Geneva for a weekend
Mar 29th, 2006, 12:37 PM
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Geneva for a weekend
Does anyone have suggestions of "must do" activities in Geneva (we're not wanting to drive to other towns). I will be there in June and am looking for any recommendations!
Mar 29th, 2006, 12:43 PM
#2
Take the train to Vevey and go to the Saturday AM open air farmers market in the town square (5 mins. walk from the train station) which is also right along the beautiful lakeside promonade.
Take a boat ride out of Geneva along the lake.
Take the train to Montreux and go to Chateau de Chillon.
Take a boat ride out of Geneva along the lake.
Take the train to Montreux and go to Chateau de Chillon.
Mar 29th, 2006, 02:05 PM
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In Geneva itself, the cathedral and the old town area around it--not really that much else to see in the city itself, unless you like luxury item shopping, of which there is a lot in the Rue du Rhone area. Outside of Geneva, I agree with the previous posts, but Lausanne is also worth a few hours on the way to or back from Montreux.
Mar 29th, 2006, 06:39 PM
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Geneva is not my favourite town, but for a weekend there are a lot of options. As mentioned above, a lot of people and myself would first recco that you consider a day trip to places down the lake a bit, esp in June when the weather is usually so wonderful and the days are so long that you can fit so much in. First, towns further down the lake have a better aspect on the beautiful Alps which rise more to the south and east of the lake and are not as clearly seen from Geneva. Secondly, the towns here are more charming and interesting than Geneva, IMO. For example, Lausanne ahs a more interesting old town IMO, and Vevey has a market on Saturdays. You can get to all these towns quickly and easily by train or more slowly and very scenically by ferry. You could train down and ferry back or vice versa. Towns to consider are Cully, Vevey, Lausanne, Montreux and the lovely castle past Montreux at Chillon.
You could also just get on a ferry in Geneva and spend a half day or more on the ferry enjoying the beautiful lake and alp views and looking at the little towns without actually getting off the ferry. You can have lunch on board. In any case, on a weekend in June, do yourself a favour and buy a first class ticket. It will be less crowded. Sit upstairs outside, get a beer and enjoy the ride.
From Vevey and Cully, you could get to the wonderful vineyard areas easily for walks and winetastings. Go to http://www.lavaux.ch/ for info on this area, called the Lavaux (the website is in French and German only but if you go to http://www.lavaux.ch/fr/default.htm there is a map you can understand), or to www.lake-geneva-region.ch for info on the region generally. There are some excellent walks in the vineyard areas.
One of the best restaurants in the region is in Cully, the Auberge du Raisin, which would be a great spot for lunch or dinner as the days are so long in June and you could still get back to Geneva in dusk. Go to (http://www.relaischateaux.com/raisin) for info on the restaurant which is in a hotel. Cully is about an hour by train from Geneva. If weather permits, you can actually walk along the lake from Lausanne to Cully, it's part of the Lavaux vineyard walks.
If you decide to stay in Geneva for the whole time, then a walking tour of the old town is of course the first thing you should do, including a visit to the cathedral. Take a look at the "Destinations" guide above, also look at Frommers.com or get a guidebook. Also on Saturdays there is a flea market in the Plainpalais area up the hill from the old town. It is quite large and there is a large variety of stuff on sale. There are several museums, including the Red Cross Museum (I have to confess to not having to been it), take a look at a guidebook or the "Destinations" site above for info. Two museums in or near Geneva you might want to consider are the Foundation Bodmer (rare texts like a Guttenberg Bible, Mozart compositions and just a huge collection of other interesting items) and the Kunsthaus which is the modern art museum, websites are below. I believe that the Petit Palais, a private museum with French modern artists like Picasso, is currently closed, but your hotel may be able to confirm this.
http://www.fondationbodmer.org/
www.centre.ch
I am not a big shopper, but do like wandering the shops around the Rue des Eaux-Vives area which has some antique shops and boutiques. AS noted above, shops are closed on Sundays other than in train stations and airports, so do your shopping on Saturday. Shops generally close around 4-5 pm on Saturdays.
There may be symphony, opera and ballet on offer, take a look at the following websites for information on performances and tickets. The Grand Theatre is a beautiful venue to see any performance in. There are often free classical concerts in churches, check with your hotel, or the website for the Office du Tourisme de Genève at http://www.geneve-tourisme.ch (click on the middle right of the page for English)
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
http://www.osr.ch/en/english.htm (They often perform in Lausanne as well)
Grand Théâtre
http://www.geneveopera.ch/_v2/index.php (French only)
You could also just get on a ferry in Geneva and spend a half day or more on the ferry enjoying the beautiful lake and alp views and looking at the little towns without actually getting off the ferry. You can have lunch on board. In any case, on a weekend in June, do yourself a favour and buy a first class ticket. It will be less crowded. Sit upstairs outside, get a beer and enjoy the ride.
From Vevey and Cully, you could get to the wonderful vineyard areas easily for walks and winetastings. Go to http://www.lavaux.ch/ for info on this area, called the Lavaux (the website is in French and German only but if you go to http://www.lavaux.ch/fr/default.htm there is a map you can understand), or to www.lake-geneva-region.ch for info on the region generally. There are some excellent walks in the vineyard areas.
One of the best restaurants in the region is in Cully, the Auberge du Raisin, which would be a great spot for lunch or dinner as the days are so long in June and you could still get back to Geneva in dusk. Go to (http://www.relaischateaux.com/raisin) for info on the restaurant which is in a hotel. Cully is about an hour by train from Geneva. If weather permits, you can actually walk along the lake from Lausanne to Cully, it's part of the Lavaux vineyard walks.
If you decide to stay in Geneva for the whole time, then a walking tour of the old town is of course the first thing you should do, including a visit to the cathedral. Take a look at the "Destinations" guide above, also look at Frommers.com or get a guidebook. Also on Saturdays there is a flea market in the Plainpalais area up the hill from the old town. It is quite large and there is a large variety of stuff on sale. There are several museums, including the Red Cross Museum (I have to confess to not having to been it), take a look at a guidebook or the "Destinations" site above for info. Two museums in or near Geneva you might want to consider are the Foundation Bodmer (rare texts like a Guttenberg Bible, Mozart compositions and just a huge collection of other interesting items) and the Kunsthaus which is the modern art museum, websites are below. I believe that the Petit Palais, a private museum with French modern artists like Picasso, is currently closed, but your hotel may be able to confirm this.
http://www.fondationbodmer.org/
www.centre.ch
I am not a big shopper, but do like wandering the shops around the Rue des Eaux-Vives area which has some antique shops and boutiques. AS noted above, shops are closed on Sundays other than in train stations and airports, so do your shopping on Saturday. Shops generally close around 4-5 pm on Saturdays.
There may be symphony, opera and ballet on offer, take a look at the following websites for information on performances and tickets. The Grand Theatre is a beautiful venue to see any performance in. There are often free classical concerts in churches, check with your hotel, or the website for the Office du Tourisme de Genève at http://www.geneve-tourisme.ch (click on the middle right of the page for English)
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
http://www.osr.ch/en/english.htm (They often perform in Lausanne as well)
Grand Théâtre
http://www.geneveopera.ch/_v2/index.php (French only)
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