La Traversée

La Traversée is an 1800-metre open water event held annually in the heart of Geneva, Switzerland. The race follows a linear course starting from the sandy shores of Genève-Plage and concluding at the historic Bains des Pâquis. Scheduled for late August, the competition invites swimmers to cross the Rade de Genève, a section of the Lake Geneva that was fundamentally reshaped in 1857 when the city's ancient fortifications were demolished and repurposed to form the current moles and embankments. Participants looking for longer endurance challenges in these waters may consider the UltraSwim 33.3 Switzerland, which precedes this event by several weeks.

Navigating history and physics

As you sight your line, you pass the Pierres du Niton, two massive glacial erratics left behind by the retreating Rhone glacier during the last ice age. These rocks are more than just landmarks; they serve as the official geodetic reference point for all Swiss altitude measurements. The water here is influenced by the surrounding urban environment, most notably the Jet d'Eau. While the fountain is a visual fixture, its mechanics are intense: a one-megawatt pump forcing 500 litres of water per second through a ten-centimetre nozzle at speeds reaching 200 km/h.

The route also carries layers of local maritime history. The area near the Bains des Pâquis was the site of a maritime tragedy in 1928, when the paddle steamer Genève collided with the vessel Rhône, an incident that resulted in the destruction of the latter's bowsprit and a fatal accident involving a falling mast. The shoreline itself is marked by notable structures, such as the Brunswick Monument, a 19th-century mausoleum modeled after Veronese architecture, and the Palais Wilson, which once served as the home of the League of Nations. Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria met her end near these very docks in 1898 after being attacked just before boarding a steamer. Today, the event is organized by the AUBP – Association d'usagers des Bains des Pâquis, maintaining a community-focused approach to this classic lake crossing.