Given its relative proximity to the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, Lake Geneva has become a popular resort town that thrives on tourism.

"[7] Originally called "Maunk-suck" (Big Foot)" after the man who led the local band of the Potawatomi in the first half of the 19th century,[8] the city was later named Geneva after the town of Geneva, New York,[9] which government surveyor John Brink thought it resembled.

Many of the families built palatial summer homes on the lake, which led it to be nicknamed the "Newport of the West."

Lake Geneva remains a popular summer tourism destination for boating, water sports, and viewing the mansions, which can be seen from the public Geneva Lake Shore Path.

Two historic Lake Geneva mansions are open to the public: the Baker House, built in 1885, now a bed-and-breakfast; and Black Point, the lakefront summer estate built for beer baron Conrad Seipp in 1888 in the nearby town of Linn, now a Wisconsin Historical Society museum.

Other famous residents who built or have owned mansions on Geneva Lake include the Wrigleys, the Schwinns, Otto Young, and Richard Driehaus.

[11] In 1968, Hugh Hefner built his first Playboy resort in Lake Geneva.

[15][16] Lake Geneva was also home to TSR, Inc., the original publisher of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, until its takeover by Wizards of the Coast in 1997.

[17] The city is on the northeast bay of Geneva Lake on relatively flat ground, with some steep hills and bluffs.

The White River flows out of Geneva Lake for 19 miles into Burlington, Wisconsin.

WLKG (96.1 FM) is a hot adult contemporary-formatted radio station licensed to Lake Geneva.

The Chicago & North Western Line to Williams Bay served Lake Geneva until 1975 when Service was cut back to Richmond, Illinois.