Photo © DidierJordan
What will Geneva look like in 2030? How will we get about town? What will be the new and upcoming places to live? These and many more questions relating to future urban development within Geneva will be answered at this year’s special edition of Les Automnales, taking place from 11 to 20 November at Geneva Palexpo.
With the canton and city of Geneva invited as this year’s guest of honor, the 8th Edition of Les Automnales will devote 880m2 of exhibition space towards highlighting some of the most exciting current and future development projects of the city, including Sécheron, La Chapelle, and Pommier.
Without doubt, the biggest attraction will be an enormous 150m2 model of Geneva, reproduced on a scale of 1:500, which has taken close to 30 years to create! On show for the first time in public, this area of the exhibition will highlight key areas for development within the city, and will include key information on the Praille-Acacias-Vernets (PAV) project, as well as 2 models of the future East wing of Geneva Airport.
Photo © Les Automnales
As many visitors returning to the exhibition will already know, diversity is one of the key elements of this exciting life-style exhibition, which this year will feature numerous “exhibitions within an exhibition” covering everything from animals, dancers, and divers through to vintage clothing, army equipment, and washing machines! Les Automnales provides a wonderful opportunity for local businesses to introduce their vast array of products and services to the public over 65,000m2 of exhibition space, via a series of product demonstrations, and workshops, not to mention special events, competitions and games and, of course, the myriad of food stands and restaurants.
This year there will be 30 main areas of activity welcoming around 550 exhibitors across 5 exhibition halls and 8 separate exhibitions:
- Le Salon Nautique du Léman (nautical): 11-13 November
- Les Jours Vintage (everything retro): 11-14 November
- Men’s Place, l’Art de Vivre au Masculin (men's care): 11-14 November
- Stock Armée (army surplus shop): 11-20 November
- Le Salon de l’Art du Mouvement (althethics, sports, dance, etc.): 11-20 November
- Le Salon de la Voyance (fortune-telling): 11-20 November
- L’Exposition Canine Internationale (dog show): 18-20 November
- L’Exposition Féline Internationale (cat show): 19-20 November
The key themes across the exhibitions will be: Terroir et Métiers de Bouche; Sport et Mobilité; Vintage, Mode et Art de Vivre; Déco - Aménagement - Electroménager; Genève telle que les Enfants d'aujourd'hui la vivront; Chiens et Chats; Animations Enfants et Juniors; Le Cabaret des Automnales. Around 150,000 visitors are expected to visit, 50% of them returning from last year, often with their family and friends. An estimated 80% of the people will buy something from the exhibition and 40% will eat there!
One of the biggest attractions this year, will be a new exhibition called Men’s Place (11-14 November), dedicated to all things male! Body care, cosmetics, and grooming products will be just a few of the items on display and there will be advice galore on subjects as diverse as nutrition and how to knot a tie!
Photo © Pierre Albouy
Returning for a second time to Les Automnales, the Salon Nautique du Léman (11-13 November) will be even bigger and better than before, growing from 7000m2 to 9000m2! Look out for the seaside bar located, along with 5 huge fans, next to a large pool where parents and children can learn to wind surf, practise diving, or try their skills at standup paddling! Competitions and children’s entertainment, including a treasure hunt and workshop on how to build wooden boats, will all add to the excitement on offer at this nautical section of the fair, one of the most exciting areas of the exbibition!
Two of the most popular sections of Les Automnales are, without doubt, the cat and dog exhibitions, the latter of which has been extended for one more day due to public demand (18-20 November). This is the best place to come for advice on owning a pet and, of course, marvel at the various breeds on show, as they compete for the entertainment of the public. A special workshop to help children learn how to behave in the company of dogs is expected to be very popular with parents.
Whatever your preferred mode of transport, Les Automnales will present various options to take into consideration. Not only will Le Salon du L’Art du Mouvement cover everything from dancing to sport, there will also be a unique display of Vespas at Les Jours Vintage, and Happy 2CV will also be present promoting their holidays in Burgundy at the wheel of one of their famous Citröen cars!
Photo © Aurelien Bergot
The roller skating course has also been extended this year so that visitors can try their hand (or rather feet!) on 8-wheel skates – or simply watch the artists at work! And if you’re into running, the rather special Palexpo 10km run will take place in and around the exhibition stands on 12 November before the doors have even opened! This has to be one of the most unusual relay courses you will ever see, open to men, women and juniors in teams of two. Click here for more information.
A new activity which is really taking off in the region and which will also be present at this year’s Les Automnales is the Escape Game. Run by the leading organizer of escape games in Rhône-Alpes, Challenge The Room, this activity is open to small groups of family or friends, who simply want to have fun and see just how far they can get when they put their heads together and work out the series of clues leading to their ultimate goal - the exit!
The list of products, services, activities and entertainment that will be available at this year’s Les Automnales is so overwhelming it goes way beyond anything we can hope to cover in a single article. Indeed, at this year’s press conference to launch the exhibition, a large handbook packed with hundreds of suggestions for things to do was included! The best advice we can give you is to take a look at the exhibition website and browse through the various menus covering the main activities throughout the 10 days of the exhibition.
Photo © Philippe Woods
Speaking from the high-rise restaurant of the magnificent new Maison de la Paix: Pétale 5, one of the largest new business complexes to be developed in Geneva, Palexpo President Robert Hensler told the press, "As winter approaches, Les Automnales is a welcoming breath of local authenticity and conviviality - a place where people can meet and experience for themselves a taste of life as it is in Geneva today and a style of living that we can expect tomorrow.”
Les Automnales is certainly one of the most comprehensive exbibitions you will ever visit in the area, bringing so many different aspects of living under one roof... whatever your interest, you can't fail to be impressed by the enormity of it all and we're sure you'll find something that will grab your attention!
Les Automnales
Geneva Palexpo
11-20 November 2016
www.automnales.ch
