landj

We're staying in Geneva for 5 days visiting family. We will have access to a car. Any suggestions for trips we can during the day- while staying in Geneva? If there is a particular place where we should stay overnight - that's fine too. But we'd prefer to come back to Geneva at the end of each day.

Thanks.

Grasshopper

This is breaking the rules of your question, but my favorite thing to do is to take a boat from Geneva to Montreux and then train back. The boat takes about 5 hours and the train 1 hour. You will see the most incredible scenery from the lake.

By car, visit the area near Vevey and Montreux, up the mountains toward Blonay and Les Pliedes (of course you can do all this by train as well).

swandav2000

Hi landj,

Lucky you -- family in Geneva! I'm jealous!!

Anyway, if you're there in the summer and the place is green, consider going into the vineyards between Lausanne & Vevey. You can head for the town of Chexbres, St Saphorin, or Rivaz. The town of Lutry is also worth a visit!

Be sure to enjoy the flowered lakeside promenade in Montreux.

s

jmw

Hello landj, g & s! Stop in to see the castle of Chillon as you drive toward Montreux. Also think about Nyon and Lausanne using the east coast route and maybe little Yvoire just up toward Thonon (Try to visit early or in the evening to avoid tour busses.) Also lovely Annecy to your south. Like s, I'm quite envious. J.

Ursula

Ivoire (on the French side) is absolutely charming.
You're so right, jmw.

Ursula

PS:
I hope you're not going to be in Geneva the weekend of June 1, when the summit is being held in Evian-les-Bains.
Major disturbances like traffic jams, etc. are going to be very likely and will affect the whole Lake Geneva area.

hike

I'm sure you will get all these ideas from your family in Geneva but :
Lyon : 2-hour drive away (Annecy is on the way.)
Chamonix Mt.Blanc : 1 hour

landj

Thanks everyone. We're going towards the end of May, so I hope the weather is nice. My brother has moved there for 2 years so I'm trying to take advantage. Yes, I feel grateful to have a free place to stay and a beautiful place to visit family!!

suze

(re jmw post above) Actually Chateau de Chillon is just *after* Montreux (and definitely worth a visit!).

Get to Vevey on a Saturday morning EARLY and go to the local farmers market 9-12 that is held in the town square (that is a parking lot during the week). Fantastic! Very local, very colorful, not to mention great stuff to eat!

I also like Lausanne. These towns are all right along Lac Luman within an hour+ or so outside of Geneva. Train or car either one works fine.

And how about Gruyere? There's a cool castle there too. Not as old as Chillon but fun.

You can easily return to Geneva each night from these places.

jmw

landj, you'll have so many choices you won't know where to begin! (Suze, according to my map, Chillon is before Montreux if you're driving from Geneve, no?) The tip about the morning market in Vevey is a great one.

Ursula

jmw, Chillon is definitely after Montreux, when coming from Geneva.

jmw

Well I guess you can tell I don't drive in Switzerland -- I was assuming that one would drive to Chillon via Thonon and Evian. How about this: Chillon is 'south' of Montreux, however you approach it. Sooooo, you folks are saying that to drive to Montreux from Geneve, you go through Lausanne?

Cicerone

I live in Zurich, and have to put in a word about the great Swiss Rail system. You can buy a rail pass for $80 (less for kids I think) and go on virtually all trains, boats and public transport in Switzerland for 30 days. I think your kids would love the Swiss trains, especially the double decker intercity trains. You can also use them on the ferries on all the lakes and on the trams and buses in the cities. Also, there are many car-free places in Switzerland like Zermatt and Frey burg, so the train is really the best way. Two things to remember about driving in Switzerland: parking is really hard to find and expensive, and gas is very expensive. If your brother will be driving, he may know his way around, but otherwise, you will be on your own trying to figure out cities and directions and parking signs all in French or German. I still have trouble figuring out where I can park after a year here. Also, towns like Geneva and Zurich and the smaller villages have many one-way streets or car-free town centers. The rail stations are almost all located right in the center of town where you want to be. You can rent bikes at most train stations (for a small deposit) and bike around as well -- great in May. I would buy a month Rail Pass (you have to buy in the US, can't buy it here) and try to take the train as much as possible. Go to SBB.ch for train schedules.

Zermatt is worth an overnight trip, but is doable in a day. (A long day, about 3 hours by train each way). The other places I have seen recommended on this trip are also good. Can't really beat Zermatt for the experience, though.

swandav2000

jw, Ursula, & Suze,

Clearly, the ONLY way to resolve this debate is to drive it out in person.

I volunteer!!

Ah, if only.

s

mpprh

Hi

with an early start, you could have a day trip to the Mediterranean sea.

Its about 3 and a bit hours each way (3 if you are a beast on the autoroute !).
Leave at 07.00 and .......

why not go to aigues mortes, and see a bit of languedoc ?

details here : http://tlp.netfirms.com/

Bon voyage

Peter

Andre

Landj,

Your brother chose well - IMO Geneva is quite simply the best-located place in the whole world!

My top choices for day trips with a car would be:

1. Drive along Lake Geneva on the Swiss side (Lausanne-Vevey-Montreux) and visit Chillon castle.

2. Gruyere - restored medieval town with a castle and great fondue/raclette.

3. Drive to Chamonix and take the cable car to the Aiguille du Midi or the train to the Mer de Glace (I don't know which of these will be running in May).

4. Drive to Annecy and explore the great old town (Sunday morning market is particularly nice).


BTW, I would NOT follow Peter's suggestion to drive to the Med and back in a day - there is NO way you can make it in 3 hours!

However, a 2-3 day trip to Provence (perfect weather at that time of year!) or Burgundy is definitely an option, as is a cheap flight to Nice on EasyJet (they also get you to Amsterdam, Barcelona and London for next to nothing if you book early).

Or jump on the TGV train and in 3.5 hours you'll be in the center of Paris... unless you'd rather visit Milan and the Lake District in Italy (direct train service to Stresa takes less than 3 hours, to Milan 4 hours).

Zermatt is great for an overnight trip, but the end of May is a little iffy weather-wise. I would hold off booking anything until a few days before you intend to go up there.

Just saw you have only 5 days... maybe you can extend your trip? ;-)

Have a great time!
Andre

suze

I know on the train you go from Geneva, then thru Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux. I am assuming it is the same on the highway. Last summer, out on a boat on the lake at Montreux, we looked in the opposite direction of Geneva down to Chillon.

jmw

OK, I get it. When you folks go to Montreux from Geneve, you take the major highway route via Lausanne, which does indeed place Chillon 'after' Montreux. As a lover of unbeaten tracks, I was visualizing my approach from the south (coming from Evian, St. Gilgolph, and Villeneuve, in which case Chillon is 'before' Montreux. This is beginning to sound like the conversation at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party in Alice, don't you think so? I vote that S' should circumnavigate the entire lake by bike or car and file daily detailed reports. J.

Andre

jmw,

The highway on the Swiss side of the lake is not only better & faster, it's also a much more scenic drive as it takes you through the Lavaux vineyards between Lausanne and Vevey. Of course, you can also go back to Geneva on the French side, thus circling the entire lake.

Andre

jmw

Sounds like a plan, Andre. I have indeed enjoyed the Lavaux region many times. In fact, as s' will testify, the distance between Lausanne and Vevey is one of my favorite places on earth. J.