Geneva Geneva Geneva (; ; ; ; ; ) is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of the Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situated where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. The municipality ("ville de Genève") has a population () of , and the canton (essentially the city and its inner-ring suburbs) has residents. In 2014, the compact "agglomération du Grand Genève" had 946,000 inhabitants in 212 communities in both Switzerland and France. Within Swiss territory, the commuter area named ""Métropole lémanique"" contains
Geneva Lake with the nearby town of Geneva, Illinois, the city was renamed "Lake Geneva"; later the lake was renamed "Geneva Lake". Lakeshore attractions include Big Foot Beach State Park, Lake Geneva Yacht Club, the George Williams College campus of Aurora University, and Yerkes Observatory. The observatory is owned by the University of Chicago, which has established a study group to plan a regional center for science education at the observatory. Public access to the lake is allowed as the result of a decision by early European settlers that "20 feet of land leading up to the shoreline should be public domain."