Place de Neuve, Geneva — Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Place de Neuve is Geneva's cultural heart, a grand square framed by the city's most important performance venues and museums. It sits at the gateway to the Old Town, near the entrance to the Parc des Bastions. The square takes its name from the Porte Neuve (New Gate), a city gate erected in 1564 and demolished in 1853 when Geneva's medieval fortifications were pulled down. The open space left behind was transformed into one of the city's most important public squares. At the centre stands an equestrian statue of General Henri Dufour, unveiled in 1884. Dufour was a Swiss national hero, the commander who held Switzerland together during the brief Sonderbund War of 1847, and also the man who created the first topographical map of Switzerland. The statue sits near a bust of Henry Dunant, founder of the International Red Cross, which marks a spot that was formerly used for public executions. The square is flanked by the Grand Theatre de Geneve (the opera house, inaugurated 1879), the Musee Rath (one of Switzerland's first art museums, 1824), and the Geneva Conservatory of Music (1858). The Parc des Bastions is just steps away, home to the Reformation Wall with its monumental statues of Calvin, Knox, and other Protestant leaders. If you're on a Questo quest through Geneva, Place de Neuve is a stop where music, art, and the ideals that shaped modern Switzerland all converge.