a time

Every family runs into the same handful of moments. Here is what is actually on for each one, kept up to date so you do not have to check.

Illustration of a family week in Geneva: a school, a music room, a dance studio, a sports ground and a wood by the lake.

Illustration of an empty school corridor at midday, coats on low hooks, one child walking out.

There is no school on Wednesday and you are working.

Someone has to cover the day, or collect them at 11:30 with nowhere to eat. 64 things run long enough to cover a full working day, and 354 start before noon.

Wednesday, sorted

Illustration of a Saturday morning street, a parent walking with two children, one carrying a violin case and one a football.

It is Saturday morning and nobody has a plan.

The weekend goes fastest when you start looking on the day. 822 activities run at the weekend, 655 of them on a Saturday, sorted by age and by how far you are willing to go.

Illustration of children in coats and hats gathered round fallen leaves in an autumn wood.

One week in October, five days to fill.

The autumn break runs 19 to 23 October, and the good camps go early. 111 are listed with dates, 50 of them long enough to cover a working day.

October holidays

Illustration of three teenagers sitting and talking in a club room, instrument cases and climbing holds behind them.

She is 14 and says everything is boring.

Most parents assume the options run out once they outgrow the children's classes. There is more here than at any other age. 1,307 activities take 13 and over.

Illustration of a municipal atelier, long tables of clay and paint, a door open to a garden.

Everything worth doing seems to cost a fortune.

Not all of it. Municipal ateliers, museum workshops, open sessions. 129 activities cost nothing at all, with no sign-up wall behind them.

Free things to do

Illustration of a soft-floored play room, two adults sitting on the floor with two toddlers.

He is two and a half and full of beans.

Most listings start at four, so this age takes the longest to find. 360 activities take children under four, and the good ones fill early.

Illustration of a music room with an upright piano, a cello and a clarinet, a child mid-lesson.

She has been asking for piano since March.

Four is the usual starting age, and it does not stop at twelve. 709 music activities, from group initiation to teenage orchestras that take complete beginners.

Illustration of an art studio with a pottery wheel, an easel and a collage table.

He would rather make something than kick something.

Theatre, ceramics, circus, film-making. 631 arts activities, and 142 of them are one-off events you can try on a single Saturday.

Illustration of a climbing wall and a sailing dinghy on the shore of Lake Geneva.

He needs to run around with other children.

1,359 sports activities across more communes than anything else we list, which makes this the one your child can most often get to alone.

Illustration of a dance studio, four children at the barre in ballet and hip-hop positions.

She has been dancing round the kitchen for months.

340 dance activities, from éveil for the youngest to hip-hop and ballet. Mostly in town, so worth the short trip in.

Illustration of a meadow with a beehive and a bat box, two children with a magnifying glass and a notebook.

He asks why about absolutely everything.

85 science activities, and most of them happen outdoors. Beehives, bats, botanical walks, plus robotics in the holiday camps.

Illustration of a small classroom, three children talking in a circle under a world map.

You speak two languages at home and want it to stick.

161 language activities, and the age to start is younger than most parents think. Wednesdays and school holidays are when they run.

By commune

You want the widest choice outside the city.

Lancy holds 321 activities across 25 educators, and 14 of them are free.

You are in Meyrin and want something close to home.

245 activities from 20 educators, and 113 of them land on a Wednesday.

Your child has asked to try a martial art.

Thônex is where the dojos are: 105 activities, and 35 of them still take 13 and over.

Wednesday afternoon is already spoken for.

Vernier keeps going at the weekend, with 30 activities on a Sunday and 53 on a Saturday.

You want one commune that offers more than one thing.

Versoix splits evenly: 25 in music, 37 in sport and 64 in the arts.

Your child wants to make something with their hands.

Le Grand-Saconnex is a pottery commune, with 63 of its 116 activities in the arts.

Le Grand-Saconnex

You have a teenager who wants a stage, not a pitch.

Cologny runs theatre and ballet, and 13 of its 25 activities take 13 and over.

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