Back in the days before smartphones, tablet and the blu-ray, when only grown ups had cellphones, I was dropped off Saturdays in front of the Cinema Bio by my parents, who then lovingly shooed me away, saying ”Scram. We’ll come get you when the movie is over. Don’t pick on your sister.” For them, it was a well deserved break from an insolent brat and for me, a magical experience every time.

Back then, the movie theater was called BIO72. Since then, it closed, almost became a McDonald’s but was valiantly rescued by the citizens of Carouge and reopened under the name Cinema BIO.

It now has a café with a terrace where you can enjoy local beers, delicious Italian sodas and good coffee, surrounded by typical Genevan planetrees.

The Saturday showings for kids are still going strong, and now the adults can take in the smells and sounds of the bustling market on the Place du Marché while their children are at the movies, before going for ice cream at Bellamia.