01
What stands before you
From Cour de Saint-Pierre, the façade is a surprise: classical columns and a pediment in front of a medieval church. This neoclassical portico replaced the original portal in the 18th century. Step back a few paces to see what it does not hide: the towers, completed in the late 13th century, and the Maccabees Chapel, built against the cathedral. Three periods can be read from the square before you even go in. Entry to the cathedral is free; tower access is ticketed and closes before the building does.
Sources: Genève Tourisme — Cathédrale Saint-Pierre · République et canton de Genève — inventaire du patrimoine, cathédrale Saint-Pierre et chapelle des Macchabées
Plan your next stop: Geneva on foot in one day: which route? · Maison Tavel: a house for reading Geneva’s Old Town
02
Its story
Work on the cathedral began around 1160 and continued for almost a century. Around 1400, Cardinal de Brogny founded a funerary chapel, the Maccabees Chapel. In August 1535, Mass was suspended in Geneva; on 21 May 1536 the General Council, meeting in Saint-Pierre’s cloister, adopted the Reformation. The cathedral became a Protestant place of worship. Passing through Geneva in 1752, the Piedmontese architect Benedetto Alfieri proposed a portico façade to shore up the building; Jean-Michel Billon built it between 1752 and 1756.
Sources: République et canton de Genève — inventaire du patrimoine, cathédrale Saint-Pierre et chapelle des Macchabées · Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse — Genève (canton) · Archives d’État de Genève — la Réforme · Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse — Benedetto Alfieri
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03
Look at this
Start with the gap between the façade and the rest: the portico was not added for taste, it was built to shore up a threatened building. Then walk around the cathedral to find the medieval walls. If you climb the towers, Geneva Tourism gives 157 steps and a 360° panorama over the city and the lake: look for the harbour, then the Old Town roofs at your feet. Beneath the cathedral, an archaeological site shows remains going back to Antiquity; it is a separate visit to plan in addition.
Sources: Genève Tourisme — Cathédrale Saint-Pierre · Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse — Benedetto Alfieri
04
What most people never learn
The Maccabees Chapel has not always been used for worship. After the Reformation it was divided into two, then three floors, and served as a storehouse and as a lecture hall for the Academy. Its present interior comes from a 19th-century restoration, which Geneva’s heritage inventory describes as a neo-Gothic total work of art. What you see today therefore tells two moments: a cardinal’s foundation around 1400 and the 19th century’s view of the Middle Ages.
Plan your visit
Check the day’s opening times before you come: they change with the season. Geneva Tourism states free entry and ticketed towers. The cathedral is the second stop on our Old Town walk, between Place du Bourg-de-Four and Maison Tavel; allow extra time for the interior, the towers or the archaeological site.
Cour de Saint-Pierre, 1204 Geneva
Your questions, answered.
Is entry to Saint-Pierre Cathedral free?
Yes: Geneva Tourism states that entry is free. Climbing the towers is ticketed and the archaeological site is a separate visit.
How many steps are there in Saint-Pierre’s towers?
Geneva Tourism gives 157 steps to the top, with a 360° panorama over the city and the lake.
Check the details and explore further
Opening times and entry arrangements can change. Refer to the venues’ websites when planning your visit.
- Genève Tourisme — Cathédrale Saint-Pierre
- République et canton de Genève — inventaire du patrimoine, cathédrale Saint-Pierre et chapelle des Macchabées
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse — Benedetto Alfieri
- Archives d’État de Genève — la Réforme
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse — Genève (canton)
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