This Just In ...

In French, "Escalade" refers to an ill-fated attempt to scale Geneva's former walls. On the night of December 11, 1602, the Duke of Savoy tried to seize the city with ladders.

Geneva's Old Town provides the best vantage point. Its narrow, winding streets fill up with revelers singing "CE QU'E LAINO", which commemorates the events of 1602 in old Genevese dialect. Children in Halloween-like costumes roam the local bistros asking for a treat, while members of the "Company of 1602" patrol on horseback in period costumes complete with pikes and lances.

Demonstrations of period armaments take place in the Parc des Bastions. The alarm is sounded at the Cathedral and the fife and drum corps marches on parade. On Sunday, a torchlight procession through darkened streets in the Old Town leads to a bonfire in Cathedral square. One of the surprises of the "Escalade" is the Passage Monetier, open to the public only once a year. This takes visitors along the base of the old fortification walls under the Cathedral, offering a palpable look at Old Geneva. Those who brave the passage at night receive cups of hot wine to ward off the cold.

Another secret is the piping hot soup waiting at the Ancien Arsenal, across from the Hôtel de Ville, more exactly named Mère Royaume's soup. The legend tells that a certain Mère Royaume was concocting a soup when the Savoyard soldiers mistakenly ventured outside her window. She flung the cauldron out the window, killing one enemy soldier and helping to keep Geneva free. Geneva's most charming custom also stems from Mère Royaume. On the night of the 12th, every home has a replica pot made of chocolate, and decorated in Geneva's colors and filled with marzipan vegetables. The custom is for the oldest and youngest to join hands and smash the chocolate pot, at which point everyone rushes for the marzipan.