The chalet placed mid-way between the Chemin de Fer entrance and the Place des Nations entrance is a charming and suprising sight in the Jardin des Nations. I've been curious about it from the moment I first saw it. It's specially beautiful in summer, when surrounded by a riot of colourful flowers, and in winter after a snowfall.
It turns out that the Chalet is an authentic Swiss chalet built on 1668 in the town of Montbovon, in Gruyère. It was transported from there to Geneva in 1896, as part of the "Village Suisse" exhibition on the occasion of the Exposition Nationale Suisse. After the Exposition, the chalet was bought by the Gustave Revilliod Foundation (for 50 Swiss francs, what a bargain!) and installed in the Ariana park. It was Gustave Revilliod who, in his will, had donated the Ariana park to the City of Geneva in 1890.
Here is a picture of the Chalet at the time of the Exposition (picture taken by Geneva photographer Fréderique Boissonnas, part of his souvenir postcard set on the Village Suisse):
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