GenevaThe city of Calvin and Frankenstein
Measured from 1,000+ plays across 4 walked routes: in Geneva, you pass a place with a story every 233 metres.
Ranked #1 of 2 Switzerland big cities
2026 edition · scores vs all indexed cities · measured 2026-08-21 · how we measure
Depth31/100
35 places with a story
5 historical figures
Density67/100
a story every 233 m
median along a route
Character68/100
crime & dark history
typical story: 1850 · 19th century
Pulse56/100
Instagrammability 46/100
peak month: Aug
Geneva, measured
The scores
Ranked against
| What we measure | Geneva | Score out of 100 | Rank | Global leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depth | ||||
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 35 | 31 | #59 of 71 | London (United Kingdom) · 594 |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 5 | 30 | #45 of 68 | London (United Kingdom) · 184 |
| Hours of storieshow long its stories take to read, end to end | 0.4h | 32 | #50 of 71 | London (United Kingdom) · 7h |
| Density | ||||
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next | 233 m | 67 | #12 of 71 | Williamsburg (United States) · 100 m |
| Character | ||||
| Years its stories coverfrom its oldest story to its newest | 680 yrs | 68 | #44 of 70 | London (United Kingdom) · 1025 yrs |
| Pulse | ||||
| Instagrammabilityhow often players photograph this city | 46/100 | 46 | #15 of 54 | Sydney (Australia) |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3 or more | 20 in 100 | 56 | #23 of 69 | Houston (United States) · 32 in 100 |
| International visitorsshare of player reviews written in a foreign language | 67% | 67 | #17 of 47 | Venice (Italy) · 97% |
How to read this table›
How to read it: each score is out of 100, measured against a fixed scale that is the same for every city and every edition. Geneva's 35 on places with a story scores 31, and it scores 31 on any page you find it. The switch above changes who it is ranked against, not the scores: right now that is all 80 indexed cities (19 countries so far). Geneva is scored on all 8 measures, and its overall score is their average. Ranks compare cities of a similar size. What a city's stories are about has no better or worse, so themes and eras aren't scored. Instagrammability is shown as a score only; how it's calculated is on the methodology page.
The medal table
What Geneva wins
- Most arts & culture among Switzerland's big cities· 17% of its stories
- Most crime & dark history among Switzerland's big cities· 29% of its stories
- Most fortification & siege among Switzerland's big cities· 17% of its stories
- Most guilds & trade among Switzerland's big cities· 17% of its stories
- Most historical figures among Switzerland's big cities· 5 people in its stories
- Most industry & modern era among Switzerland's big cities· 29% of its stories (shared)
- Most instagrammable among Switzerland's big cities
Won against the other big cities of Switzerland in the 2026 edition. See the full table on the country page.
Character
What its stories are about
- crime & dark history29%
- industry & modern era29%
- fortification & siege17%
- faith & churches17%
- guilds & trade17%
- arts & culture17%
- royalty & nobility11%
Out of Geneva's 35 places with a story, the share whose story touches each theme. One story can touch several.
Character
Which centuries you walk through
- 19th century38%
- Early modern27%
- Post-war15%
- Medieval8%
- Early 20th century8%
- Contemporary4%
When Geneva's stories happen (74% of them mention a year).
Pulse
When people play here
Typical share of player reviews per month (median across 5 recent years). Peak: Aug.
Pulse
Who visits, by review language
- English59%
- French28%
- Dutch6%
- German5%
- Spanish2%
Language of 500+ written player reviews. A proxy for who visits; English hides several nationalities.
Depth
35 stories wait on its streets. Here are three
Now an annex of the Palais de Justice courthouse, the Saint-Antoine prison was opened in the 18th century, designed to house people…
The Fontaine de l’Escalade was built in 1889 to honor Geneva’s brave defenders of 1602, remembered each year in the famous Escalade…
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of the greatest philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment, was born in Geneva at 40 Grand-Rue in the Old…
Depth
Figures you meet on Geneva's streets
Charles Pictet
at 2 places
Promenade de la Treille · Charles Pictet de Rochemont
John Calvin
at 2 places
The International Monument to the Reformation / The Reformation Wall · Jeremie
Lord Byron
at 2 places
Passing under Pont du Mont-Blanc · Monument du Monstre de Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
at 2 places
Passing under Pont du Mont-Blanc · Monument du Monstre de Frankenstein
Philibert Berthelier
at 1 place
Tour de l'île
Depth
Every Geneva place with a story, on one map
Each pin is a place whose story a Questo route tells. Tap one for the quest that tells it. See an empty street that deserves a pin? The form at the bottom of this page adds your story to the editors' queue.
Walk Geneva's stories yourself
Three of 4 routes here. See everything in Geneva
Where next after Geneva?
How does Geneva compare?
Put Geneva head-to-head with any city in the index, measure by measure, from real walking data.
Quick answers
- What is Geneva like to explore on foot?
- Geneva has 35 places with a story across 4 self-guided Questo routes, with a story every 233 metres of walking on average. Its stories lean towards crime & dark history and industry & modern era.
- Which historical period defines Geneva?
- 38% of Geneva's dated stories come from the 19th century period; its oldest dated story reaches back to 1334.
- When do people visit Geneva?
- Player activity in Geneva peaks in Aug, with a typical 33% of reviews arriving June to August (median across 5 recent years of Questo reviews).
- How is this measured?
- From Questo's own walked routes and player activity in Geneva: 1,000+ plays and 500+ reviews. Full method on the City Stories Index methodology page, 2026 edition.
Quote any line, attributed
For press and citation
- Walking a Questo route in Geneva, you pass a place with a story every 233 metres on average.
- 38% of Geneva's dated stories come from the 19th century period.
- Geneva's typical story happens in 1850: the median year across its dated stories, which span 680 years.
- Players meet 5 historical figures in Geneva's stories, from Charles Pictet to John Calvin.
- 67% of Geneva's written player reviews are in a language other than German (from 500+ reviews).
- Roughly 20 of every 100 plays in Geneva is a group outing of three or more people, measured from invited multi-device sessions over the last 12 months.
- Geneva's play season peaks in Aug; a typical 33% of reviews arrive June to August (median across 5 recent years).
Copy any line as it stands: for an article, a post, or an argument at dinner. Attribution: Questo City Stories Index (2026 edition), with a link to this page. Method and sample sizes on the methodology page.
Geneva ranks #36 of 80. Show it.
For city halls, tourism boards, local press and anyone who lives here: this badge is yours to use, free and without asking. It links back to the measurements behind it, and it updates itself when the next edition is published.
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<img src="https://questoapp.com/api/og/city-index-badge?country=switzerland&slug=geneva" alt="Geneva ranks #36 of 80 in the Questo City Stories Index" width="320" height="100">
</a>Know a story these streets are missing?
Every place, story and figure on this page comes from routes built by people who know Geneva. Add what's missing: as a Questo creator, or with a quick suggestion.