Musee des Suisses Dans Le Monde, Pregny-Chambesy

Beautiful park and museum

The estate of the Chateau de Penthes that currently houses Le Musee des Suisses Dans le Monde was first mentioned in 1358 when it was a home of the Lords of Visencier. Since then the chateau has been transformed and changed hands numerous times. Among its owners were Francois de Sacconay, Jean-Antoine de Charriere, the lord of Penthaz, hence the current name of the estate, Louis Birkigt, a Genevan industrialist, and Alexandre Sales, Geneva lawyer who in 1761 transformed the chateau into the building of the present look. From 1926 to 1934 the chateau housed Le Pensionnat Beaupre, a branch of an English school for girls - "The Abbey School". "I was a student of the School in 1930-1931. I occupied a large room with three windows. There were 20-25 girls living at the chateau. One was Charlotte Bruhthardt, a niece of the Colonel Jules Respond, Commander of the Guards of the Pope. The facade with a large partly glassed in veranda supported by iron pillars in the style of Second Empire overlooked the park and the lake." - from the Memoires of Mme Antoinette Contat, a former student of the Pansionnat. This romantic mansion-chateau sits in the middle of a large ancient park, called the park of the Empress in honour of Josephina de Beauharnais. There are lots of old oak trees can be found in the park. A rare site in Geneva. One of the curiosities of the hilly park is a stump of a Sequoia wellingtonia planted in 1870 and struck down in the storm on 6 October, 1993. The park is maintained by the gardeners of The Botanical Gardens of Geneva. There is a stylish Swiss gourmet restaurant at the grounds of the estate, in the building before the chateau. The menu is interesting but pricey - main dish is between 35 and 45 Swiss Francs. If you do not want to splash on dining out, you can always have a picnic on the grassy slopes in the park and admire a breathtaking view of the lake and the Mont-Blanc.