Getting around the Swiss city of Geneva is effortless. This is largely thanks to the free Geneva Transport Card which you can collect from your hotel reception. This fantastic pass grants you free travel on buses, trains and even taxi boats within the entire Geneva transport network throughout the whole of your stay. Plus, you won’t even have to pay to take the train from the airport to the city centre. Simply go to the machine in the baggage reclaim area and get your free ticket which will grant you onward travel for the next 80 minutes. Journey time to the city centre is roughly six minutes on the train. See. Effortless.
Having said that, there are many more unique ways to explore the city’s sights. From themed routes to a thrilling mystery tour, these ideas are sure to make your Geneva city break even more interesting.
Lake Cruises
Image Courtesy of Swiss Tourism
Lake Geneva is a central part of life in this peaceful city, providing somewhere to meet with friends, plenty of activities to keep you busy and even some tasty local dishes. Therefore, to visit Geneva and not explore the lake is to not fully explore Geneva. There are many boats operating on the water, some of which are old Belle Époque steamers that create a feeling of nostalgia that really adds to the experience.
You can choose to sail across to the French side of the lake, visiting towns such as Yvoire, or continue all the way to Lausanne. Plus, if you want to make your trip even more authentic, special gourmet cruises are available during which you can enjoy a fondue for two.
Geneva Amazing Experiences
Image Courtesy of Genève Tourisme
One of the best ways to discover a new city is to wander through the picturesque streets and see what you encounter. Geneva Amazing Experiences allow you to do this but with a route that is tailored to the kind of things you want to see and do. There are nine different themed trails available, each of which highlights eight different things that you may not know about.
There are routes themed around anything from typically Swiss activities to hidden gems, offering a fun way to make your wanderings slightly less aimless. You can pick these maps up from any of the tourist information points in Geneva or download yours online before you go.
Vineyard Bike Rides
Image Courtesy of Swiss Tourism
If you want to explore further than the city limits, you can be amongst fertile vineyards in mere minutes. Swiss wine isn’t really exported in great volumes and so the word about how good it is has yet to reach the rest of Europe. The wines grown on the slopes surrounding the lake are delicate, easy to drink and grown on family-owned vineyards.
You can choose to rent a car to visit these fantastic wineries or rent one of the free bikes from the city centre. For a small deposit of 20 CHF (or 100 CHF for an electric option), you will have free use of a bike for up to four hours. The Genèveroule website has more information.
Geneva Mystery
Image Courtesy of Genève Tourisme
This final option is possibly the most unique and interesting way to get around during your Geneva city break. It’s a guided tour and a game rolled into one, as you use everything you learn along the way to try and discover what happened to Professor Archibald Kymerion when he mysteriously disappeared in June 1893.
Your first job is to pick up the Mystery Tour guide book from the Geneva Tourism Office. These cost 21 CHF and include the guide plus a range of tickets to get you in the various museums you will need to visit to get to the bottom of the puzzle. You can take part on your own or in a group but you may need to buy more than one guide if you’re group is larger than four or five people. With the book in hand, you can then set about solving the riddle and learn about the history of Geneva in the process. Unfortunately, the Mystery Tour can’t be done on a Monday as some of the museums are closed.
However you choose to get around, we can help you create a tailor-made trip that includes everything you want to see and do. We listen to what you want and then create a bespoke package that can also include other cities in the area and transfers between them. Call us on 0800 988 3369 to speak to one of our dedicated specialists.
