Finally: Geneva's new free public beach opens
Geneva's long-awaited Eaux-Vives beach officially opened last Friday, nearly a decade after plans were first unveiled.
“At last. This moment was something a lot of us had waited for,” said Geneva president Antonio Hodgers during the opening ceremony.
La nouvelle plage des Eaux-Vives un jour de canicule avec vue sur le Jet d’eau #⛲️ ??
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The new beach in Geneva on a hot Summer day with the Jet d’eau ❤️?
?Merci @eric_hofmanner https://t.co/2R3KivV3ev pic.twitter.com/i3f5O7VgvQ
— Le Jet d'eau ⛲️ ?? (@LeJetdeau) June 24, 2019
The free beach situated on the south bank of Lake Geneva proved a huge success over the weekend, with an estimated 4,000 people flocking to the new public space to make the most of the summer weather.
Read also: Temperatures up to 39C – Switzerland on alert for heatwave
Dogs, barbecues and bicycles are banned at the site, as is loud music.
The beach will remain open until September 29th.
'A lack of shade'
Visitors to the beach this weekend were mostly positive. However, Geneva daily Tribune de Genève said people had pointed out there was a lack of shade.
While beach umbrellas are permitted on the pebble beach, they cannot be used on the grass behind the beach, making this area very hot, beachgoers complained.
A work in progress
Construction work on the new beach (you can see the plans here in French) is not yet completed, with some of the facilities in place at the moment of a temporary nature.
The finished project is set to be unveiled in spring 2020. Once complete, the area will comprise 400 metres of beach and is expected to welcome up to 8,000 visitors a day.
The beach is smaller than original plans specified after courts upheld an appeal from the Word Wildlife Foundation (WWF) who warned the initial plans would do extensive environmental damage to the key shore area of Lake Geneva.
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“At last. This moment was something a lot of us had waited for,” said Geneva president Antonio Hodgers during the opening ceremony.
La nouvelle plage des Eaux-Vives un jour de canicule avec vue sur le Jet d’eau #⛲️ ??
— Le Jet d'eau ⛲️ ?? (@LeJetdeau) June 24, 2019
.
The new beach in Geneva on a hot Summer day with the Jet d’eau ❤️?
?Merci @eric_hofmanner https://t.co/2R3KivV3ev pic.twitter.com/i3f5O7VgvQ
The free beach situated on the south bank of Lake Geneva proved a huge success over the weekend, with an estimated 4,000 people flocking to the new public space to make the most of the summer weather.
Read also: Temperatures up to 39C – Switzerland on alert for heatwave
Dogs, barbecues and bicycles are banned at the site, as is loud music.
The beach will remain open until September 29th.
'A lack of shade'
Visitors to the beach this weekend were mostly positive. However, Geneva daily Tribune de Genève said people had pointed out there was a lack of shade.
While beach umbrellas are permitted on the pebble beach, they cannot be used on the grass behind the beach, making this area very hot, beachgoers complained.
A work in progress
Construction work on the new beach (you can see the plans here in French) is not yet completed, with some of the facilities in place at the moment of a temporary nature.
The finished project is set to be unveiled in spring 2020. Once complete, the area will comprise 400 metres of beach and is expected to welcome up to 8,000 visitors a day.
The beach is smaller than original plans specified after courts upheld an appeal from the Word Wildlife Foundation (WWF) who warned the initial plans would do extensive environmental damage to the key shore area of Lake Geneva.
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