The area of the Geneva district is small : 282 km2 . It is a piece of enclosed land encircled by France. It lies south of the Department of the Ain, and north of the Department of the Haute-Savoie. The frontier is 107.5 km long of which 103 is with France and only 4.5 with the Swiss Confederation. The border with Switzerland is made up of a small area of land linking Geneva to the Canton of Vaud on the right bank of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman). Two little enclaves of Celigny in the Canton of Vaud belong to Geneva. Part of Lake Geneva is under the jurisdiction of the Geneva District and it represents 38 km2. It is called the « Little lake ».

Geneva is located between the Alps and the Jura mountains, at the extreme south-west of Switzerland and the Lake Geneva. The Rhône and the Arve are the main rivers crossing Geneva. The elevation of the City is 373 meters.

It is the central cross-roads of Western Europe. Geneva holds a privileged geographical position and it is only one hour far from Paris or Milan by plane and less than two hours from London, Rome or Madrid.

Over 3000 years ago a city chose its own destiny. At the crossroads of important communication roads linking the Mediterranean Sea to the North of Europe, Geneva has become a town of exchanges, ideas and trade. The name of Geneva, Genua in Latin (Geneva later) appeared for the first time in the writings of Julius Caesar in De Bello Gallico, his comments on the Gallic Wars.

In 1387, the Bishop of Geneva Adhémar Fabri granted his fellow-citizen some liberty inside the commune. He gave them in a way the right to govern their city and encouraged the trading business by authorizing the pratice of obtaining a loan, payable with an interest, which at the time was severely condemned by the Church.

Before incarnating an important spiritual project in the 16th century, Geneva had already acquired an international reputation of being an attractive business place. The trade fairs had been taking place in Geneva and reached their peak in the middle of the 16th century, confirmed its strategic position in the world of economy. Together with the increase in hawker’s activities, an important banking trade began to develop.

Then came the Reformation : Jean Calvin was called to Geneva to make it a town where one lived according to the Gospel. He had the genius of elevating Geneva to the rank of a «Protestant Rome ». The intellectual influence of Calvinas the legislator of a theocracy, extended to all realms : politics, economy or administration.