Geneva

Introduction

Geneva City Centre

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Geneva is a hub of NGOs and the United Nations, but it's just as interesting for travellers as it is for diplomats. Set in the far southwester corner of Switzerland, Geneva is within easy distance of the Alps. The city itself offers a range of unique attractions, from the lake that feeds the Rhine River to the Jet d'Eau, the world's tallest water fountain.
Geneva is Switzerland's second-largest city in terms of population, after Zürich.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• Jet d'Eau - Jet d'Eau is an impressive water fountain pumping water 140 metres high. It's a free attraction that is open from 10:00am to 11:00pm every day, year-round. It is also one of the city's most photographed sights.
• International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum

Events and Festivals

• Fete de Geneve - The festival 'Fete de Geneve' takes place along the lake in August every year with musics, bands, processions and fireworks etc. It is a week long festival which is attended by people from all over the world. It is difficult to find a place in hotel during this week.

Weather

Geneva has warm summers and moderately cold winters. Temperatures from June to September are between 21 and 25 °C, winters from December to March are above zero during the day, around -3 °C at night. 36 °C and -18 °C are the absolute high and low. Precipitation is quite evenly distributed throughout the year though summers are somewhat wetter with sometimes heavy showers and thunderstorms. Winters have some snowfall.

Getting There

By Plane

Geneva International Airport (GVA) is the main gateway. Dozens of airlines serve cities in Europe and further away. Lowcost airline Easyjet has many flights to/from Ajaccio, Alicante, Amsterdam, Asturias, Barcelona, Bastia, Belfast, Berlin, Birmingham, Bordeaux, Bournemouth, Bristol, Brussels, Budapest, Cagliari, Copenhagen, Dubrovnik, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ibiza, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Lisbon, Liverpool, London, Madrid, Málaga, Manchester, Marrakech, Nantes, Naples, Newcastle, Nice, Olbia, Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Porto, Rome, Sharm el Sheikh, Split, Stockholm and Toulouse. Some of them are seasonal only. Many other airlines mainly serve European destinations (as far away as Moscow and Reykjavik.
Cities further away include Montreal, Toronto, Algiers, Mauritius, New York, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Kuwait, Tehran, Beirut, Amman, Riyadh, several places in Tunisia and Morocco, and Tashkent.

To/from the airport
Note: Before passing through customs, a machine dispenses free 80-minute tickets for Transports Publics Genevois, which are valid for both the city buses and trains to Geneva.

• Rail: There is a railway station with trains to Geneva-Cornavin station, and other cities in Switzerland. Check the Swiss Federal Railways website. There are also direct trains to Paris, Marseille and Montepellier]] with the SNCF network of France.
• Bus: There are local buses that stop at the airport. There are also buses to and from Annecy, France, and also seasonal buses to ski resorts like Chamonix in France and ski resorts in Switzerland.
• Car: taxis are available but expensive and not worth the money. Rental car facilities are available as well.

By Train

Swiss Federal Railways operates trains across the country to/from Geneva.

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman (CGN) has boats to for example Lausanne and Montreux.

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

Transports Publics Genevois provides transport by bus, tram and trolleybus. There are also connections by boat on the lake. Check the schedules to see what the options are.

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• University of Geneva

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See als International Telephone Calls

Post

Swiss Post is the national postal service of Switzerland and has fast and reliable services. For more information about prices to send postcards, letters and parcels, both domestically as well as internationally, they have a very useful Price Calculator. Domestically, there is priority mail (arriving the following day) and economy mail which takes 2-3 days to be send within Switzerland. Stamps can be bought at the post offices or from shops and kiosks that also sell postcards. In general, post offices are open from 8:00am to noon and 2:00pm to 5:00 or 6:00pm, with a lunchbreak in between. Opening times on Saturdays are usually only during mornings. Larger cities and central post offices might keep longer hours and skp the lunchbreak.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website
• Geneva Tourism Website