Gone With The Family

Adventures in Family Travel

Le Jet d’Eau (The Fountain)

Europe, Switzerland / by / 44 Comments

The Jet d’Eau in Geneva, Switzerland is a major tourist attraction and a great spot to take photos.

One of the major tourist attractions in Geneva, Switzerland is Le Jet d’Eau, a fountain situated near the left bank of Lake Geneva.

The Jet d’Eau sprays water at a speed of 200km/hr and 140 metres into the air making it one of the largest fountains in the world.  The water is aerated as it is pumped which accounts for the whiteness of the spray.  

 

Jet D'Eau in Geneva, Switzerland

 

Visitors can walk out to the fountain on a narrow stone jetty, however, the walkway becomes wet with spray as the fountain is approached and a sudden change of wind can lead to a soaking.  Emma had in mind walking all the way to the fountain, however, I stopped her once we were close enough to feel the mist as I had no desire to be soaked on a slightly chilly day in March.

The fountain closes when the temperature falls below 2 degrees Celsius and also when winds are exceptionally high.  Fortunately, it was a nice day when we visited because the Jet d’Eau makes a great backdrop for silly photos.

 

Jet D'Eau in Geneva, Switzerland

 

Related Links

One Day in Geneva

The Broken Chair

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. Sophie

    Ooh, fun shot. Haven’t been in Geneva in ages, sort of a work city for me. Such a great place, though – I should really take the kids!

    Reply

  14. Lisa Goodmurphy

    Thanks, Sophie! We were only in Geneva for one day. We spent our spring break in Paris and took the train to Geneva to visit friends. I thought it was a lovely city and would love to go back.

    Reply

  17. Lisa Goodmurphy

    Glad you didn’t fall off the treadmill! 🙂 I’d like to know how you multi-task like that though – if I could get some online reading done while I was at the gym in the morning then I’d have a lot less to do once I got home.

    Reply

  19. Leigh

    She’s a good sport and that’s a fun shot. I was surprised to read the speed at which the water shot out – faster than I would have expected.

    Reply

  26. Lucia

    Very impressive fountain and love that silly shot. We really want to make it to Switzerland but I don’t think we can squeeze it in before our departure from Europe…just have to plan a special trip 🙂

    Reply

  30. Lisa Goodmurphy

    He would definitely think it was cool but I’d be very careful if you try to walk out on the jetty with him. It’s quite narrow and can be slippery – I had to keep a good hold on Emma because it was making me nervous!

    Reply

  35. Nicole

    Great picture. We are heading to Switzerland this summer. We aren’t going to Geneva, but instead Zurich and Zermatt. We can’t wait.

    Reply

  37. Jeremy Branham

    I had never heard of this fountain! Granted, I’ve never been to Geneva either. Love the photo of your daughter swallowing the water. I’ve seen a lot of photos like this of people holding up the Tower of Pisa but never one like this!

    Reply

  38. Lisa Goodmurphy

    Thanks, Lucia! We only had the one day in Geneva but I fell hard – would love to go back to Switzerland! If you don’t squeeze in another trip before you return to the States then you should definitely plan to travel to Switzerland in the future!

    Reply

  41. Lisa Goodmurphy

    Unfortunate that you didn’t get to see it, Cathy – it is definitely memorable! I hadn’t heard of it before our visit but now I think I would be disappointed if it hadn’t been operating when we were there.

    Reply

  42. Lisa Goodmurphy

    Thanks, Jeremy! I had never taken one of those posed pics with landmarks before – it just doesn’t occur to me. Glad we did this time as it turned out to be quite a funny photo! 🙂

    Reply

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