Hi, we have 4 days spare and was wondering your views on either city. we are not so much into shopping, although markets are fun, just relax, enjoy a different country.
simon

Anywhere but Geneva,

Hi siburger,

Geneva sits in the French part of the country, so it has more French architecture, language, customs, etc. In addition, because of the many international organizations there, it has an international flavor rather than distinctly Swiss.

In addition, the nearest mountains to Geneva are in France -- the French Alps and towns of Chamonix, Megeve etc.

In contrast, Luzern has Germanic architecture, ambiance, and culture, and its mountains are much closer. The scenery is more dramatic, with mountains-spilling-into lakes.

I would head to Luzern -- more dramatic and beautiful scenery, more nearby hikes and walks, lots of history, etc.

Have fun as you plan!

s

There are numerous other possibilities along the shores of Lac Leman besides Geneva.

You may have a look at
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/
http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en

I think swandav2000 put it perfectly. for me Geneva is a nice place to live but to visit Luzern is more appealing for the reasons given by SW and AV2000.

hey thanks for that, good to get feed back.

Lucern is more of a tourist town and has easy access to several major mountains as well as the lake with steamers to very cute mountain villages. And it does have more of the cutesy germanic type architecture.

I happen to love Geneva - but it's a city built around the UN and other international organizations, although there are naturally many things for tourists to do in and around the city.