What’s On in October 2018

Here’s our events listings for the month of October, remember to keep checking our listings regularly as we will be updating this post with more events each week.

Halloween 2018: take a look at our Halloween post here! 

 

APPLE-PICKING:

Autumn is the season to go apple-picking with the kids, just find the closest farm to you and bring a sturdy bag. Make sure you check with them when picking starts, as it may be more towards the end of September/beginning of October.

Some farms will let you pick pears and plums too — such a great alternative to supermarket shopping!

 

INDOOR PLAY CENTERS, TOY & BOOK LIBRARIES

On those gray, drizzly autumn days when nothing seems to placate your little buttons, remember you can visit your local ludothèques for free play and some light relief.

Find out more about toy libraries that allow free play for kids in our previous post.

Click here to find the best indoor play centres in Geneva, Vaud and nearby France, and remember you can always pop round into your local toy library for a bit of free-play. Here’s a link about great ludothèques in the area.

Public libraries are also a great place for your children: many host free events, workshops, story-times (usually in French but many times in other languages too). The bibliothèques in Geneva, Lausanne and neighbouring communes hold too many kids events each month to list them all here so here’s some links you can check regularly:

Geneva public libraries events & activities

Carouge public libraries events & activities

Lausanne public libraries events & activities

 

WHAT’S ON IN OCTOBER 2018:

• Wednesday 10th October 2018: Les mercredis à la Villa Freundler, free Wednesday activities for children at the Villa Freundler in Plainpalais (Place de Saint-François 4). Activities include games, creative workshops, sports and they will run from 1.30pm to 6pm. FREE ENTRY, no advance booking necessary, children must be accompanied by an adult/carer.

 

• Wednesday 10th October 2018: “Les batailles de Hodler”, part of the Mercredis Family  family workshops at the Musée d’art et d’histoire in Geneva (Rue Charles-Galland 2). Children aged 6 to 10 accompanied by an adult are welcome at 3pm to discover all about the museum collections in a fun, interactive way. FREE ENTRY, no advance booking required.

 

• Wednesday 10th, 17th, 31st October 2018: Jours d’ouverture aux familles at the Maison de la Créativité in Conches (7, chemin Calandrini). These family activities will take place in the afternoon from 2.30pm to 5.30pm.

 

• 12th-14th October 2018: Fête du Théâtre Genève, movie screenings, conferences, shows and theatre workshops for all ages. There will be various parent & child activities at the weekend, along with kids shows so make sure you download the full programme here and reserve your places at reservations@fetedutheatre.ch. FREE ENTRY but advance booking is compulsory.

 

• Saturday 13th October 2018: “30 ans de la Ludothèque de Carouge”, from 2.30pm to 6pm at the Maison de Quartier de Carouge, rue de la Tambourine 3, 1227 Carouge. Joi in the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the toy library in Carouge. FREE ENTRY.

 

• Saturday 13th October 2018: Fête de l’automne at the Salle Lavergne in Ornex (France) from 2pm until 6pm. Fun kids workshops, face painting, giant wooden games and much more. FREE ENTRY.

 

• Saturday 13th October 2018: Scary Night at the Castle at the Château de Chillon in Veytaux near Montreux (VD). From 6pm to 11.30pm (last entry at 9.30pm) your little night owls can take part in this night-time adventure at one of Switzerland’s most breath-taking medieval fortresses. The castle will be lit with torches and filled with music, fun activities and a ghostly light installation on the castle’s walls. Entry is 18CHF per person or 45CHF for family tickets, free entry for children under 6.

 

• Saturday 13th October 2018: Owl Craft workshop at Signal de Bougy, from 1pm to 3pm. Entry is 5CHF per child, suitable from age 5. Bookings must be made in advance.

 

• Saturday 13th October 2018: Fête de la science 2018 in Ferney Voltaire, France. An event in collaboration with CERN and Pangloss Labs in Ferney Voltaire (12 bis rue de Gex). Science village, fun workshops and more. Contact them at ayse@panglosslabs.org for full details.

 

• Saturday 13th October 2018: Retour des Alpages, traditional cattle descent festival in Annecy (France). This great festival will run from 9am until 6pm in the streets of Annecy’s old town, but the cow parade itself will take place at 2.30pm. FREE ENTRY.

 

• until 13th October 2018: Animatou Film Festival in Geneva, a fab line-up of international animated movies your little ones will love. This year’s special theme will be Switzerland! See the official website for full details of the 180 films that will be shown and all the kids workshops available.

 

• Sunday 14th October 2018: Marche de l’Espoir from 11am to 5.30pm on the Quai du Mont-Blanc in Geneva. This is a great charity event with activities for all the family, including live music, international food stalls, folk dance and face painting. The Marche de l’espoir is in support of the charity Terre des Hommes Suisse.

 

• until 14th October 2018: “Je suis ton père !”, an exhibition at the Maison d’Ailleurs which, thanks to the original approach of the thirteen international contemporary artists invited to Yverdon-les-Bains, deals with modern myths, and in particular the most famous of all: George Lucas’s Star Wars. Linked to the exhibition, there will be various kids workshops, free guided tours and other fun activities – click here for full details and to reserve your place.

 

• 14th-18th October 2018: 38th Olympic Week at the Musée Olympique in Ouchy (Lausanne). Were you born between the 1st of July 2003 and the 30th of June 2010? If this is the case, get ready for five days of fun and sport with more than 30 activities on offer in and around The Olympic Museum. Registration is free. Your accreditation will give you “à la carte” access to all the activities from Sunday 14th to Thursday 18th of October 2018, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Find full details and the complete list of sports on offer on the Olympic Museum official website.

 

• Tuesday 16th & 23rd October 2018: Atelier Pizza, from 10.45am to 11.15am at Signal de Bougy. For ages 6 to 12, let your little ones learn the ropes of authentic pizza making with a professional pizzaiolo, they will also be able to eat up their yummy creations once they’re cooked. The workshop costs 20CHF per child, places must be reserved at signal.bougy@gmvd.migros.ch or +41 58 568 31 50.

 

• Wednesday 17th October 2018: “Viens jardiner avec nous” – Ateliers Verts du Jardin Botanique in Geneva for kids aged 6-9 (in French). What better place than Geneva’s beautiful botanical gardens to learn more about nature, micro-organisms and plants ? These fantastic workshops take place on Wednesdays from 2pm to 4.30pm and cost 15CHF per child. Places must be booked in advance at 022 379 70 68. Click here to download the full programme. There will be another workshop this month on Wed. 31st of October 2018.

 

• Wednesday 17th October 2018: “La palette de Ferdinand”, part of the Mercredis Family  family workshops at the Musée d’art et d’histoire in Geneva (Rue Charles-Galland 2). Children aged 6 to 10 accompanied by an adult are welcome at 3pm to discover all about the museum collections in a fun, interactive way. FREE ENTRY, no advance booking required.

 

• Wednesday 17th October 2018: Atelier Petit Fermier at the Parc Pré Vert du Signal de Bougy (VD) from 9.30am to 11am. A great workshop for little ones, where they will learn to feed the small farm animals and collect fresh eggs! FREE ENTRY, advance booking required at 058 568 31 50.

 

• Wednesday 17th October 2018 – 15th September 2019: “Roulez les mécaniques. La loi du moindre effort” at the Musée d’histoire des sciences in Geneva. A fun, hands-on exhibition for the whole family, with plenty of machine based on the “Law of the Least Effort” to play and experiment with.

 

• 20th October 2018: Halloween workshop at Signal de Bougy, from 1pm to 3pm. Entry is 5CHF per child, suitable from age 5. Bookings must be made in advance.

 

• 20th October-5th November 2018: Halloween Party at C l’Aventure indoor play centre in Annemasse (France). There will be various Halloween activities throughout the month of October but for a proper Halloween night party make sure you are there on Wednesday 31st of October from 7.30pm until 11pm, ready to be spooked! There will be magic shows, scary face-painting, a vampires ball and much more. Click here to see our previous post about C l’Aventure.

 

• Sunday 21st October 2018: “Yoga-Visite”, parent-child yoga workshop for ages 6+ (children must be accompanied by an adult) conducted in French by Espace Colibri at the MEG museum in Geneva (Musée d’ethnographie de la Ville de Genève, Boulevard Carl-Vogt 65-67). The workshop runs from 9.45am to 11.45pm, tickets are 8-12CHF and must be purchased online ahead of the day as places are limited.

 

• Sunday 21st October 2018: “Peau d’âne” – Lecture d’un conte, free story-time for little ones aged 4+ at Signal de Bougy (VD), with 3 different sessions starting at 10.30am, 11.30am and 12.30pm. FREE ENTRY, no advance booking necessary. The show will take place at the amphitheatre or at the Salle Mont-sur-Rolle in case of rain.

 

• Monday 22nd-Friday 26th October 2018: Jours d’ouverture aux familles  during the Geneva school holidays at the Maison de la Créativité in Conches (7, chemin Calandrini). These family activities will take place in the afternoon from 2.30pm to 5pm. Entry is 3CHF per adult and per child aged 2+.

 

• 23rd-26th October 2018: Des vacances qui donnent la patate, school holiday workshops from 11am to 12pm (for children aged 3-5 accompanied by an adult) and from 2pm to 5pm (for children aged 6-12 accompanied by an adult) at the Musée d’art et d’histoire in Geneva (Rue Charles-Galland 2). Children are welcome to join these free workshops, shows and other fun activities for the little ones. FREE ENTRY, no advance booking necessary, limited places available.

 

• 23rd-26th October 2018: “Vacances à la romaine”, holiday workshops in French for children aged 7 to 12 at the Musée romain de Nyon (9, rue Maupertuis). Workshops take place from 2pm to 4pm and cost 16CHF per child (for each workshop). Choose from breadmaking ancient Roman-style, mosaic or dressing up in the style of ancient Rome – places must be booked in advance at 022 361 75 91 or musee.romain@nyon.ch

 

• Wednesday 24th & 31st October 2018: Halloween workshops for children at Vitam’Ludic, from 2pm to 4pm. Entry to the “Grands jeux”+Halloween workshop is 15 euros per child.

 

• Friday 26th October 2018: “Soirée déguisée Halloween” for children, without their parents at Vitam’Ludic in Neydens (France) from 7.30pm until 9.30pm. Places can be booked online or directly at Vitam’Parc.

 

• 26th-28th October 2018: Festival Salamandre in Morges (VD). A great nature festival with a jam-packed programme filled with nature-themed films, laboratories of discovery, activities for children, story times, creative workshops, indoor climbing and more. Open from 10am until 7pm (6pm on Sunday) at the théâtre et complexe sportif de Beausobre in Morges. Tickets are 15CHF for adults and 7CHF for kids. FREE ENTRY for children under the age of 6.

 

• Saturday 27th October 2018: Jours d’ouverture aux familles at the Maison de la Créativité in Conches (7, chemin Calandrini). These family activities will take place in the morning from 9.30am until midday and in the afternoon from 2.30pm to 5pm. Entry is 3CHF per adult and per child aged 2+.

 

• until Saturday 27th October 2018: Exposition “Titeuf à Carouge”, original drawings by Zep at the Galerie Series Rares, rue Vautier 15, 1227 Carouge. Please call 022 557 66 97 for opening times.

 

• Saturday 27th October 2018: Children’s Costume Parade in Château-d’Oex (Pays-d’Enhaut). A colorful parade and witches story-time for kids are the key attractions of this great family event. The day’s programme will include pumpkin carving workshops and clown performances from 11am, followed by the kids parade at 3.30pm. FREE ENTRY, Château-d’Oex is 140 km from Geneva.

 

• 27th October & 31st October 2018: Special Accrobranche Nocturne to celebrate Halloween at the Parc Aventure des Evaux in Geneva. If the weather is good, put on your scariest Halloween costume and join other monsters from 7pm to 11pm with no advance booking required. Suitable from ages 7+.

 

• Sunday 28th October 2018: Halloween Party at the Parc Pré Vert – Signal de Bougy in Bougy-Villars (VD). The Halloween celebrations at Signal de Bougy will take place on Sunday 28th of October and will include Halloween workshops, face-painting, mini disco and a kids’ parade through the park. FREE ENTRY to all activities and no advance booking necessary. The event will run from 9.30am until 5pm, click here to see the full programme.

 

• until Sunday 28th October 2018: “Hippolyte veut la lune”, puppet-show suitable from age 6 at the Espace Grange-Collomb (Chemin de Grange-Collomb 38, Carouge). Performance times: Saturdays at 5pm, Sundays at 11am and 3pm.

 

• Sunday 28th October 2018: Les Puces de Nyon, very scenic flea market in the pretty lakeside town of Nyon (VD).

 

• Sunday 28th October 2018: Lausanne Marathon, get ready for this great event which includes a Mini track for kids (2,6 or 4,2km); Walking (10km); Half Marathon (21km) and Full Marathon (42km). Participants to the 22nd Lausanne Marathon will set off on the mother of all athletic races on a path that is now well beaten between Lausanne and La Tour-de-Peilz and back.

 

• Saturday 29th September 2018: Atelier Pizza, from 10.45am to 11.30am at Signal de Bougy. For ages 5 to 12, let your little ones learn the ropes of authentic pizza making with a professional pizzaiolo, they will also be able to eat up their yummy creations once they’re cooked. The workshop costs 20CHF per child, places must be reserved at signal.bougy@gmvd.migros.ch or +41 58 568 31 50.

 

• Monday 29th October 2018-21st November 2018: “Sound & Light Show – Ça gravite aux Bastions” takes place every evening at 6pm, 7pm, 8pm. Organized by the Wright Fondation at the parc des Bastions in Geneva, this amazing sound and light show is back for the third year running. Projected onto one of the oldest buildings of the University of Geneva, this year’s light effects will focus on the theme of “gravity”. FREE ENTRY.

 

• 29th October 2018- 9th March 2019: The patinoire de Nyon-Rive reopens for the winter season! The ice rink will be open 7 days a week! Click here for exact opening times. ENTRY IS FREE, ice skates for children can be hired for just 3CHF (5CHF for adults).

 

• Wednesday 31st October 2018: “Mon herbier d’automne” – Ateliers Verts du Jardin Botanique in Geneva for kids aged 6-9 (in French). What better place than Geneva’s beautiful botanical gardens to learn more about nature, micro-organisms and plants ? These fantastic workshops take place on Wednesdays from 2pm to 4.30pm and cost 15CHF per child. Places must be booked in advance at 022 379 70 68. Click here to download the full programme.

• Wednesday 31st October 2018: Journée Halloween au Vitam’Ludic, from 10am to 7pm. Face-painting, scary beverages and Halloween costumes all day! Entry is included in the ticket to the “grands jeux”.

• Wednesday 31st October 2018: Halloween à Tortuga, great indoor party at L’île de Tortuga play centre in Vétraz-Monthoux (France). The park will be open from 9.30am to 5.30pm and then again in the evening from 7pm to 11pm with scary games, face painting, spooky dances and buffet! Places to be reserved in advance before the 25th of October.

ONGOING:

• until 8th December 2018: The UN building in Geneva will be open to walk-in visitors on Saturdays until the 8th of December 2018. Join one of their guided tours at 10.30am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm. Walk-in visitors are welcome at 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm, but please arrive early to secure a place. Tickets are 12CHF and 7CHF for children aged 6 to 18. The Visitors’ Service will be closed exceptionally on:
  Monday 22 October 2018 (closed to walk-in visitors and groups)
  Tuesday 23 October 2018 (closed to walk-in visitors only)
  Tuesday 20 November 2018 (closed to walk-in visitors and groups)

 

• until 6th January 2019: “The Art of the Brick” at Geneva Palexpo. A unique exhibition that will impress all those who have played LEGO® at least once in their lifetime. Let yourself be amazed by Nathan Sawaya’s impressive sculptures, such as this T-Rex skeleton of more than 80,000 bricks. The artist explores all the possibilities: poetic installations, tribute to the collections of the great museums, imaginary worlds.

 

• until 6th January 2019: due to its outstanding success and by popular demand, the exhibition “Fourmis la grande exposition” at the Muséum d’histoire naturelle, Genève (1, route de Malagnou) has been extended until the 6th of January 2019! Discover the fascinating, unknown universe of these tiny insects. FREE ENTRY only on the first Sunday of every month.

 

• The permanent exhibition “Noblesse Oblige” at Prangins Castle is a great day-out for the whole family. Take a step back in time with your children to see how a noble Swiss family lived in the 18th century! Find out more about this fantastic family exhibition in our previous post.