Anybody been to Geneva?

[Leon]

Me and the missus are considering having a weekend break in Geneva next March, so thought I'd see if anyone else had been there?  Aside from the usual tourist-y stuff in the city, we're hoping to hire a car and head over towards Mont Blanc, as well as try and see the Hadron Collider down the road at CERN.

[sebigboss79]

There are sights except the Freddy Mercury pilgrimage statue?

How about former league of nations assembly? UN... but be aware it is the third most expnsive city in the world

[TinyTerrain]

Hi Leon,

I fly in and out of Geneva pretty regulalrly with work. Its v expensive (I bought 3 beers in my hotel last time and it was 27 Euros!) My advice woudl be hire a car and pop over the border to France. Some stunning mountain scenery less than 30 minutes drive away.

Ive never done the tourist thing in Geneva so not sure exactly what you get,

Cheers,

Craig

[barbarian]

Go to Grenoble or Annecy...cheaper.
In march, you could ski but beware of the outrageous price of the ski lifts.

[Leon]

There are sights except the Freddy Mercury pilgrimage statue?

How about former league of nations assembly? UN... but be aware it is the third most expnsive city in the world

Wrong side of the lake for the statue, although as a big Queen fan, it would be nice to go see it.  I noticed the Palais des Nations, so we'll have a wander up to that I think.

I fly in and out of Geneva pretty regularly with work. Its v expensive (I bought 3 beers in my hotel last time and it was 27 Euros!) My advice woudl be hire a car and pop over the border to France. Some stunning mountain scenery less than 30 minutes drive away.

Ive never done the tourist thing in Geneva so not sure exactly what you get,

Cheers for that, I'd heard that it was quite expensive, hopefully just a 3-day break won't be too bad.  We're not big spenders generally anyway, we're usually happy with a cheap cafe and a coffee shop for Adele!  I found out that they offer free public transport to anyone who stays in the city, which is a big help, and there's also a free bus service from the airport as well.

The car hire bit is definitely something I want to do.  Mont Blanc looks to be about an hour away, and there's a cable lift thing in Chamonix which takes you up into the mountains, which is supposed to be fantastic.

Go to Grenoble or Annecy...cheaper.
In march, you could ski but beware of the outrageous price of the ski lifts.

Unfortunately, it all came down to whether we could get flights from Newcastle or Leeds/Bradford on the days we needed them.  We were looking at Venice or Barcelona as our first options, but there's no suitable flights for either of those.  Geneva was a bit of a surprise option for us, we just saw it on the 'Destination' map of our airport, and took a closer look!



Thanks for all the replies!

[Techno]

try and see the Hadron Collider down the road at CERN.

Don't press any buttons Leon.
Cheers - Phil.

[TinyTerrain]

Update for you Leon.

I am current sat at Burger King Geneva Airport (dont tell the missus)........1 x whooper meal........15 EUROS!

It did taste bloody good and was on expenses 

Cheers,

Craig

[Leon]

Update for you Leon.

I am current sat at Burger King Geneva Airport (dont tell the missus)........1 x whooper meal........15 EUROS!

It did taste bloody good and was on expenses 

Are you going into the city?  I've read on their tourist info website that you get a free travel card which gets you into the city without having to pay for a taxi?  Is that through a little machine in the airport somewhere?

[howayman]

Its been over 25 years since i have been to Geneva.
I think it may have changed a bit.
But they still drive on the wrong side of the road.

[Alan]

Aha! This is right up my alley! I lived in Champel in Geneva / Genf until 2 years ago. Child variant 2 was born there.

Well things to see:

Military / wargaming nonsense...

The old square is very nice. There is the balcony that Napoleon gave his speech from (mixed reception), plus the armoury with some great muriels on the outside and the city walls that withstood the siege in 1602. You get a good view from the park below and get to see the large statues of the protestant faith against the wall. I used to take the children past them on the way to macdonalds...

You should also take in the Geneva military museum. Its near the park of the empress (where napoleons wife used to live). Very interesting. Check out the swiss WW2 uniforms. MINT.

Also, a bit out of town (but a nice little train ride) is Morges army museum. Lots of toy figures (1000's of them) and the museum of artillery. There is lots on the swiss burgundian wars, and the swiss in the Napoleonic times. And a couple of nice cafes there as well.

I would recommend going onto a little lake cruise to Yvoire. Its a really nice little medieval village, with a great Savoyard castle. And its in france so your euro's go a bit further.

For food, if you like prawns (and don't go if don't, as that's all they do), go to the corail rose behind the train station. Its like a prawn buffet. And its bang on...

If you don't like prawns, but do like melted cheese... Go to the edelweiss restaurant on place navigation at the end of paquis. Its proper cheesy with people playing alpine horns etc, and its for tourists, BUT its very nice and good fun. Ha! The last time I went there was a man dressed like a cow! HA!

I would go and look at the posh shops on bourge (had to buy the terror weapon a watch and a handbag from that street... horrific) and visit the red cross museum maybe?

Oh and when you get off the plane and leave the airport, go to town on the train (out the airport, turn left into the building there, down the escalators). Buy a ticket from the little machines. They are in English, its cheaper than the bus or a taxi and its quicker.

Aye...

[WeeWars]

Great info Alan 

[Alan]

comrades, I can't recommend going to Switzerland enough for military whatnots... I should be stood at the front of a bus, in a miniskirt, with a microphone...

The Napoleonic uniforms were very interesting Micheal. If you can, go. Seeing French cut in red is a bit of a mind scramble. Also, there is the pictures and a couple of photographs of the deployment of Swiss troops in the late 19th Century. Their grenadiers are in full uniform like the old guard... And look at the website of the swiss army museum. Look at their shelves... and its not reproduction... its all real!

http://www.armeemuseum.ch/index.php?id=76

[WeeWars]

[WeeWars]

The shakos say so much about French shakos as well. I may not be painting my brass plates and chin straps bright and shiny enough!

[howayman]

I wonder to whom the green bush hat belongs?
Perhaps the same person that has pinched the badge off the top shelf kepi.
It may be a game of find the badge hidden some where in the picture....lets look!