The Salève cable car

Perched atop a massive reinforced concrete bridge, the upper station of the Salève Cable Car is a masterpiece by Swiss architect Maurice Braillard (1879–1965). It is also a key infrastructure providing access to a breathtaking panorama of Geneva and Lake Léman. The rehabilitation, led by Devaux & Devaux Architects, brought together a Franco-Swiss project management team to restore this 20th-century monument protected as a Historic Monument. Completed in 2024, the project realizes a vision conceived nearly a century ago, updating the upper station to meet contemporary needs. The site now accommodates revived and renewed activities such as rock climbing, hiking, and paragliding, including a new 20-meter climbing wall on the station’s west gable. It also offers heritage and environmental interpretation tools, including exhibition spaces. Finally, the restaurant is installed in the panoramic hall, which had remained unfinished when the cable car first opened nearly a century ago. The upper station, spanning almost 2,000 m², had previously left its most significant construction jutting into the void : while the cabin platform, upper terrace, and panoramic restaurant hall were built, the hotel and restaurant access remained inaccessible. They are now fully realized. With its new upper station, the cable car becomes more than just a means of public transport. It offers a total experience, combining mobility, understanding, recreation, and contemplation, showing that rehabilitating heritage is also about living it better. More than an infrastructure, the station becomes a place to inhabit, faithful to the original designers’ intent, now renewed by DDA with the support of an engaged project management team committed to a living heritage.

Press kit upon request