After 8 weeks of everything being closed, Geneva starts reopening shops, restaurants, museums, sports structures, and other fun places.  Below, you’ll find a list of places that are already open, and those that will open soon. For those of you, who still prefer to practice social distancing there are still forests, mountains, rivers, and self-picking farms!

ALREADY OPEN

Self-picking farms (fr. auto-cueillette) – we have plenty of them in the region! The rule is simple: go to the field and pick flowers/vegetables/fruit on your own. A great way to spend time outside while easily keeping the social distanc of 2 meters. Here’s Parentville’s list of self-picking farms in the region.

Kids Time Club (Eaux-Vives) – their downstairs incrdibly beautiful playarea is already open! New rules: no shoes allowed in the playground, and only 5 adults can stay there at the same time.Everything is disinfected twice a day. For more details please contact KidsTime Club directly.

Elisa Gassert play space –  as it’s partly a cafe, it is already open, but attention. It will close again between 18th and 24th may. If you haven’t yet heard about this place, check out what I had to say about it here, and check their Facebook page for even more detailed info.

MAMCO –  open as of May 16th! The museum limits the number of simultaneous visitors to its rooms (10 square meters guaranteed per visitor), payment by card only and disinfectant available at several points in the museum. A new morning offer is set up, certain Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., in order to allow vulnerable people to discover the exhibitions safely. During these time slots, spaces will be exclusively reserved for them. You can read more details on safety measures in Maco here.

Centre d’Art Contemporain –  Open from the 16th of May. Online activities will still be available for those who don’t feel safe just yet. The number of simultaneous visitors will be limited and disinfectant will be made available at various locations throughout the building. Full details of our sanitary measures are available here.

OPENNING SOON

MAH (Musées d’art et d’histoire) – The MAH opens on May 21, 2020, with the exception of the regional archeology hall and room 2-15, which remain closed due to works and assemblies. The upper level of the fine arts collection and that of Archeology now impose a unique sense of visit. Access to the rooms on the ground floor will be limited so as to comply with the imposed gauge. More detailed info here.

MEG (Musée d’ethnographie) – it will open on May 21. You can find their detailed safety plan here (in English).

Natural History Museum will be open to the public again on Thursday, May 21. However, access to the Natural History Museum will be limited to the permanent galleries on the ground floor, 1st and 2nd floor only, further accompanied by the implementation of route restrictions and a limited number of people per gallery. You can find more information about their restrictions here.

Science History Museum will open its doors to the public on Thursday, May 21.  You can find more information about their restrictions here.

Musee Ariana – the reopening  will take place on Thursday May 21, in compliance with the sanitary measures dictated by the Federal Office of Public Health to protect visitors and collaborators. Here’s the link to all the measures Ariana will practice.

Maison Tavel – it will open on June 16, after the completion of electrical work. More details here.

EXACT DATE UNKNOWN

Maison de la Creativite – everyone’s favorite place for playtime! sadly, for now there is no information about reopening. Given that this special and creative space place is all about free movement, tactile play, and filled with children AND adults, it can take some time before they figure out how to restart the fun.

Exploracentre – sadly no info yet about their reopening. I am sure the info will be announced soon on Exploracentre’s website.

BIO PARC GENEVE – one of the most precious and valuable animal parks in the region should reopen on June 8th. They need our support to survive and help the animals they take care of, so please, plant to visit them! Here’s Bioparc’s website, and more recent news here on their Facebook page.

Ferme la Gavotte – the farm remains closed. Cuddles with sheep and poneys may again become possible around June 8th. Stay informed by visiting their website from time to time.

Jardin Botanique – it should reopen on the 8th of June (if Covid-19 numbers allow), and until further notice, we won’t know what measures will put in place, if the carousel will turn, and how many kids will be allowed to play in one of the best playgrounds. Here’s the website of Geneva’s most beautiful park.

Bois-de-la-Bâtie animal park is still closed. If everything goes well it will reopen like all other Zoo’s around June 8th. Here’s their website if you’d like to track the details yourself.

CERN (exhibition sites) remain closed until further notice. There is no indication on when the Globe and Microcosm could open again (you can read their full information here).

PARC AVENTURE in Evaux is also one of the places that remains closed and can’t yet give any information about possible opening dates. Here’s the Park’s website.

THEATRES

Theatre des Marionnettes de Geneve (details); no information.

Theatre AmStramGram (website) – shows are cancelled for this season. Fingers crossed for 20/21!

Simply Theater (website) – all shows for this season are cancelled, the courses may restart after June 8th. Enrollments for summer camps have begun!

 

SWIMMING POOLS

The Federal Council will permit the opening of the swimming pools on June 8th if the situation allows it. There is not much information about how it will look like and what protective measures will be put in place.