Beginners welcome
Lazyboys Track Club
Sports center Bout-du-Monde
Thursday 07:00
price on the page
checked 2026-10-20
The numbers we can source. Alcohol Change UK, the charity behind Dry January, reports 215,000 participants in 2024 and 200,000 in 2025 on its own campaign page; sign-up for 2027 had not been announced when we checked on 20 October 2026. That counts people who signed up with the charity, not everyone who skips a drink in January. Alcohol Change UK ↗
This page only adds a view. Bars, pubs and every other listing stay exactly where they are on Come Alone. Dry January, Damp January (drinking less) or neither: all fine.
A month
One regular thing a week, built from what exists
A suggestion, not a schedule: the first listing of each kind below. Check the official page for the January dates.
- Fri 1 – Sun 3 Jan. Run club: Lazyboys Track Club — Thursday 07:00
- Week of 4 Jan. Game night or quiz: Joca soirées jeux (Ludothèque des Eaux-Vives) — roughly twice monthly, Fridays 20h
- Week of 11 Jan. Language café: Geneva Language Exchange (Meetup events) — Thursday (event 22 Oct 2026) 19:30
- Week of 18 Jan. Sauna social: Bains des Paquis - sauna, hammam and Turkish bath (winter season) — drop-in
- Week of 25 Jan. Library or book club: Lunchtime talk in English by illustrator Anna Haas, Geneva library (14 Jan, 12:15)
Run clubs
Run clubs in Geneva
Run clubs and walking groups: the drink, if any, comes after. Check the official page before you go.
Beginners welcome
Not-So-Fast Run Club
Fontaine du Jardin Anglais (Social Sat); 995 Concept for Community Night
Saturday (+ last Thursday of month, Sunday long run) 10:00 (Sat); 19:00 (Thu community night)
free
checked 2026-10-20
Game nights, chess and quizzes
Game nights, chess and quizzes in Geneva
The game is the point; a pub quiz is still a pub, and an alcohol-free drink is a normal order there. Check the official page before you go.
Beginners welcome
Joca soirées jeux (Ludothèque des Eaux-Vives)
27 rue du Nant à Genève
roughly twice monthly, Fridays 20h
Free
checked 2026-10-19
Beginners welcome
The Woodward Bar 37 backgammon night (Geneva Backgammon Society)
37 Quai Wilson, 1201 Genève, Suisse
monthly (next Wednesday) Début à 19 h
None listed
checked 2026-10-19
Language cafés
Language cafés in Geneva
Talk, practise a language, go home early. Check the official page before you go.
Languages: multi/fr/en
Geneva Language Exchange (Meetup events)
Casa Tiki
Thursday (event 22 Oct 2026) 19:30
checked 2026-10-19
Languages: fr/multi Meets in a pub or bar: soft drinks are fine
Practice French Geneva - French conversation Sunday
Ruby Claire Hotel Bar (7th floor)
Sunday 18:00-20:00
Free
checked 2026-10-19
Sauna socials
Sauna socials in Geneva
Heat, cold plunge and tea. Alcohol-free is tagged where the page says so. Check the official page before you go.
Bains des Paquis - sauna, hammam and Turkish bath (winter season)
Quai du Mont-Blanc 30, 1201 Genève
drop-in
CHF 22 (CHF 15 Mondays)
checked 2026-10-20
Libraries and book clubs, January 2027
Libraries and book clubs, January 2027 in Geneva
Dated events from the feed, 1–31 January 2027. Check the official page before you go.
Thu14Jan
Free12:15–13:00
Lunchtime talk in English by illustrator Anna Haas, Geneva library
Bibliothèque de Genève
A free lunchtime talk in English at the city's historic library in the Parc des Bastions. Fribourg-based Anna Haas, trained in the Netherlands and Lucerne and winner of international awards, shows a body of work where illustration, editorial design, visual identities and digital projects meet, and talks about teaching and starting cultural projects. About 45 minutes, followed by an exchange with the audience; free entry while seats last. «Anna Haas» Starts 12:15, ends about 13:00. Source: OpenAgenda — Bibliothèque de Genève (open data).
Fri15Jan
Free12:15–13:15
Free Lunchtime Tour: The Geneva Library Through the Centuries
Bibliothèque de Genève
Cultural mediator Tiffany Sarre leads an hour-long tour of the Geneva Library at the Bastions, tracing its history from its founding in 1559 to its missions today. The tour is free and in French, with no registration needed. Guided groups make it easy to chat with fellow visitors.
Fri22Jan
Free19:30–22:30
Free Board Game Evening at the Petit-Saconnex Toy Library, Geneva
Ludothèque du Petit-Saconnex
The Petit-Saconnex toy library sets out a varied selection of board games for an evening of play, with librarians on hand to explain the rules and a few snacks. It is free with no registration. The organisers expressly invite people to come alone as well as with friends, so finding a table to join is easy.
Fri29Jan
Free20:00–22:30
Board-Game Night for 16+ at Ludothèque 1-2-3 Planète, Geneva
Ludothèque 1-2-3… Planète!
The toy library hosts five evening game nights a season for teens over 16 and adults, with staff presenting new releases and classics from the collection. Players of every level are welcome and entry is free. Games tables bring strangers together within minutes.
Sat30Jan
Free10:00–12:00
Winter birds of the Eaux-Vives lagoon: a guided walk, Geneva
Bibliothèque des Eaux-Vives (meeting point)
Laurent Vallotton, ornithologist at Geneva's natural history museum, leads a two-hour walk to the lagoon by the Eaux-Vives beach, an artificial biotope where nature has taken over and which has become an important wintering ground for ducks, grebes and other waterbirds. Expect surprises and feathers of all kinds, and bring binoculars if you have them. Meet in front of the Eaux-Vives library on rue Sillem. Organised with the Muséum d'histoire naturelle. Free, all ages from 10; dress warmly. «Oh ! Les oiseaux : les hivernants de la lagune - Une balade ornitho pour en savoir plus sur les oiseaux d'ici et d'ailleurs» Starts 10:00, ends about 12:00. Source: OpenAgenda — Coolturalia (open data).
Sat30Jan
Free17:15–19:00
«Persepolis» screening at the Servette library, Geneva
Bibliothèque de la Servette
Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's animated adaptation of her graphic novel: Tehran 1978, eight-year-old Marjane watches the revolution and the fall of the Shah, then the Islamic Republic and the war with Iraq, until her parents send her to Vienna, where at fourteen she lives a second revolution of adolescence, freedom, love, exile and loneliness. Jury Prize at Cannes in 2007. Shown in French at the Servette municipal library, a short tram ride north of the station. Free, no booking, from age 10. «Persepolis de Marjane Satrapi et Vincent Paronnaud (2007)» Starts 17:15, ends about 19:00. Source: OpenAgenda — Coolturalia (open data).
Three phrases
What to say at the bar
Pubs and bars are still on the map; this is how to be at one and not drink. For more phrases for a specific evening, try First Phrases ↗.
| EN | ES | FR | DE | IT | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Something alcohol-free, please. | Algo sin alcohol, por favor. | Quelque chose sans alcool, s’il vous plaît. | Etwas Alkoholfreies, bitte. | Qualcosa di analcolico, per favore. | Algo sem álcool, por favor. |
| I’m not drinking tonight, but I’m in. | Esta noche no bebo, pero me apunto. | Ce soir je ne bois pas, mais je suis partant(e). | Ich trinke heute nichts, bin aber dabei. | Stasera non bevo, ma ci sono. | Hoje não bebo, mas alinho. |
| Do you have anything without alcohol? | ¿Tenéis algo sin alcohol? | Vous avez des boissons sans alcool ? | Habt ihr etwas ohne Alkohol? | Avete qualcosa di analcolico? | Têm algo sem álcool? |
How it works
A month of evenings out in Geneva: how it works
- Pick one regular thing a week, such as a run club on Wednesday or a game night on Friday. A fixed slot is easier to keep than a plan.
- Open the official page and check the date, time and price; January schedules shift after the holidays.
- Open Meet & Mint to see who else is going and say hi in the event chat. Many of the events on our sites are also in the app.
- Order what you like. Use the phrases above if it helps; nobody at a quiz or a run-club coffee is counting.
Questions people ask
Where can I go in Geneva in January without drinking?
We list 13 options in Geneva: run clubs, game nights, chess and quizzes, language cafés, sauna socials, library and book-club events. Each is from a page we checked, with the date we checked it.
Are there alcohol-free events in Geneva?
No listing in Geneva carries an alcohol tag from the organiser, but the formats here are about the activity, not the drink. Where there is no tag, the page does not say.
Do you hide bars and pubs?
No. This section only highlights alcohol-free and alcohol-optional options. Bars and pubs stay in every other listing on Come Alone.
How current is the Geneva list?
Each card shows the date we checked it; library and book-club events come from the feed for 1–31 January 2027 and fill in 2–6 weeks ahead. Always confirm on the official page.
More in Geneva: Run clubs · Game nights · Sauna socials · Libraries · Book clubs
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Meet & Mint
See who's going, then go together
Meet & Mint shows events and people near you on one map. Join an event alone, chat with the group, meet at the door. Free on iPhone and Android.