Geneva & the Concours de Genève: a guitarist's travel guide
Concours de Genève (Guitar) · Geneva, Switzerland
The Concours de Genève, founded in 1939, is among the oldest and most prestigious music competitions in the world, a founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions whose past laureates include Martha Argerich and Maurizio Pollini. Guitar has featured among its rotating disciplines, and the competition unfolds in one of Europe's most beautifully sited cities, on the shore of Lake Geneva beneath the Alps.
Getting there
Geneva is easy to reach: fast trains link it to Paris in around three hours and to Zurich in under three, and Geneva airport (GVA) is only minutes from the centre by train. The city itself is walkable and served by trams.
Compare trains, buses & flights to Geneva on Omio →
Where to stay
Stay near the lake or the old town and you can walk to the concert halls and the waterfront alike. Geneva is compact and orderly, if not cheap, so an efficient central base pays off.
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See stays in Geneva →What you'll hear
The competition rotates through disciplines from year to year, so it is worth checking whether guitar is on the programme before you plan around it. When instruments reach the final they often play with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, a real occasion. The most celebrated guitarist to come through Geneva is the composer Dušan Bogdanović, whose career the competition helped launch.
If you play as well as listen, explore Dušan Bogdanović, a past Geneva laureate on Sheet Music Plus →
Where to eat
Swiss comfort food rules by the lake: cheese fondue, the local longeole sausage, and a gratin of cardoons in winter. Finish with Swiss chocolate, which needs no introduction.
While you're there
Across the French border, the canal-laced town of Annecy on its turquoise lake makes a beautiful day trip, and the cheese-and-castle village of Gruyères is an easy train ride. On the lake itself, a boat trip is time well spent. A rental car makes the day trips simple, and GetYourGuide lists guided tours and tickets across the region.
Enter the pieces you play, and GuitarComp shows how your programme maps to this competition's rounds and which other events you qualify for.
See full competition details →Competition dates, deadlines and the current compulsory work change each edition, so always confirm at the official site: concoursgeneve.ch.