Taking advantage of cheap travel from Scotland, a friend and I recently traveled to Geneva for the weekend! When I was planning for Switzerland, I imagined snowcapped buildings and chilly weather, but it was actually in the 60s (Fahrenheit) when we were in Geneva! Despite the warm weather, Geneva was as amazing as I thought it would be! Our preparedness also could have added to the success of the trip. My friend and I planned much more for Geneva than for Brussels which allowed us to see almost everything we wanted to. Some of our initial planning for the weekend trip included buying the two-day Geneva Pass for around thirty pounds which gave us free access to an array of attractions, discounts on certain attractions, as well as free public transport, though our passes were never checked on the buses or trams. We just got on and off without scanning or showing anything. We used the bus and tram network constantly throughout the weekend and I found it very straightforward and easy to understand. Though no one every verified our pass, it was reassuring to have, and the Geneva Pass was worth the money spent for the ease it gave us in visiting attractions.
We flew out of Edinburgh Friday night and didn’t get to our Airbnb in Geneva until around 10pm so we did not do any sight-seeing then. We were very happy with our Airbnb as it was in a great location and so beautifully decorated! After walking the streets for an open restaurant for food (and failing to find any) we stopped at a Dominos and brought back garlic bread to eat while we decided on what we were going to see for Saturday.
Saturday
We woke up around 8 and left the flat around 9 to catch a bus headed to the Mount Saleve Cable Car. Knowing that it was a good distance away from the city center, we decided it would be best to start with the cable car and sort of “get it out of the way” (in a positive sense). The building for the cable car was actually in France! Our bus stopped at the edge of the Swiss border and we walk over to France to the cable car. Surprisingly though there was not any defining feature designating the border. We knew we were in France by looking at Google Maps which had the border defined. The weather that day was predicted as rainy which created a huge fog cloud around the mountain which actually worked in our favor. After using our Geneva pass to get tickets for the cable car, us and a few other visitors boarded the car and took a very quick ride (about 5 minutes) to the top of a mountain through the clouds. At one point we were in a sea of white which was very cool and freaky at the same time. After a couple minutes though, we moved above the clouds which gave us a spectacular view. It looked almost heaven like with the clouds blanketing the city.
At the top of the mountain was a restaurant which was closed since it was so early. Instead we got some delicious food at a little hut/stand. We walked around a bit on the mountain and even got to see some of the snowy Alps from far away. After taking a ton of photos, we rode the cable car back down and took the same bus to the city center. Once we returned to Geneva, we started tackling our list for the day. We first went to Lake Geneva, where we found the Brunswick Monument, a is a mausoleum for Charles II, Duke of Brunswick. He bequeathed his fortune to the city of Geneva in exchange for a monument to be built in his name. He wanted it designed as a replica of the Scaliger Tombs in Verona, Italy.
After the monument, we walked to L'horloge Fleurie (the iconic flower clock) in the Jardin Anglais Park. Since Geneva is known for its watch industry the flower clock has become a popular attraction. The plants change with the seasons and it actually keeps the correct time!
From the Jardin Anglais, we walked through Place du Bourg de Four, a shopping center, to get to the St. Pierre Cathedral. The Cathedral remined me of St. Catherine’s Cathedral in Brussels. It was absolutely stunning and had a huge organ above the doorway. The exterior of the Cathedral was also beautiful, and we even got to hear the bells chime. I would have loved to attend a service there.
By this point we were very hungry and jumped at the first sight of food, which was fondue! We ate at the Restaurant Le Flore and ordered one serving of cheese fondue to share since it was so big! We also ordered wine to drink since we were feeling very French. We found Geneva to be very French since it is so close to the France border. We didn’t really have a problem communicating with people though. Most people we came across spoke French and English. The fondue, which is very popular in Geneva, came with Italian bread funny enough instead of a baguette.
We were stuffed by the time we finished the pot. To walk off our meal, we visited the Reformation Wall next. The actual name for it is The International Monument to the Reformation. It honors the main people, events, and documents of the Protestant Reformation. The detailed carvings were so intricate and amazing. The Reformation Wall was in the Parc des Bastions, a community park which had giant chessboards that many people were playing with.
Afterwards, we walked back to the waterfront to get a macaron at the famous Laduree bakery (Gossip Girl fans will know this name). After eating a very expensive macaron, we stopped by the Favager chocolate shop. A couple other travelers we came across recommended this shop for their chocolate tasting deal (a cup of coffee and six chocolates of your choice for 10 euros). We were so glad for the advice since the chocolate tasted amazing! They were also selling very affordable chocolate bars and boxes as well compared to a few very expensive chocolate shops we came across earlier.
Once we cleaned our plates of the chocolate, we headed to the Bel Air bus stop to get to the Nations stop, for the Broken Chair and Palace of Nations. We decided to do it on Saturday since, much to our disappointment, the Palace of Nations is only opened from Monday to Friday. Since Nations is so far from the city center, we decided to visit on Saturday, even though it was getting dark, to give us plenty of time to explore the city center more on Sunday. The Broken Chair sculpture symbolizes the fight to prevent armed violence against civilians during conflict. It stands right in front of the Palace of Nations, the home of the United Nations Office. There is a path way lined with all the flags apart of the United Nations leading up to the building (we spotted the American flag in the rows). This was our last stop for the day before heading back to our Airbnb to rest up for another day of sight-seeing.
Sunday
We left the Airbnb around nine on Sunday morning to do a little souvenir shopping and to get breakfast. We took a bus back to the waterfront near the Brunswick monument because we came across a few cafes and shops the day before that we didn’t have time to stop at. Since it was Sunday though, barely anything was opened before 10am. We got lucky with a small café a short walk away from the water where I got a coffee and quiche. I ordered a latte but apparently a latte in French is just steamed milk. The server was nice enough to make me a new drink with coffee in it. Once our hunger was appeased, we came across an open souvenir shop and bought a few items. By this time, we planned on catching a mini train tour of the city (included with our Geneva Pass) but we quickly discovered that Sunday was a Memorial Day for World War 1. All the tours were either canceled or postponed for a parade along waterfront. Though we were disappointed on having to miss the tour, the parade was very interesting to watch as it included people of the army, navy, air force, police force, and even young cadets! They were all dressed in their formal uniforms and a band was playing a marching tune.
Since we had some time to kill from not going on the tour, we explored a lighthouse at Lake Geneva which is actually a public swimming area. There were many people swimming in lanes running horizontal to the lighthouse path since the weather was so warm.
After walking much of the waterfront (by the way the water was so incredibly clear which was so surprising for a city), we headed back to the Airbnb for our bags since we had an early departing flight. With our carryon luggage, we traveled to Nations again to take pictures of the Palace of Nations and the Broken chair in the day light.
We also went through the Red Cross museum, which is just a short walk from the UN building. Tickets for the museum was included with the Geneva pass. Though the museum exhibition was smaller than I thought it would be, I found it extremely interesting and included important moments of history not to be forgotten. The museum was separated into three sections detailing the focus of Red Cross aide: Reducing Natural Risks, Restoring Family Links and Defending Human Dignity. We were given an audio guide (available in different languages) to direct us through the information and displays.
After about an hour in the museum, we went to the nearest bus stop to head to the airport (which was only 15-20 minutes away). We were upset to discover the infrequency of the bus headed to the airport. After waiting almost half an hour (cutting it very close), we rushed to the airport and went through security as fast as possible. By the time we were through, our gate number was released. We were taking EasyJet which releases the gate only about 20-30 minutes before departure (Ryanair does the same thing). It was perfect timing, so we thought. We went looking for our gate and found we had to go through Customs to get to our boarding line. The Customs line was extremely long, so we were terrified of missing our flight. We got ahold of a passing worker and told him our problem. After talking to a Customs person, he came back to allow us to go through early. We were just about to pass the line when another group bombarded the worker about the same problem. About 70% of the people on our flight were in the same customs line as us stressing about missing the flight. Once the worker realized we weren’t the only ones cutting it close, he didn’t let us go through early. We made it to the plane as it was boarding but it really isn’t a good system to release the gate so late when it takes at least half an hour to pass Customs. Our stress was for nothing in the end and we returned to Edinburgh in good time.
Geneva was unexpected in many ways. Though we were only there for a short period of time, I loved the trip. Someday, I would love to explore more of Switzerland and the Swiss Alps!
Wishing you warm drinks and new adventures,
Maria
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