Parc Barton

Parc Barton is a public park on Rue de Lausanne in Geneva (postcode 1202), sitting between the Perle du Lac and William Rappard parks. It is free to enter and open day and night, and its giant sequoias make it one of the city's most distinctive green spaces.

How did Parc Barton come about?

At the end of the 17th century a summer residence with a garden, orchard and vineyard stood on this land. In 1858 Robert Peel, Britain's representative in Switzerland, bought the estate, built a cottage and laid out a landscaped park in the English style. He is also credited with planting the Californian redwoods that still define the place.

The name comes from Daniel Barton, the creator of Geneva's Victoria Hall, who married Peel's daughter Alexandra and acquired the estate in 1892. Alexandra Barton Peel, nicknamed the "Queen of Geneva", left the property to the public on condition that no tree be felled. Sources disagree on when the park opened to residents: the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland says 1935, while the city's own page gives 1938.

After the League of Nations was founded in 1919, Barton was one of three parks considered as the site for the Palais des Nations. The headquarters were built elsewhere, and the park became part of the city's green spaces.

What will you see?

The highlight is a stand of about thirty enormous sequoias that tower over everything else. Quiet paths and open lawns run between them, where locals read, rest and walk their dogs. The family's former villa stands in the grounds and now houses the Graduate Institute (Institut de Hautes Études Internationales et du Développement), so on weekdays you will see students and staff crossing the park. The grounds themselves remain fully open.

Can you combine it with other places?

Barton is part of a chain of parks by Lake Geneva. Perle du Lac and William Rappard are its neighbours, so you can plan a walk that moves from one green space to the next. It makes a good pause after visiting the international-organisations quarter.

When should you go?

The park never closes, but daytime is best. In spring and summer the lawns are green and the sequoias give deep shade; in autumn the paths are scattered with needles and cones, and in winter the tall silhouettes stand out against the sky. A walk around the whole park takes a few minutes, a little longer if you stop for photos.

Frequently asked questions

Is Parc Barton free? Yes. It is a municipal park with no entry fee.

What are the opening hours? There are none: the park is accessible 24 hours a day.

What is the building in the park? The former Barton family villa is occupied by the Graduate Institute, a university focused on international studies and development. The interior is for the institute's use and is not a tourist attraction.

What makes it different from other Geneva parks? The sequoias: roughly thirty giant trees of this species grow here, and the site's history is tied to the Peel and Barton families and to the plan to build the Palais des Nations.