Geneva Tourism - Gastronomy & Wines

Innovative winegrowers and gifted cooks have established Switzerland’s reputation as culinary capital. While turning to new things the inhabitants of Geneva remain faithful to their classic fare, for instance Longeole and Cardons.

Geneva. The name can be heard day by day on the news channels of the world. It is a synonym, both for internationalism and conferences as well as for quality of life.

No one would guess that the name also stands for a wine region – the third largest in Switzerland, the one which takes the most pleasure in experimenting, the one with the least compromise and the one with the largest wine-growing community, Satigny.

Eating and drinking combine in the Geneva hinterland in such a wonderful way that Geneva has become the culinary capital of Switzerland.

Haute cuisine restaurants and bistros with classic or innovative cuisine du terroir - in the city and in the country - attract a remarkable number of people to the Rhône city.

The international flair of the city and its openness to new things also influences the vine city. Apart from the traditional varieties of wine, Chasselas and Gamay, other varieties are being cultivated more and more frequently: such as the White Chardonnay, Müller-Thurgau, Pinot blanc, Aligoté, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot gris, Gewürztraminer and Viognier; as in the reds, the Red Pinot noir, Gamaret, Merlot, Garanoir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet franc. Half of the Swiss organic wines also grow in the canton of Geneva.

Despite all their enthusiasm for the unknown the people of Geneva don’t forget their traditional dishes. For example, the classic Filets de perche, the Longeole, a raw sausage which is not completely matured, made from coarse-grained meat and the gelatinous parts of pig, often spiced with wild fennel, garlic, muscat nut and white wine. And Cardons - Karden or Kardy -, a thistle-type-stalk vegetable, which tastes a bit like artichoke and likes to be enjoyed "au gratin".