Itinerary for Geneva-6 days

Old Jul 10th, 2014, 04:45 AM
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Itinerary for Geneva-6 days

Dear All,

I am planning a trip to Geneva between 25th July to 31st July. I will be staying in hotel at Geneva. I am visiting with my wife and 19 months old daughter.

Please suggest the itinerary for 6 days which I can follow residing in Geneva.

Also Assist for railway pass which I should take accordingly....Please let me know if I can book activities thru online or on the spot.

Look forward to your expert advice to plan my trip better and get more out of it.

Thanks in Advance...
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 05:52 AM
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Why are you staying in Geneva? A large city many here say they find not so exciting or as dreamy as other parts of Switzerland.

Have you ever been to Switzerland before? If not I'd say go to the Interlaken/Grindelwald Jungfrau Region area and spend the whole time there - land in Geneva maybe spend a day or so there and head to the hills.

the Jungfrau Region fulfills the dreamy picture of Switzerland etched in many folks' minds - glacier girdled peaks soaring thousands of feet above lush cow-dotted meadows - toy-like trains and thrilling aerial cable cars going everywhere.

Anyways just a thought - as for train passes it depends on how much you are traveling - if just in Geneva itself and its immediate area then probably just buying regular tickets would be best - but if taking longer day trips from that base then perhaps the Half-Fare Card or Swiss Pass may be a boon.

Swiss Passes also pass on lake boats such as those on Lake Geneva and postal buses, city transit and give free entry to 470 Swiss museums and sights.

For superb info on Swiss trains and passes, etc. check out these IMO superb sources: www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com.
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 05:57 AM
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https://www.google.com/search?q=jung...w=1455&bih=952

Jungfrau Region - the Switzerland of many folks' dreams.
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 06:00 AM
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Why have you chosen to go to Geneva? Is Geneva part of a longer trip, in Switzerland or elsewhere? If so, where else are you going? And what are your interests?
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Old Jul 10th, 2014, 09:51 AM
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While Geneva has a cute old town and a charming lake - it's not in the Alps and is not a good center for visiting them. (It's primarily a city built around a lot of UN and other international organization offices - not a hotbed of tourism.)

Assuming you are looking for tourist Switz you should head for the Berner Oberland - or one of the other areas with much better proximity to the mountains/scenery that I assume you are going to Switz for.
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Old Jul 11th, 2014, 01:45 AM
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Thanks all...Unfortunately I have booked hotel at Geneva hence has to stay their...Please guide if I can visit interlaken for a day trip and back in evening to Geneva ..also any other destinations I can cover thru day trip. ..how can I book such trips ...look forward to your guidance. .Regards. ..
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Old Jul 11th, 2014, 04:32 AM
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I would see if you can cancel all or part of your reservation in Geneva. There is little to see or do there for 6 days. If you can cancel part of the reservation, spend the remaining time in the Jungfrau region or somewhere that looks like Switzerland.
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Old Jul 11th, 2014, 04:35 AM
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The Jungfrau Region could be visited in one day but it would be a fleeting look over only - would take much of the day getting there - at least into the hills - and back.

You are missing out on what most folks want to see in Switzerland by basing in Geneva.
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Old Jul 11th, 2014, 04:43 AM
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Also I would like to explore city alps and near by village natural beauty. ..Please advise to design itinerary...thanks...
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Old Jul 11th, 2014, 06:31 AM
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the closest Alps would probably be the Jungfrau Region - Interlaken is 2 3/4 hours each way from Geneva and then it takes another 30 minutes or so to get to Grindelwald, a mountain town perched right in the face of awesome glacier-girdled high Alps.

From Grindelwald take trains or cable ways up even farther - so if you want to see the dreamy Alps of your dreams it will take a good 3.5 hours each way by train from Geneva.
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Old Jul 11th, 2014, 07:23 AM
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Hi Visha768,

I think the closest Alps will rather be in France, not in Switzerland. There are busses that connect Geneva with the resorts at Chamonix and Megeve, for instance, in about 2h.

I would recommend you visit these towns along Lake Geneva:

Yvoire (in France, a beautiful flower-decked town)
Lutry (between Lausanne & Vevey)
Morges (between Geneva & Lausanne)
Nyon (a larger town, but has some nice Roman ruins)
Vevey
Montreux (Chillon castle, flowered lakeside promenade)

Have fun as you plan!

s
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Old Jul 11th, 2014, 07:40 AM
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I should have said closest Swiss Alps and yes Chamonix in France also has awesome Alps with glaciers, etc - and a lot closer to Geneva - you can take a train up Mont-Blanc, western Europe's highest mountain peak or the thrilling aerial cable car ride from Pte de Aiguille to Pte Heilbronner in Italy, swinging high above a sea of ice (glacier) - a totally awesome ride right from Chamonix itself.
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Old Jul 11th, 2014, 07:42 AM
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All is not lost by basing yourself in Geneva. While I am not an expert and can not give you an itinerary to follow, I know what I know as my friend is living there and I've visited twice so far. Geneva as a whole doesn't have much for someone who loves to sightsee and shop but I did take day trips both with my friend, she has a car, and by myself. I only book tours as I am terrible with directions especially when I am traveling by myself so here are some suggestions:

Gruyères and Nestle. I went by car but have seen this http://www.goldenpass.ch/goldenpass_chocolate_train it might be a bit expensive but you can look into it.

Chamonix-Mt Blanc. I did this by myself on a tour that I booked from Viator. The tour was expensive.

Annecy. My friend drove me here for lunch so it made for a nice half day trip.

I also found this which you might find helpful http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g1...Day.Trips.html

You can also take the boats on the lake to some towns http://www.cgn.ch/en-GB
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Old Jul 11th, 2014, 07:54 AM
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Thanks all...It provided nice information for my planning...you guys rock. ...Please keep suggesting more tips and plans...also i hope that it will not be issue to take my daughter less than 2 years with me to mountain cities..also please suggest how will be the weather during last week of July. .do I need to carry umbrella...thanks in advance...
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Old Jul 11th, 2014, 08:31 AM
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Really easy day trips by train from Geneva are the towns along Lac Leman. I like Vevey the best, but there is also Lausanne, Montreux and others within about 1-hour ride.

The weather will likely be very nice in July.
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Old Jul 11th, 2014, 09:03 AM
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Near Montreux is the famous Chateau de Chillon, made famous by Lord Byron's sojourn there - right on the lake and near a boat dock or go by bus or foot from Montreux.
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Old Jul 12th, 2014, 04:57 AM
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http://www.goldenpass.ch/goldenpass_chocolate_train

The famous Chocolate Train leaves from Montreux and goes to Gruyeres first - a fine fine walled old town - visits a cheese factory there and then trundles over to the Broc Nestle Chocolate Factory for a Willie Wonkaesque tour then back to Montreux, taking a really scenic route most of the way.

The train uses vintage Art-Deco Pullman cars and serves wine and cheese en route I believe.

Easily done by taking a train from Geneva to Montreux - an hour or less I think.
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Old Jul 12th, 2014, 05:22 AM
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Hi again,

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that taking the Chocolate Train from Montreux is a great idea.

It leaves Montreux at 08.57; that means you have to be on the train that leaves Geneva at either 07.42 or 07.33. I think it will be pretty difficult to get your 19-month-old daughter and yourselves up, dressed, breakfasted, and through town and onto the train by then.

The train does not serve cheese and wine enroute, but it does serve coffee & croissant.

Here is a link to a pdf of the brochure where you can get all this information:

file:///C:/Users/aafes/Downloads/Train_du_Chocolat_2014.pdf

Many of the trains on the Golden Pass route use the same restored Art Deco Pullman cars, so you are not restricted to taking the Chocolate Train if you want to see them.

This is a really easy trip to take on your own. Just take the train from Geneva to Montreux, then hop on any train going to Gruyeres (if you want to catch one of the restored cars, they are indicated on the SBB). This trip takes about 2h from Geneva.

See Gruyeres and the cheese dairy and the sweet village at the top of the hill. Have lunch at Gruyeres. Then take the train to Broc-Fabrique and see the chocolate factory Cailler. Here's the information for that:

http://cailler.ch/en/maison-cailler/visit-us/tarifs/

After seeing Cailler, just take the train back to Montreux.

You can check all the train connections at the Swiss rail site

www.sbb.ch

s
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Old Jul 12th, 2014, 05:38 AM
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It seems a pity to spend almost a week in Switz and not visit any of the mountains. And you need to allow for weather. Perhaps half the time the tops of the mountains are in clouds and there is no point in ascending. You can only go up (and spend the large budget) on days when it is clear - and since Geneva is hours away - by the time you get there the mountain may be socked in.

We had to stay in Interlaken (the valley at the bottom of the Jungfraua) 3 days before there was a clear day at the top then the train up takes a couple of hours, the same back down and 3 hours at the top. From Geneva this would be a 13 hour day on multiple trains (can;t imagine this with a toddler). On the other days we visited Thun, Gruyere, Brienz, the two lakes on steamers and a number of other charming towns.

Strongly suggest you bag Geneva and get into the mountains. Unless you prepaid you prepaid everything you can change whatever you want.
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Old Jul 12th, 2014, 08:21 AM
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Ditto to what nytraveler says - basing in Geneva is a mistake unless you have family or business there - also one of the most expensive cities in Switzerland and thus the world!
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