Geneva City Guide
Geneva city is full of arts, culture and museums with fetes and festivals all year round, so it's no surprising it has been voted one of the best short break locations in Europe.
Many of us arrive at and depart from Geneva International Airport without even giving the city of Geneva itself a second thought. Often mistaken for being the capital of Switzerland (it’s actually Berne!), Geneva is located on the very western end of Lac Léman, often known as Lake Geneva.
Geneva’s city centre, which is actually only 4km away from Geneva airport, is easily accessible. If you thought Switzerland was all about cuckoo clocks, chocolate and secret bank accounts, then think again – Geneva is a multi-cultural and vibrant city that is bursting with culture and history as well!
Geneva is a truly global city, with a number of international organisations present including the World Health Organisation, the Red Cross and the United Nation’s ‘Palais des Nations’, which you can actually visit. No wonder the city is dubbed ‘Peace Capital’.
Even the science geeks get a mention, with the CERN physics laboratory and research centre near Geneva, where English scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented a little old thing they called the World Wide Web.
Flying into Geneva over Lac Léman
The lake is one of the largest in western Europe and the city centre has grown around the point where the River Rhone exits the lake. When you fly in to and out of Geneva Airport, the flight path either takes you over the picturesque Jura mountains, or over the lake. Passing France’s lovely medieval Yvoire, whilst flying along the middle of the lake, is a stunning approach to landing.
If your flight path into the airport does take you over Yvoire, look out for the luxury lake-side villas with private swimming pools and enjoy a sneaky aerial peak of Geneva’s famous landmark the ‘Jet d’Eau’ water fountain that propels water up to 140m in the air over the lake.
Geneva City – a hidden Swiss diamond!
Geneva is quite a hidden gem, with lots of things to see and do if you look hard enough (it’s that Swiss discretion!). The old town (Vieille Ville) high up on the hill is very pretty, with the impressive St Pierre Cathedral and the Place du Bourg de Four with cafes, galleries, restaurants and boutiques.
The area around Bel-Air (behind the busy main bridge called the Pont du Mont Blanc) is very bohemian and cool, with lovely little riverside bars with deck chairs on the river’s edge and music venues like Usine. Similarly, the Planpalais area has a fab multi-cultural market with street food stalls galore, skatepark and playgrounds.
Botanical gardens & museums galore
On the other side of the famous Pont du Mont Blanc bridge, take a lakeside walk past all the posh hotels and you’ll arrive at the lovely Botanical Gardens. Filled with stunning flower and plant displays as you’d expect, it’s also a great place for kids to play and have something to eat in the restaurant. And for costly Geneva it’s great value, as access is free!
Culture vultures will love the likes of the Patek Philippe Museum in the ornate headquarters of this luxury Geneva-based master watchmakers. Modern art is superbly represented with the Musee d’Art Moderne et Contemporain in a very funky industrial-style building. And a great ‘rainy day’ option is a visit to the Musee d’Histoire Naturelle that the kids will absolutely love.
Planes, trains, automobiles..and transfers!
Mountain Drop-offs offers VIP and private transfers to and from Geneva’s main downtown train station (Genève-Cornavin) directly to and from the main French and Swiss Alp resorts.
Alternatively, you can hop on a train to the airport station Genève-Cointrin (they run every 10-15 minutes and take just 8 minutes) and get your usual MDO shared transfer from Geneva Airport. And of course, our transfer service runs all year round.
Travelling by train to Geneva by train from London takes around 6hrs 15mins. It’s Eurostar from St Pancras, then a change at Lille on to a TGV Lyria service, which will bring you straight to the heart of Geneva city centre. When you count how long before your flight you have to be at the airport etc, for many, the train could actually be quicker than flying.
And a word of advice on driving a car in Geneva – there’s no cheap parking in Geneva City Centre and traffic jams at commuting times are legendary. Take the very efficient tram/bus/rail connections and use Mountain Drop-offs to whisk you away to the alpine ski resorts.
So there you have it. On the face of it, Geneva might not be the most exciting city break destination, but dig a little deeper and this discreet lakeside city will open up its world of music, food and culture for you. If you’re booking a winter ski or summer mountain holiday to one of the nearby alpine resorts, why not bolt on a couple of days in Geneva City at the start or end of your stay and let Mountain Drop-offs take you there?
