Les Halles de la Jonction : Super child and dog-friendly outdoor space in Geneva

I’m well overdue in writing this blog, because it’s now one of my top places for child and dog-friendly places in Geneva!

Les Halles de la Jonction opened this summer (2024) and it has been one of our go-to places on a weekend or holiday whether it’s sunny or rainy, because it’s an outdoor covered space.

To access, you can walk along the river, as if you are going to the pointe de la Jonction where you will find big gates opposite the buvette. Alternatively you can access from the TPG depot side, where you will see the big orange “H” sign.

There are plenty of activities for the children, including a climbing wall, a big white board to draw on, a giant checkers board, pedal cars, basketball court, and a boat. There are temporary activities too, like inflatable castles which is currently there courtesy of Yatouland.

The other great draw of this place is that there are also food stalls here and a couple of bars. So you could spend quite a long time here and not be hungry or thirsty! Our favourite stall is Essia, the Tunisian food stall, but you will also find Thai food, Korean chicken wings, Japanese katsu and hot dog stands. We’ve pretty much tried them all and they are good!

My children were particularly enamoured by the ice cream stand, which you can get decorated with toppings of your choice!

Once you are refuelled, you can go back to other activities on offer here - for the adults, you can play Padel, as there are two covered Padel courts here! You can book the courts to play, or take lessons via their website. My son did also take a class here and had a great experience with Aaron the Padel coach from Spain.

My children tend to opt for the climbing wall when here, which is very reasonably priced at CHF5 for 2 hours, plus CHF2 for shoe rental. The lady who was there was very helpful and helped my daughter get her confidence up on the wall.

On a very hot day, you could also go for a dip in the Rhone from the platform just outside the fences of Les Halles. However please note that the river flow is very fast, so it is not recommended for children or dogs to swim here. There’s also a canoe club next door, where you can take lessons.

If you want to take the children and pup for a walk, Bois de la Bâtie is a 5 minute walk away, where you will find Geneva’s biggest playground and an off-leash dog park. You simply walk out towards the TPG depot, take the footbridge on your right which will bring you to the foot of the climb up to Bois de la Bâtie.

Of course Les Halles is not Luka’s idea of top notch fun, but it does mean he gets to hang out with the family and be outside, rather than sitting at home alone.

In sum, I highly recommend visiting here for a fun family time!

Fun factor for child: 4/5 - Lots of fun activities for children, and several food options too.

Fun factor for dog: 1/5 - Not exactly a dog’s idea of fun, but at least the whole family can hang out here together!

Pram-friendly: Yes

Water Access for dogs: No, the river flow is extremely fast and it is difficult for dogs to get out of the water from the platform, so it is unadvisable for dogs to swim here..

Potable water: No fountains here. Bottled water can be purchased at the bars.

Baby changing facilities: No

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