With the very, very cold temperatures this week and into the next (MétéoSuisse), take advantage of skating a lake, or just simply around the corner at the local rink! These seasonal ice-skating rinks are open during the winter months. Skates can be rented for a nominal charge and skating is usually free. Here are some (not all) but we can add to the list if you see one you would like to let us know about.
G E N E V A C A N T O N
** Centre sportif de la Vigne Blanche Bellevue
Ch. des Tuileries
1293 Bellevue (GE)
LINK
Skate rink: 22 November 2025 to 1 March 2026
There is a restaurant and snack bar, toilets, and skate rentals. Free entry.
** Patinoire de Carouge
Place Sardaigne
1227 Carouge
LINK
22 November 2025 through 1 March 2026
The rink is now covered to allow you to enjoy no matter the weather. The website lets you know when the ice rink is open and how busy it is. The adjoining Ice Bar serves drinks, crepes, fondue and more.
** Patinoire de Grand-Saconnex
Parc du Château Pictet
corner of route de Ferney / chemin du Pommier
1218 Le Grand-Saconnex
079 958 84 48
LINK
Open 15 November 2025 through 1 March 2026
Open daily 9h-19h, Tuesday till 18h30, Friday till 20h, Saturday 11h-20h, Sunday 11h-19h. Price skate rental: Fr. 3.- cash only. Entry free. La Yourte aux fondues is open daily 10h-23h (reservations: 077 412 66 05).
** Patinoire du centre sportif de Meyrin
7-9, av. Louis-Rendu
1217 Meyrin (GE)
022 782 13 00
LINK
Open 3 November 2025 through 1 March 2026
Large open-air skating rink, skate rental (Fr. 3.-) and lessons available. Price: Fr. 6.50/adult, Fr. 2.50/child. Snack bar.
** Planete Charmilles
Patinoire de l’Europe
Behind Planète Charmilles
Promenade de l'Europe 11
1203 Genève
022 418 40 00
LINK
Open 18 October 2025 to 28 February 2026
Price skate rental: Fr. 2.- cash only. Entry free.
** Patinoire de Plan-les-Ouates
Ecole du Pré-du-Camp
9, rte des Chevaliers-de-Malte
1228 Plan-les-Ouates (GE)
LINK
9 November 2024 to 2 March 2025
840m2. Not only is the skating rink have free entry but they also rent the skates for free (with ID card). Snack bar.
We were contacted by K-Syran, also known as Katrina Syran, a singer, a songwriter, an actress of stage and screen, an artist, a writer, an award-winning artist and producer (she won over 60 festival awards for her movie ELLIDA streaming on Amazon Prime), and advocate for women's rights. She is producing "This is not the Vagina Monologues" in Geneva and is offering a pair of tickets to the show in our competition; read down to the bottom of the article to enter the competition.
What has been the inspiration?
I am a Norwegian woman who moved to Switzerland in 2001. I was shocked to learn about women's rights here were not as advanced as in Norway and the U.K. My first role in the West End was with theatre company Sphinx who support women in the theatre so it felt right to continue that path.
Was working on this play something that came to you recently?
The first time I had considered producing the famous play “The Vagina Monologues“ by Eve Ensler, after meeting actress Anita Dobson wife of Brian May at the premiere of the musical “We Will Rock You”; she invited me to watch it and I was blown away!
So I produced “The Vagina Monologues“ for the first time in Geneva in 2005, that I organised for Solidarité Femmes, now called AVVEC (Aide aux Victimes de Violence en couple), an organisation for battered women in Geneva that Nicole Kidman has always supported.
I have produced many events for different organisations in Geneva such as Human Rights Watch, WILPF, Solyna, and DETI just to mention a few.
If you are looking for something unusual to do, then make sure to put Vallorbe and nearby Sainte Croix on your map. Juraparc is a wildlife park boasting bears and wolves in cohabitation, which replicates the most exacting conditions found in nature.
The wildlife park where brown bears and wolves live side by side, in the Jura vaudois, between Le Pont and Vallorbe, at the Mt d'Orzeires pass situated at 1000m.
Juraparc is not only a wildlife park with bears, wolves and bison, it's also an entertainment and leisure park for children, with a large playground and direct contact with goats, ponies, donkeys and Alpacas! The restaurant that sets itself apart from the alpine inn with its refined cuisine and many specialities and a large sunny terrace.
In fact, under natural conditions, wolves and bears have large territories that they share with other species. Mont d'Orzeires have reproduced conditions similar to and proportional to the natural territories of these 2 species.
The park also leave stumps, fallen trees, clumps of bushes, pebbles etc. for this purpose. The aim of the park is to offer the animals a space similar to freedom.
The park is bounded on one side by the visitor footbridge (over 3m50 high) and on the other by nature with an imposing rock face.
©Musée Ariana
Inspired by a collection of poetry by Gertrude Stein, the exhibition Tender Buttons offers a transdisciplinary, multi-faceted approach to a singular type of object. Over three hundred buttons interact with works from the Musée Ariana, dating from the 18th century to the present day.
Ceramic and glass buttons are the medium of formal experimentation, but also sources of survival, identity expression and collaboration. The little-known social histories of these everyday objects are showcased in an architecture reminiscent of the commercial covered passageways of the 19th century, a key period for the industrialization of porcelain and glass buttons.
On 1 September 2025, PRO VELO is launching the Cyclomania cycling challenge around Switzerland right through to the end of September 2025. Cyclomania aims to encourage everyday cycling. In addition, cities and municipalities can use the anonymized cycling data obtained from the challenge to improve their cycle path networks.
Cyclomania aims to encourage everyday cycling. In addition, cities and municipalities can use the anonymized cycling data obtained from the initiative to improve their cycle path networks.
All you have to do is download the Cyclomania app for free and take part.
Register for the challenge in the canton of Geneva:
Grand-Saconnex cycling challenge
From 1-30 September 2025, the town of Grand-Saconnex has signed up for the Cyclomania challenge. Everyone is invited to take part in the “Grand-Saconnex cycling challenge” and get on their bikes. Cycling in urban areas is a means of transportation that contributes to public health and reinforces environmental policies by reducing pollution. Take part in the challenge and end the summer on your bike! There are many prizes to be won. By participating, you are committing to cycling, in other words, to sustainable mobility in your community.
Meyrin cycling challenge
Cycle, collect points, and win prizes: from 1-30 September 2025, the Cyclomania challenge will take place in Meyrin. Taking part couldn't be easier: download the app, sign up for the challenge, cycle, and collect points. Prizes worth over CHF 10,000 are up for grabs, including a beautiful bike provided by Cycles Behar worth CHF 1,390 as the main prize.
Ride today, save tomorrow challenge: For all other municipalities
Your municipality hasn't organized a Cyclomania challenge? No problem: take part in the national RIDE TODAY, SAVE TOMORROW campaign sponsored by VELOPLUS, collect points, and win great prizes.
The three municipalities or regions with the highest number of participants and the most active cyclists will be rewarded.
