13 best things to do in Geneva on the lake Geneva, Switzerland
13 best things to do in Geneva
on the lake Geneva, Switzerland
In this post we will tell you about our adventure in Switzerland, that continues with the city of Geneva on the lake. We really liked the views of the city, the lake and the other attractions. It was a nice experience for us to discover such a beautiful city in a sunny day in April…
Table of Contents
Our itinerary from Switzerland written in separate articles from this one: Zurich; Lucerne-Lungern; Interlaken-Lauterbrunnen-Grindelwald; Iseltwald-Spiez-Sarnen; Geneva; Lausanne; Bern; Basel. Discover more of Switzerland with us!
Stay with us to find out what budget you need to plan, where can you stay depending on your budget, where you can eat, shop and how to get here by car, bus or train. We also offer you some valuable advices about how can you save so money as well. We know! Switzerland is expensive but the true travel lovers that like to explore can always find ways to save money, even in Switzerland!
Informations
Geneva is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situated in the south west of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.
Quick Tips
When to travel: Peak tourist months are from May to July, but one can take a trip to Switzerland in any season, depending on their interests.
Language: The official languages are German, Italian, French.
Currency: Swiss Franc (CHF) 1$ =0,9 CHF 1€=1,1 CHF
Food Prices: Meal in a cheap restaurant=23 EUR, Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant=92 EUR
In addition, you can find more information about the visa here.
Things to do
Jet d'Eau Lake Geneva
The Jet d’ eau is a fountain in Geneva on the Lake Geneva with a jet of water up to 140 meters high. It is one of the symbols of the city of Geneva.
St. Peter's Cathedral
St. Peter’s Cathedral is the main Reformed church of the city of Geneva, named after the Apostle Peter, as well as the Église Protestante de Genève. Before the Reformation it was the Cathedral of the Bishop of Geneva.
League of Nations Palace
The Palais des Nations is a building complex built between 1929 and 1938 in Ariana Park in the Swiss city of Geneva, which was the headquarters of this institution from 1933 until the dissolution of the League of Nations in 1946. From the founding of the League of Nations in 1920 until the move to the Palais des Nations, the seat of the League of Nations was located in Geneva’s Palais Wilson, which continued to be used by the League of Nations after 1936 and currently serves as the seat of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Art and History Museum
The Art and History Museum is the largest art museum in Geneva and one of the most important in Switzerland.
Bains des Pâquis
The Bains des Pâquis are a public bathing establishment and a monument on the shores of Lake Geneva. They are named after the district of Les Pâquis in Geneva. An association of users, the “Association des users de Bains des Pâquis” is committed to the preservation of the system.
Musée Ariana
The Musée Ariana is dedicated to ceramic and glass art and includes around 20,000 objects from around seven centuries from around 1300 to the present, which represent the historical, geographical, artistic and technical breadth of glass and ceramic production in this period. since the view of the lake is clear of higher buildings.
Patek Philippe Museum
The guide spoke with passion towards antique watches and the culture around it . She made us understand why the watches were designed in the way they did . For example the salt box was to prevent girls from passing out in corsets and the touch watch was to know the time in the pocket in a boring meeting but still be polite. She also paid attention to the fonts on the watches . We were also lucky yo see an expensive Tulips temporary exhibition . one of them was said to be the value of half of the museum.
L'Horloge Fleurie Jardin Anglais
The garden is situated nearby the lake ,the old town also the great water fountain of Geneva . After visiting this place you can go for shopping in the park.
Conservatoire et Jardin Botanique
A beautiful Botanical Garden with various plant from different parts of the continent. The greenhouse is breathtaking, full of life and it’s an Eden’s garden on its own. You can troll around the park, rest at benches and sip on anything at a nearest restaurant with a kid’s playground nearby incase you are with your little ones. On a beautiful sunny day you can bring your picnic stuffs with and enjoy the park while seating looking at the view of the lake or chilling in the garden while having a cold one with snacks and reading your favorite books or whatever you feel like doing. Trust me the are some peacocks and will make sure that you get the opportunity of seeing them.
Brunswick Monument
The Brunswick Monument is a tomb on the Quai du Mont Blanc in Geneva, built in 1879 by the city of Geneva for Duke Charles II of Brunswick. It is listed as an object of national importance in the Swiss inventory of cultural assets.
Place du Bourg-de-Four
Beautiful square, which was originally the place of cattle market since the 9th century. Two castles where near the square, which don’t exist anymore. The castle of count of Geneva was destroyed in 1320, but it’s main gate was standing bz the square until 1840. The Coudrée castle was standing at the place of today’s Lutheran Church and was demolished in the 18th century. Today an excellent place to stop for a drink.
Basilica Notre-Dame
Notre-Dame de Genève is the main Roman Catholic church in the Swiss city of Geneva in the canton of the same name. It was the city’s second post-Reformation Catholic church and the first new building. The parish church, which today belongs to the diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, was inaugurated in 1954 by Pope Pius XII. elevated to a minor basilica.
Russian Church
The Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross is the cathedral of the Western European Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. The cathedral is located in Geneva on Rue Rodolphe-Toepffer.
Where to stay
A good night’s sleep is particularly important when you are travelling. Geneva offers its guests a host of luxurious, charming and also out-of-the-ordinary accommodation.
Whether in the heart of the city, near the lake or surrounded by nature – Geneva’s hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses guarantee a relaxing and invigorating stay.
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Mid-range hotels : ibis Styles Genève Carouge , Hotel Cristal Design, Chez Maman Hotel & Restaurant.
Budget hotels : Geneva Hostel, ibis budget Genève Petit-Lancy , Hotel Carmen.
Where to eat
Traditional dishes: Alplermagronen is a dish made with pasta, cheese, potatoes, onion and sour cream.
Rosti is one of the most famous dishes of Swiss cuisine, along with raclette and fondue. Each city has its own variant. It is a potato cake that owes its name to the Bernese dialect that with rosti indicated any kind of roast recipe.
Perch fillets à la Muniére– The perch is one of the most popular specialties of Geneva. It is prepared in many versions, the only alla munière is the method for the miller which consists in flouring and browning in butter.
Papet vaudois– The sausage is served with cabbage and a stew of leeks and potatoes.
Longeole is a recipe made with flavored pork sausage and is usually accompanied by gratin thistles, although tradition has it with boiled potatoes and lentils on the side. Many restaurants include it in their menu because it represents a real delicacy. The longeole is the biggest and tastiest sausage in Switzerland.
Perhaps best known as the Kirsh cake of Zug, this dessert is prepared by soaking a cookie in kirsh (cherry liqueur) arranged in two very crumbly disks.
Malakoff are crispy fried balls filled with cheese. Often served with a side of fried or boiled potatoes.
Café Papon- european cuisine
Right in the middle of the Old Town next to the Town Hall, this café-restaurant The menus draw on local, seasonal produce and change every couple of weeks. A well-priced set menu of the day draws in local office workers, as does the quiet and sunny outdoor terrace which leads on to the leafy promenade overlooking pretty Bastions park. Book ahead to get a seat outside.
Chez ma Cousine
Chez Ma Cousine takes one rather tasty thing – spit-roasted chicken – and serves you half the bird with Provençal potatoes, dressed salad and a delicious gravy, for one extremely reasonable price. Salads and other variations also feature on the limited menu, but it’s essentially all chicken-based.
There are just three options on the menu – hamburger, cheeseburger and bacon cheeseburger – and the focus is on the meat – juicy, succulent and cooked medium rare, unless you specify otherwise. A bit of ketchup, lettuce, tomato and pickles, with fries and coleslaw on the side, and that’s your lot – a burger, straight up.
Le Reservoir- italian cuisine
Attached to the Café de la Presse and under the same ownership, this smart brasserie and wine bar offers a menu of Mediterranean cuisine with an Italian bias. Tuck into melon and parma ham, tagliolini nero vongole and asparagus risotto, or fish and meat dishes with local flavour, such as fish from Lake Geneva and beef tartar. For dessert, dishes featuring local Gruyère cream crop up alongside Italian classics.
That could mean a fish dish with ginger, pak choi and confit tomatoes, for example, or a Kashmiri chicken curry with mango chutney and raita. Pleasingly, there’s plenty of Swissness in the dessert menu, which includes a scrumptious meringue with raspberries and double cream, and rösti pops up from time to time on the mid-priced two-course daily set menu.
Brasserie Lipp- french cuisine
The vast menu focuses both on French brasserie classics and Swiss specialities, including choucroute, confit duck, cassoulet, steaks, moules frites and other seafood dishes. It’s consumed in a traditional Parisian setting – all chandeliers, brass fittings, ornate mirrors and ersatz foliage – while in summer the large outdoor terrace is an additional draw.
La Buvette des Bains- swiss cuisine
Barbershop
Les Armures-fondue, swiss cuisine
The main reason to visit this hotel restaurant is for fondue. Besides fondue, they also do raclette, dried meat platters and perch plucked from the lake.
Le Gruyérien– swiss cuisine, fondue
Saving Tips
Enjoy unlimited access by public train, bus, and boat to visit more than 41 cities, reach peaks of many mountains, and sail through beautiful lakes in Switzerland with the Swiss Travel Pass. In our opinion, this is the best way to save money on transport, if you do not visit Switzerland by car or decide not to rent a car. Just check the prices for train or bus ticket and you will see that buying them separately for every new destination it would be more expensive then the Swiss Travel Pass.
Free Ticket: On arrival to Geneva by the plane, at the airport you can claim a free Unireso ticket for 80 minutes for public transport in Zone 10 – Tout Geneve (central Geneva area, including Airport and most hotels). The ticket machine for free tickets is located at the baggage reclaim hall. You will need to provide a valid plane ticket in case of being controlled by the ticket inspection.
Free Transport Pass
By staying in hotel, youth hostel or at a campsite, you are entitled to receive a personal and non transferable Geneva Transport Card for free, which will allow you to use the whole public transportation system of Geneva for the length of your stay for free. This includes buses, trams, trains, and yellow taxi-boats – Mouettes. Just ask for it upon arrival on the reception.
Free ticket at the airport
To get from the Geneva Airport to your place of stay, use free 80 minute ticket given freely to any traveler at the airport.
Tips for low-cost travel
On Saturdays and Sundays, a “full price” day pass is valid for two people travelling together!
The CFF “Junior” pass (CHF 30 per year) or “accompanied child” pass enables a child aged between 6 and 16 to travel free of charge with one parent. This pass is also valid across the unireso network.
Free Sights
Many of Geneva’s major museums, including Maison Tavel and the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire allow free entrance and charge only for temporary exhibits. Others offer free admission on a certain day of the month (check museum sites when planning your visit). Still others, like the Musée de Carouge and the Natural History Museum are free at all times.
Many of the city’s best-known attractions, like the iconic Jet d’ eau and the Catheédrale Saint-Pierre can be visited gratis. Also free are the city’s many gardens and public spaces, including the lush Jardin Anglais (home to the fragrant and famous floral clock) and the waterfront Quai du Mont-Blanc.
There’s also a Geneva City Pass that you can purchase for 1, 2 or 3 days. It includes free public transport and free or discounted attractions:
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Shopping
Most retail stores are open throughout the day, however many service shops close for lunch between 12:00 and 14:00 during the week. Most stores, including grocery stores, do not stay open past 19:00 on weekdays, past 18:00 on Saturdays and are closed on Sundays, so plan wisely to avoid frustration.
Shops open on Sunday
Open Monday-Sunday are Migros at the Airport and Migros at Gare Cornavin . Smaller selection of foods and groceries is to be found at Migrolino’s gas stations. If You want to do a serious shopping on Sunday, head to French towns across the borders such as Annemasse, Thoiry or Ferney-Voltaire, where supermarkets stay open on Sunday until 12h00.
Watches
Geneva’s watch industry dates back to mid 1600’s and Geneva remains a world leader with many top brand watchmakers located right in the city: Expace Temps, Bucherer, Franck Muller, Patek Phillippe, Swatch, Piaget, Gallopin, Orfeo by Christ, Zbinden.
Chocolate
Geneva is a chocolate lover’s paradise. You need only skip off to the local grocery store to find a delectable assortment of Swiss morsels. For the ultimate experience check out one of the many decorative specialty shops featuring everything from truffles to chocolate stuffed pastries and fruits: Auer- Famous for almond chocolate, Coop City, Christian Constant,Arn Chocolatierie, Cartier Patisserie Confiserie Chocolaterie, Rohr.
Souvenir Shops: Bucherer, Cadho,Badec S.A., Consul,Molard Souvenirs.
Clothing – Fashion is king in Geneva and there is no shortage of places to check out the latest threads from around the world. Stop into one of many the clothing boutiques in the city center for a one of a kind piece or head to Plainpalais or the Paquis for second hand retro wear.
Bon Génie – 7 floors of fancy fashionable clothes of high aspiration.
Shopping Streets and Areas: City Center, Rue du Mont Blanc, The Old Town , Rue des Paquis.
Department Stores and Malls: Centre Balexert, Manor Department Store, Confederation Centre Shopping Mall, Globus Department Store, Planete Charmilles
Transport
Geneva Public Transport network is named UNIRESO. It is an interconnected system of trams, buses (TPG), mouettes (yello transport boats) and trains (CFF) in a city of Geneva. The whole system use the same tickets:
Léman Express – CEVA
From 15 December 2019, the Léman Express will operate on the new CEVA line (Cornavin–Eaux-Vives–Annemasse line) connecting 45 stations across a distance of 230 km. UNIRESO tickets and passes are valid, except to and from Bellegarde.
RER
The regional express network (RER) serves the surrounding municipalities, in particular on the northern shore, from Versoix to la Plaine, with a “Tout Genève” unireso travel ticket.
CFF lines
Outside the regional network, the train offers a quick means of travel between Geneva and other Swiss cities. The City of Geneva provides its inhabitants with CFF day passes at reduced rates.
Buses and trams
A large number of bus and tram lines managed by Transports publics genevois (TPG) allow users to travel around the entire territory.
Noctambus
On Friday and Saturday evenings, the Noctambus service operates between the city centre and the surrounding areas from midnight to 5 a.m.
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Getting here
Geneva airport, located 4 kilometers from the city is easily reachable by public transport: train and bus; taxi or shuttle. Train journey between the Airport and central railway station in the city (Gare Cornavin) takes 6 minutes, bus to downtown takes about 20 minutes. Gare Cornavin is then a hub for public transport, from where you can catch a tram or train anywhere.
Regular Ticket: You can use single UNIRESO Zone 10 ticket to get to/from the Airport, valid also for a train! Ticket costs for 60 minute journey is CHF 3.00, as Geneva Airport still belongs to Zone 10.
Train: Train departures every 12 to 20 minutes from the Geneva Airport to Gare Cornavin Central Railway Station (and vice versa). One way takes 6 minutes. From Gare Cornavin You can catch a bus/tram practically anywhere.
First train from Geneva to GVA Airport goes at 4:43 am and the last one at 0:07.
First train from GVA Airport to Geneva goes at 5:07 and last train goes at 0:51.
Bus: City buses connecting Airport with Geneva stop at the Geneva Airport every 9 to 15 minutes. Buses are good option is you cannot take a train. Buses 5 and 10 will drive you to Gare Routiere train station or Bel-Air in 12 – 18 minutes.
Zurich Airport (ZRH) also offers relatively easy access to the city as well. For most passengers arriving at Zürich, taking the train or driving will probably be a faster and cheaper option than catching a connecting flight to Geneva Airport. Zurich You can also fly to Basel or Bern.
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Getting to Geneva by train
It’s easy to get to Geneva from major Swiss and European cities thanks to the high-speed rail infrastructure in central and Western Europe. Below you’ll find some of the most popular routes to Geneva, including journey times and train operating companies.
London to Geneva 6h 34m Eurostar, TGV Lyria
Paris to Geneva 3h 11m TGV Lyria
Zurich to Geneva 2h 44m SBB
Milan to Geneva 4h 01m Eurocity
Lyon to Geneva 1h 57 m SNCF, TGV Lyria
Lausanne to Geneva 36 m SBB
Annecy to Geneva 1h 28m SNCF
Geneva is located at the intersection of major highways allowing for fast traveling times to other parts of Switzerland and nearby France. Autoroute A1 runs from Genève past Geneva Airport, Nyon, Lausanne, Bern, Zurich, and beyond. Bus companies offer bus trips to Zurich. With Busbud you travel cheaply from Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Milan, Turin, Rome, Vienna, Paris, Zagreb, Bratislava, Prague and other cities to Geneva.
