Geneva is located between the Alps and the Jura Mountains, on the shores of Lake Geneva, on the western side of Switzerland and borders France. Geneva is the second largest city in Switzerland after Zurich.
Get there
You can get to Geneva by plane using Geneva Cointrin International Airport. As Geneva is located on the border with France, its main station, the Cornavin train station, is connected to both the Swiss railway network SBB-CFF-FFS as well as the French network SNCF and TGV trains. Geneva is also connected to the rest of Switzerland and France via the A1 motorway.
Airport transportation to Geneva
Geneva International Airport is three miles from the city center. The train takes you to the city center in six minutes, with departures every 15 minutes. You can download maps and access plans from the airport website. Free shuttle in Geneva tells you how to get to your hotel by train from the airport for free.
Geneva Central Train Station – Gare de Cornavin
The Gare de Cornavin is very central in Geneva, about 400 meters north of the lake. If you are arriving on a SNCF (French) train, you will arrive at platforms 7 and 8, and you will have to go through French and Swiss customs and passport control before leaving the station.
Neighborhoods to visit in Geneva
Carouge , 2 km south of the city center, has been called the “Greenwich Village of Geneva” for its low houses, artists’ studios and cafes in a place developed in the late 1700s, which the King of Sardinia Victor Amideus devised Turinese architects. as a commercial competitor to Geneva and haven for Catholics. It’s worth spending half a day snooping around. Geneva’s Rive Gauche means shopping and banking, plus a view of Mont Blanc from the coast. Old Town is where you head to the market (Place du Bourg-de-Four), cobbled streets, and stark gray stone houses.
Time and weather
Geneva is generally very pleasant in the summer. Expect a little rain if you go in the fall. For detailed historical weather charts and current weather, see Geneva Travel Weather and Climate.
Tourist offices and maps
The main tourist office is located at the central post office at 18 Rue du Mont-Blanc (open Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm) and a smaller one in the municipality of Geneva, located on the Pont de la Machine (open from Monday to noon to 6 pm, Tuesday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm, Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm). Any of the tourist offices can give you a free map and advice on what to see and where to sleep.
You can download various maps of the city of Geneva in printable PDF format from Geneva Tourism.
Places to stay
For a list of the best hotels in Geneva, there are several unique places to stay at any price. If you prefer an apartment or vacation home, HomeAway offers vacation rentals that you may want to visit.
Kitchen
Geneva has many restaurants serving traditional Swiss cuisine, as well as international favorites. Expect to find typical cheese dishes like fondue and raclette, as well as lake fish dishes, smoked sausages, and a variety of casseroles and stews.
Cafe du soleil (www.cafedusoleil.ch) is famous for its fondue.
Those on a budget will want to see: Five Cheap Eats in Geneva.
Geneva tourist attractions
You’ll want to wander around Geneva’s old town ( vielle ville ) to get a feel for what life was like in the 18th century. While you’re there, you’ll want to visit the Saint-Pierre Cathedral on the top of the hill in the heart of Geneva’s old town. Here you can take an underground journey through archaeological excavations to see the remains of the 3rd century BC. Until the moment of the construction of the present cathedral in century XII.
If you are in Geneva at the beginning of August, you cannot miss the Fêtes de Genève (Geneva Festival) on the waterfront, with “music of all kinds, loving mobiles and techno floats on the lake, theater, amusement parks, street performers , food stalls from around the world and a huge display of musical fireworks by the lake.
Not to be missed is Geneva’s main landmark, the Jet d’Eau (water jet) spewing a 140 meter high column of water over Lake Geneva.
In addition to the Archaeological Site of St. Peter’s Cathedral mentioned above, here are some of the best-known museums in Geneva:
- Museum of Art and History: designed at the beginning of the 20th century as an encyclopedic museum, it tries to cover all Western culture, from its origins to the present day.
- International Museum of the Red Cross and Red Crescent – Geneva is the birthplace of the International Red Cross.
- Rath Museum: the first Swiss museum dedicated to the fine arts
- Natural History Museum – The largest natural history museum in Switzerland
- MAMCO – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art offers modern installations, videos, paintings, photographs and sculptures.
- Ariana Museum – the only museum in Switzerland devoted entirely to the construction of kilns – ceramics and glass.
- Conservatory and Botanical Garden – See a collection of 16,000 plant species from around the world along the coast.
- Martin Bodmer Foundation – a private library containing 160,000 documents in 80 languages, among which is one of the few copies of the Gutenberg Bible.
- International Museum of the Reformation: retraces the history of the Reform movement started by John Calvin in Geneva.
See also: Free museums in Geneva.
