If you had a choice to spend 1 day, which city would you choose!

Geneva!

I've been to both and I enjoyed both.
For me, it would depend on what sorts of activities you are interested in.

Geneva's lakefront is very pretty but I found Zurich had more to offer (me) in terms of shopping opportunities and museum venues (the kinds of museum offerings that I personally prefer).

If I could only go to one PLACE in Switzerland it wouldn't be either of these cities, however, but again, it is a matter of personal taste. I honestly wish you had time to do both and then you could really decide which you liked better, or that you liked both equally.

Of Geneva and Zurich, I'd choose Zurich. It has a lovely old section between the bahnhofstrasse and the river. I like that city more each time I visit it. J.

I guess it would depend on what you are looking for. Do you want museums? Then choose Zurich? Do you want stunning scenery? Then I would chose Geneva as the lake is much larger and more dramatic and you have a better chance of seeing the Alps on a given day than you do from Zurich. I think that the old town sections on both sides of the river in Zurich are larger and more charming than the old town portion of Geneva, but I live here and may be prejudiced.

It would also depend on where you are coming from. If you are coming from France, then you might enjoy the German flavour of Zurich for a change, and vice versa if you are coming from Germany.

It would also depend on where you are going afterwards; Zurich is an easy train ride down to Como and Milan and even farther points like Florence and Venice. Doing the trip from Geneva would add 2-3 hours to your journey. However, if you are going on to Paris or other parts of France of Spain, then Geneva is probably a better choice.

My personal opinion is that neither is worth only one day, unless you mean to stay in the area for a few days and see the countryside. Otherwise, to do a blitz tour just to say you have "been" to either is not worth it. Spend the day really seeing wherever it is you are coming from. (As the saying goes, I would rather see one cathedral a hundred times than see a hundred cathedrals just once.)

Cicerone,
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Zurich is an easy train ride down to Como and Milan and even farther points like Florence and Venice. Doing the trip from Geneva would add 2-3 hours to your journey.
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Zurich - Milano: 3.36 hours by Cisalpino, 4.26 by InterCity
Geneva - Milano: 3.45 hours by Cisalpino, 4.32 by InterCity.
So between Zurich and Geneva towards Milano, it is hardly a couple of minutes of difference...

Montrealvic,
Your question doesn't tell a lot of the circumstances of your travel, so I just said Geneva, which is my choice.

I can agree with Cicerone in saying that neither is worth only one day, but I should add that I wouldn't visit neither of them if I had only one day.

Mea culpa! I didn't check with SBB.ch before commenting. . .of course the Cisaplino is the superfast train is a little bit dizzying at its speed. . .

I go thru Geneva to get to other places along the lake. Great airport and efficient train station. But it is a HUGE, world-class city, with an international business flare. It strikes me as a "cold" place, not one I would choose to go siteseeing for a single day. Try to be transfered on your job and live for a year, then maybe!

Never been to Zurich so can't compare.

"Zurich is an easy train ride down to Como and Milan and even farther points like Florence and Venice. Doing the trip from Geneva would add 2-3 hours to your journey."

Baldrick, I'm having a heck of a time figuring out how to buy train tickets from Zurich to Lake Como. An award airline ticket will bring us into Zurich airport in the very early morning. We'd like to tour the city, spend the night, and take the train to Lake Como the next morning. I'm going in circles on websites trying to nail down this first part of our itinerary. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

bluesky,
I highlighted cicerone's phrase just to correct his/her incorrect statement on the necessary time to get to milano from geneva.

zurich hb (main train station) to como san giovanni:
dep: 8.32, arr: 12.07, direct train
dep: 9.09, arr: 12.53, should leave at platform 5, direct train
dep: 10.09, arr: 13.53, 1 stopover

check http://www.rail.ch/index_e.htm

Thanks, Baldrick. Is this the "Cisalpino" high speed train? Curious. Also, an recommendations on getting from the train station in Como to Bellagio, and where to stay there? Thanks again.

topping

Bluesky, you might be better off to start your own post, with a good title to indicate what you want to know. (what you want to know has nothing to do with "Geneva vs Zurich&quot...

Geneve is wonderful, but the downtown is mostly banks and high end jewelry stores. Zurich is very "German", but with lots of character and history.
I would opt for Luzern or someplace in the Alps.
M