Jet d'Eau

What makes it special

What you look at is lake water shot 140 metres up, around 500 litres every second. About seven tonnes of it hang in the air at any moment before it falls back into the lake.

The white comes from the nozzle, which fills the water with millions of air bubbles, so the jet shows as a bright plume and not a clear stream. It stands where Lake Geneva narrows into the Rhône and is visible across the city.

The jet began as a safety valve on a hydraulic power network further downstream and was moved here in 1891 as an attraction. Since 1951 a pumping station on the lake has driven it to its present height.

Five retired staff of Services Industriels de Genève, the city utility, take turns watching it and shutting the valves when conditions turn.

Visiting

Open to everyone, the pier sits at the end of a stone jetty that runs out from the left bank of the lake. On the way out you cross a mobile footbridge that lets boats pass at set times.

Walk out as far as the spray allows. The pier is the place to look back across the harbour, sit in the sun, or take a photograph with the jet rising behind you.

Between spring and autumn the jet also runs in the evening, with programmed illuminations.

Tips

A slight change in wind direction can throw the spray across the jetty, so carry a waterproof bag for your phone or camera.

Make the jet the start of a longer walk along the shore. From the jetty you can follow the lake to the beaches at Eaux-Vives, or go through the Bains des Pâquis to the public parks.