Why Geneva?
It was time to plan another yearly trip with my best friend and after looking at what flights were cheap and leaving from Bristol and Gatwick, we both had our hearts set on Geneva. I've heard a few things about Geneva (mostly on how expensive it is) and have always had an interest in going. We wanted to make this a short trip to work around work schedules, but also to save as much money as we can.
Quick tips-
Take a water bottle with you! It's cheaper than buying water out there and they have water fountains everywhere (look out for the blue plack- that means it's drinking water!)
Use the free transport pass! - you should be able to get this if you are staying in Geneva.
On Sundays, a lot of places in Geneva are shut (big supermarkets and restaurants) make sure you plan for this!
It's really easy to find a bank in Geneva (No Euronet!), which can be useful for tips.
Most card machines will ask if you want to pay in GBP or CHF. Try to pay in CHF as it's usually a better exchange rate!
It really is expensive, so make sure you have enough money and do research if you want to make it as cheap as possible (getting supermarket food is always cheaper than eating out!)
Where we stayed in Geneva
It's a lot cheaper in the outer part of Geneva and with the transport card, it means you can easily travel to the centre for free! We stayed in 'ibis Geneve Petit Lancy'. It cost us £161.39 together, for a two-night stay. The hotel fit us perfectly, the beds comfy, good shower and a TV! You can also pay to have breakfast here, which looked nice, but we wanted to get our own in the centre. There is a tram and bus stop opposite the hotel, which meant it was easy to reach from the airport and only a 10min tram to the city centre!
Day 1- Evening flight, meal deals and gossip
My flight was around 5 pm and so I was able to get dropped off at the airport. I got a meal deal to save a little money instead of eating there and waited for my flight. Once in Geneva, I had to wait for my friend whose flight arrived an hour after mine. When she arrived, we took the bus to our hotel.
Check-in was really easy. We got into our room and had a huge catch-up. We searched a few places on our phones and put together an idea of what we wanted to do the next day and went to bed.
Day 2- The MANOR, walking tour, chocolate tour & wine by the fountain
We had an early start and made our way into the city centre. We knew from previous research that the MANOR offered breakfast for only 6CHF (£10.58 together) (on the top floor). This included 6 items (e.g. eggs, sausages, juice, pastries, and fruit) and one coffee. The bonus of the manor is that it also has a stunning balcony which you can sit and enjoy your breakfast with a view.
After breakfast, we had a look around the MANOR and went to the bottom floor and looked at all the food counters and chocolate they had (bonus- we got free chocolate from a staff member!!). We then headed to the bank and COOP, which was a 5-minute walk away, to get out money for the walking tour and some snacks.
We then made our way to the start of the walking tour and waited for our guide. The group was huge, and it was one lady showing us around. I felt they could have possibly done with one other, but I still enjoyed it. We walked down streets of Geneva, saw the Reformation wall, walked past the longest wooden bench in the world, went inside St Peter's Cathedral and the courtyard of the city hall and ended up seeing the flower clock and a view of the Jet d'Eau. The tour was great and really informative, but it did include a lot of history and religion. But I would still recommend this.
After our tour, it was time to get some lunch. We knew about a pasta place called, 'Restaurant Café Le Radar de pOche' and decided to go there. For £34.57, we each had a huge plate of pasta, a side of bread and a coke- zero each. The staff are really friendly and speak good English. It did get busy, so we were lucky to get a seat.
After lunch, we walked down the riverside and along to the Jet d'Eau. It's a really quick, nice walk and you can get some good photos of the Jet there! We sat down for a bit, people-watched, had a chat and decided to go back to the main square to do our own chocolate tour.
Our route included:
Confiserie Arn (which also apparently does good hot choc)
In each place, we decided to choose two chocolates
each and then headed to the riverside to try them all. We didn't really go for flavours and instead the look of the chocolate. Probably a big mistake, as I actually only liked probably 3/11 of what we picked. It really was a great idea though, and I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to try Geneva's chocolate on a budget (we spent £15.81 together on chocolate, they all cost differently as it's based on weight rather than individual chocolate).
After filling up on chocolate and feeling a little sick, we wanted to do some souvenir chocolate shopping. We headed to the COOP again, as it was cheaper, and bought a stash of chocolate. We then headed back to the MANOR to grab some dinner. We went for a baguette, hummus, crisps and a bottle of wine (£15.25 together) and then headed to Bains des Pâquis. We took a seat overlooking the Jet d'Eau, had our dinner, and then went back to the hotel.
Day 3- Boat trips, pizza, and the big chair
We started our day by checking out the hotel and heading back to the MANOR for breakfast, but as soon as we got there realised that on Sundays it's closed. Instead, we went to the COOP at the train station and picked up some breakfast and an iced coffee. We found a nice bench to sit on, had our breakfast and planned the rest of our day.
Our first stop was to go to Pointe de la Jonction, which is where two rivers meet and you can see the divide in the water. We tried to follow some directions, but it took us the wrong way, so make sure you go down Av. de la Jonction or Quai des Arénières. It took us through the tram/bus station, but this is the right way! Or just go along Promenade de la Jonction (which is the riverside way, but we didn't go here!). If you just keep walking to the end, there is a little viewpoint where you can see the colour change in front of you.
After we took some pictures, we headed to the next stop, the Broken chair and the Palais des Nations. This is a really pretty spot and with the sun being warm, we sat here for a while watching people go past (Bonus- they have free toilets here!). I would have loved to have a tour around this part, but the free walking one wasn't available when we went.
After this, we headed back to the main centre and went to a few tourist shops for my friend to get some magnets. We then decided on getting lunch and went to 'Restaurant ALFREDO'. We got a margarita to share and a portion of chips (£19.45 together), we then headed back to the water's edge and ate our lunch.
The last thing we wanted to do was to take the little yellow boats across the water. We took the M1 line from Molard to Pâquis and walked down towards the Geneva tourism area. We wanted to see if we could hop on a boat to see the rest of the lake, but it would mean we would miss our flight. We ended up just sitting on a bench for a while, went back to see any Sunday markets (It was the afternoon, so we missed them all), sat on the longest wooden bench for a while and then headed to the airport.
The airport was huge; they had a food court before security and we waited there till our flight (If you look around the airport; they have purple stands which will give you a code for Wi-Fi). I got a McDonald's (as you always need to try a McDonald's in different countries) which was a drink, chips and a paprika chicken burger (£8.39). It was nice, but I thought it would be better and I'm not so sure about paprika instead of mayo. We then went through security, said our goodbyes and flew back home.
I think Geneva is a great little weekend trip! The flights are cheap and if you plan what you're doing and eat mostly from supermarkets, you can save a little cash. It is a very quiet city, but there can be a lot to do. I will definitely be making a trip back soon; either when they have the Christmas markets up or during the summer to have a swim in the lake!
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