Mike's Guide to Geneva

Mike's Mini Guide to Geneva

If and when you book for Geneva, the one thing you will be unable to obtain is a guide book - there are impossible to find, so don't bother looking. I tried everywhere and drew a blank. Rather than trawl the internet, I've done that for you ... the best sites are linked at the bottom. My advice is to print out my guide and this additional guide, which is a collection from the internet, giving more detail than me and some interesting extra snippets.

The Stuff You Need to Know:

Money ..... 1 Swiss franc = about 42p.

Language - French ... despite the claims, many people in this city do NOT speak English, so some basis French would be an advantage.

Getting There & Accommodation - Guess what?? we went with Easyjet from Liverpool. Keep changing the dates on the Easyjet website as prices vary enormously. As a benchmark the cheapest I could get was £120 return (tax, etc inclusive) for 2 of us. Our hotel was booked from this place. Hotel prices vary a lot aswell. The cheapest are around Rue Des Alps and the train station. Be carefull, 3* in Geneva = 2* here. You should get a comfy spacious room for about £30 pppn b&b. Tip 1 ... As we discovered, the area around Rue De Berne is the red light area, but it's not too bad, so only avoid it if you are willing to pay more.

From the Airport - Geneva airport is small and easy to navigate. Follow the signs for the train station within the airport, this will cost you about 6 francs. Taxis are very expensive and should be avoided as they take longer as well. Tip 2 ... Exit the terminal building and go left - as the drop-down area ends you will find a bus-stop for bus 10. Buy a 2 zone ticket ... this is the cheapest, quickest way into the town and involves the least walking. Both the bus and train will drop you off at Place de Cornavin. From here, most hotels in the new town are walkable. If you in the old town, you'll need to get another bus over Pont du Mont-Blanc. Tip 3 ... Before you do anything, nip about 100m down Rue du Mont-Blanc to tourist information and pick up a city map and bus-route map for free.

Getting Around - If you stay in the City centre, you could walk everywhere quite easily. The bus system is very impressive, with lots of bus lanes to speed the journey up. I would suggest buying a 1 day 2-zone ticket which will get you to the Place of Nations and back and then over to the old town and back. Bus 8 is my favourite and seems to go everywhere you need to go.

Eating and drinking - So .... to Geneva's biggest failing .... this place is expensive !!!! Main course are going to cost you £10 minimum - ouch !! A budget no frills meal with drinks will cost you £26-£30 for two. The quality and choice of food however is exceptional. Obviously, due to it's geographic position, there's a heavy French and Italian influence, but you'll also find such delights as Lebanese restaurants. Keep an eye Tip 4 ... Swiss restaurants tend to be cheese and fondue based, so unless you particularly like either, give them a miss. Some places we went to:

The Mexican just off Rue des Alps is very authentic and serves fantastic food and beers (try the enchilada with savory chocolate sauce - wow!)

Lunch on a boat from near the English Garden is very pleasant, and good quality, but works out quite expensive and there is no choice so read the menu before you pay to go on.

The Thai restaurant on Quai du Mont Blanc near the Brunswick Monument is very nice indeed, but a meal here with wine and a soup starter will cost you £80, so make sure it's a special occassion.

Byrets is a Lebanese fast food takeaway, serving some fantastic and different foods. You'll find one near the train station and one on the shopping route I gave you. The equivalent of a 'value meal' will cost you about £6-£7

The Spaghetti Factory on Rue de la Fontaine is one of the cheaper places we found, as are several of the places in this area. The food here is fantastic, and as the names suggest is mostly spaghetti. About £26 for 2 with wine. Well worth a visit, but let down by miserable staff and no air conditioning. Tip 5 ... don't have a starter here, you will be stuffed !!

On Place de Longemalle you'll find some great spots for lunch, especially if the sun is out. Despite the English sea-side name, the Lord Nelson Pub serves top quality lunches, especially salads and ravioli. Lunch with 2-3 large beers will cost you about £30.

Beer - Heavy French influence, mostly 1664 and the like. Very few dark beers/ales. Amstel appears in several places. The local Swiss brew is 'Cardinal' and is OK (and a little cheaper).

Wine - Loads to choose from, but without the cheap prices you'd find over the border in France. Uniquely, there are plenty of nice chilled roses, which you don't find in the UK.

Tip 6 ... The Genevese eat early and don't stay out too late. Walking into a restaurant at 10:30 pm will lead to much looking at watches before you are given a table. Have lunch about 1:30 to avoid the mid-day rush and dining at night at around 9 will avoid the rush and avoid you being turned away.

Stuff to See and Do:

We stayed in the cheaper part of town which is around Rue De Berne and/or Rue Des Alps. A stroll down Rue Des Alps will bring you to the Brunswick Monument (middle) near the right bank. Near by on Rue du Mont-Blanc is the English Church (left). Either here or the Quai du Mont-Blanc (right) is where we first discovered the trees we affectionately called 'Nik-Nak' trees. They are trimmed this way believe it or not and you will see literally hundreds of them.

There is little to see in the new town so most people head straight for the old town, which is on the other side of The Rhone. You'll probably cross over Pont du Mont-Blanc which will bring you to the English Garden. Here you will find the Monument (left) depicting the unity of Switzerland and Geneva, and the famous flower clock (centre). Do take time to stroll around this garden and chill out for a bit. Here you will get the best views of the famous Jet d'eau and you can take a lake cruise or hop on the 'Little Sun Train' which will take you up the right bank (right), with commentary, for 7 francs. Tip 7 ... Take every opportunity to see the Jet d'eau, as it was only turned on for 1 of the 3 days we were there due to the winds.

From the English Garden it is easy to find you way up to these places .. just head towards the Cathedral spires. Place de la Madelaine (left) and the Rue de la Fontaine is where you will find some of the cheaper (!!!! - see later) places to eat. Keep heading up past the fountain in the wall and you will come to the Palace of Justice and The Place du Bourg de Four (right). A trendy place to hang-out (that's why I was there ??), on a nice evening, a drink in the square by the lit fountain is a must. Food's a little expensive here, but the drink isn't too inflated.

Heading through The Place du Bourg de Four will bring you to the Cathedral of St. Peter (left). It's free to enter, but don't miss the archeology dig under it (not free). For 3 francs you can go to the top of the North Tower for the best views of the city (middle). If you now feeling all religious, head back through The Place du Bourg de Four and along Rue des Chaudronniers. Keep going and you'll come to the Museum of Art and History, and from here you can see the Russian Church (right). This is a gorgeous building and the inside (free) is quite fantastic.

Tip 8 ... Most sight seeing is in the old town, and you'll need at least 1½-2 days (starting at 10-11 and including Siesta at about 4-5) to soak it up, without rushing and with stopping for many beers and large/long lunches. If you didn't turn around and head to the Russian Church, you'll head along Rue de l'Hotel de Ville from the Place du Bourg de Four, and end up here (left). This is the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) and is steeped in history. Despite the threatening looking guards you are quite free to go in and poke around. Opposite the Hotel de Ville is the Old Arsenal (5 cannons) (middle). Heading past the cannons will bring you to the Maison Tavel (right) which is near the top of the street named after Geneva's most famous habitant, Rue de John Calvin. If you are like me, and only go in 1 or 2 museums, don't miss this one, if only for the collection of old Geneva photos and the city model in the attic. Tip 9 ... go to the Maison Tavel near the end of your trip, so you can recognise the places in the old photos

Turning left after the Hotel de Ville will take you through the city gates and onto the Promenade de la Treille, with all it's quant history. Going down past the play are will bring you to the Promenade and Parl des Bastions. Here you will find the impressive Monument (wall) of the Reformation (left). The park is the ultimate place to relax and look at monuments of famous scholars (you're near the university). Don't miss the giant chess boards (middle). Heading towards the busier end of the park will bring you to Place de Neuve (right) with the Grand Theatre and Museum. This is also a good place to start a shopping trip (sorry fellas !!). Heading up the Rue de la Corraterie and turning right onto Rue de la Confederation will take you past most of the best shops (so I'm told?)

One trip out of the city centre you must make is to the Palace of Nations (League of Nations place). Tip 10 ... This is one trip for the bus, but don't be fooled into getting off at 'Nations' - go to 'Appia' to avoid a lengthy uphill walk. Worth a quick look around in this area is the Parc de l'Ariana and it's impressive museum building (left) and giant bell. Opposite the Palace of Nations is the Museum of the Red Cross. Suposedly very good, it is quite expensive, and to be honest we weren't that interested. However, it's worth going to the entrance just to see this thought provoking statue (middle). The Place of Nations (right) guided tour is a must during your trip to Geneva. You gain entry to conference rooms and see loads of interesting things for 8½ francs. Tip 11 ... Check the English speaking tour times, as you can't just turn up and go at any time, and for God's sake, remember to take your passport, or you ain't getting in !!

Summary - As always, we took this place at a leisurely pace, and over 3 days I felt we saw most of what there was to see of interest. We missed out many museums due to a lack of interest. This is a lovely, safe, clean and compact city with enough to fill a short city break without dashing around and getting on and off buses and undergrounds. You will enjoy Geneva, although your pocket may disagree!

Links to other sites:

http://www.ville-ge.ch/site99/cartes/e_p9.htm

http://www.cityguide.travel-guides.com/cities/gen/KeyAttractions.asp

http://www.worldroom.com/pages/cg_geneva/fastfacts/gva_fastfacts.phtml#tipping

http://www.geneva-tourism.ch/eng/index.php3

http://www.geneva-guide.ch/