top of page button
Dino Sabic/unsplash

 Like a sparkling jewel nestled on the shores of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) and surrounded by the Alps and Jura mountains, with views of Mont Blanc, Geneva is a city that exudes luxury, quality, elegance and a cosmopolitan lifestyle. A global hub for diplomacy and banking, the buzzes with people from all corners of the world. Geneva boasts excellent restaurants, exclusive shops, beautiful parks, vibrant cultural life and outstanding museums. Due to its compact geography, you can easily see all the highlights on foot. Fast and efficient public transportation makes day trips from Geneva a delight, too.

currency

Swiss Franc (CHF) 1 = 100 Rappen

phone

European SOS: 112
Ambulance: 144
Police: 117
Fire Brigade: 118

newspaper

Le Temps — www.letemps.ch
Tribune de Genève — www.tdg.ch
Le Matin — www.lematin.ch
24 Heures — www.24heures.ch

hours

The normal opening hours for shops in Geneva are 8:30 am to 7 pm on weekdays. Most shops close for lunch between noon and 2 pm. Shops stay open until 8 pm on Thursdays but are open on Sundays at their own discretion.

population

203,951 (2020 estimate)

info

Geneva Tourist Information Office
Quai du Mont-Blanc 2, Genève
Open Mon–Wed, Fri & Sat 9:15am–5:45pm; Thu 10am–5:45pm, Sun 10am–4pm
info@geneva-tourism.ch
+41 22 909 70 00

website

www.geneve.com

Young female traveler with swiss flag on the pedestrian bridge in the center of Geneva city in Switzerland. Happy vacation in Geneva city RossHelen / Shutterstock.com

The City

Geneva takes full advantage of its wonderful location on Lake Geneva and has surrounded it with parks, modern monuments and branded buildings. The city is just as small as it is large, with new exciting discoveries at every corner. It has about 200,000 inhabitants, and is very easy to get around by foot. At the same time, this is a very lively place because of its International character. Geneva hosts the European headquarters of the United Nations as well as a myriad of diplomatic embassies. Foreigners constitute one-third of the population, and it feels like every language can be heard when following the flow of busy businessmen or strolling on the lake banks.

General view of Geneva. The city of Geneva, in Switzerland, Europe. ocphoto / Shutterstock.com

Do & See

There are glossy bank palaces along the lakeside, and picturesque restaurants serving piping-hot fondue and raclette. Geneva offers everything from gentle strolls around the antique shops in the Old Town or the impressive park by the Lake, exclusive shopping along the luxurious rue du Rhône to thought-provoking visits to the United Nations or the Red Cross. Museums and exhibitions are too many to be counted and expose a wide array from classic arts to modern and bold creations. The architecture has its share of surprises and changing neighborhood you might feel like you have entered a whole different city. Geneva is definitely a place that gives you a taste for more.

ocphoto / Shutterstock.com

Jet d´Eau

rm / Shutterstock.com

UN Headquarters - Palais des Nations

city100 / Shutterstock.com

Botanical Garden / Jardin Botanique

Wouter Hagens / Wikimedia Commons

Place du Bourg-de-Four

Henry Mühlpfordt / Wikimedia Commons

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum

Filipe Fortes / Flickr

Flower Clock / L´Horloge Fleurie

Franck Schneider / Wikimedia Commons

Patek Philippe Museum

canadastock / Shutterstock.com

Lake Geneva

Grototoro / Wikimedia Commons

Museum of Natural History

Gfuerst / Wikimedia Commons

Cathedrale de St-Pierre

Voronin76/Shutterstock.com

Russian Church

cometstarmoon / Flickr

"Smurfs" Buildings

Laura / Flickr

Bain des Paquis

Nicolas Nova/Flickr

Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

Cheese 6 Wine Hitdelight / Shutterstock.com

Dining

Geneva has a strongly built reputation as a gourmet town and deserves it without a doubt. The cuisine here is, of course, Swiss as well as highly influenced by France and Italy. But the best part is that it could probably pin down every single country in the world, as it has a restaurant for it, and here the most fastidious visitors will find restaurants to delight their taste buds. You can also enjoy local fish delicacies from Lake Geneva such as "filet de perches", "filet de féras", and traditional Swiss dishes such as cheese fondue and raclette -- ideally accompanied by some of the local Swiss and French wines.

Kzenon / Shutterstock.com

Restaurant Le Lyrique

Innes Linder / Pixabay

Brasserie Lipp

Jon-Eric Melsæter / Flickr

Le Relais de l'Entrecôte

Andrey Bayda / Shutterstock.com

Domaine de Châteauvieux

funkyfrogstock / Shutterstock.com

Miyako

Timolina / Shutterstock.com

Vino Olio Caffè

Marian Weyo / Shutterstock.com

Le Chat-Botté

bitt24 / Shutterstock.com

Bistrot du Boeuf Rouge

wavebreakmedia / Shutterstock.com

Les Curiades

Kzenon / Shutterstock.com

La Plancha

Andrey Bayda / Shutterstock.com

Café des Banques

DwaFotografy / Shutterstock.com

Inglewood

Kzenon / Shutterstock.com

Gaya

Denizo71 / Shutterstock.com

La Gondola

thanachit chouriyagul / Shutterstock.com

Brasserie de Hôtel-de-Ville

Cafes

Geneva is covered by a multitude of cute and fancy cafes, and you can just about pick any of them for a coffee treat or a quick meal. Being a true business centre, the art of coffee is thriving, and the always busy locals love running from meetings to meetings with a nice takeaway cup of Joe. But here, the coffee shops are also the ultimate place to take a break and relax, a natural meeting point for colleagues, family, and friends to catch up. They are the fuel of the city life and always buzzing on Sunday afternoons.

William Perugini / Shutterstock.com

La Clémence

Joshua Resnick / Shutterstock.com

Demi Lune Café

cobraphotography / Shutterstock.com

Le Bouchon

Coffee Lover / Shutterstock.com

Boréal Coffee Shop

Lia Koltyrina / Shutterstock.com

BIRDIE food and coffee shop

AnjelikaGr / Shutterstock.com

Muller's Factory

Brent Hofacker / Shutterstock

Just Bubble

Dima Sobko/Shutterstock.com

Viverra Coffee

5 second Studio / Shutterstock.com

Coffee Lab

Urban view with famous fountain by night with full moon, Geneva, Switzerland, HDR Elenarts/Shutterstock.com

Bars & Nightlife

Although Geneva is a relatively small city, there is a wide and varied range of entertainment -- probably because of its international mix of people. Many start the evening with an aperitif at one of the hundreds of bars in town and then go on to some hot nightspot. Geneva’s nightlife is unexpectedly colourful with people and music from all corners of the world. The dance floors are full of all sorts of people, Geneva jet set, smartly dressed diplomats, rockers in black leather, and trendy people just enjoying some time off.

Arina P Habich / Shutterstock.com

The Leopard Room Bar & Lounge

funkyfrogstock / Shutterstock.com

Arthur’s Rive Gauche

bikeriderlondon / Shutterstock.com

Chat Noir Club

Ash Edmonds/Unsplash

Le Baroque Club

Joshua Resnick / Shutterstock.com

Mr. Pickwick Pub

Valentyn Volkov / Shutterstock.com

Lady Godiva English Pub

ARENA Creative / Shutterstock.com

MAMBO

Yellowj / Shutterstock.com

Barbershop

Geneva street view in summertime Roman Babakin/Shutterstock.com

Shopping

If Switzerland is the country of luxury, then Geneva is surely the jewel on this crown. The main shopping area lies between Rue du Rhône and Rue de Rive, with uncountable chic and high brand boutiques. Geneva is the perfect city to renew your wardrobe but make sure you came with the necessary funds, because in this city quality certainly comes at a cost! You might also find yourself falling in love with the perfect watch: watchmaking is a serious matter and a true art here.
If you are looking for more touristic purchases, worry not, you will also find typical Swiss things like clocks, chocolate and cheeses, all of top quality.

Alessio Maffeis / Flickr

Rue du Rhône

Iakov Filimonov / Shutterstock.com

Rue des Alpes

connel / Shutterstock.com

Rue du Marché

Rawpixel / Shutterstock.com

Plain Palais

Voyagerix / Shutterstock.com

La Perla

Syda Productions / Shutterstock.com

Manor Genève

Aerial view of Leman lake - Geneva city in Switzerland Samuel Borges Photography/Shutterstock.com

Tourist Information

Geneva International Airport

Geneva International Airport is located about 4 kilometres from the city centre and is easy accessible from the city of Geneva.

Unireso public transportation network has various means of transport like trains and buses and the same ticket can be used for both. The trains take about 6 minutes between the airport and the Central Station in Geneva (Cornavin) and are very regular. The station is very well indicated at the airport and you can purchase tickets from the machines at the station. Bus number 10 to the Central Station takes about 15 minutes and the ticket is valid for one hour on public transport. The urban buses stop every 8-15 minutes to pick up passengers. The tickets can be bought from the ticket machines and the railway station.

Note that the Geneva Unireso Network is free for anyone arriving by plane at Geneva Airport. This offer is limited to 80 minutes, counted from arrival time. Pick up your free ticket from the machine in the baggage collection area. In many hotels you will receive the Geneva Transport Card which gives you a free pass to the entire transport network.

There are free shuttle bus services transporting guests to a selection of Swiss hotels. Visit the website to see if your hotel is on the list.

Address: Geneva International Airport, Geneva

Email:

Phone: +41 22 717 71 05 / +41 22 717 71 11

Website: www.gva.ch

More Information:

Public Transport

Geneva has excellent local public transport consisting of bus, trolley bus, tram, boat and train. The Unireso public transportation network lets you use the same ticket for all means of transportation.

Tickets can be bought from ticket machines, agencies and online. A weekly pass and a monthly pass are also available.

Note that the Geneva Unireso Network is free for anyone arriving by plane at Geneva Airport. This offer is limited to 80 minutes, counted from arrival time. Pick up your free ticket from the machine in the baggage collection area. At your hotel you will receive the Geneva Transport Card which gives you a free passport to the entire transport network.

TPG (Trams and buses)
www.tpg.ch

TAC (Buses)
www.reseau-tac.fr

TPN (Buses)
www.bustpn.ch

SBB (Trains)
www.cff.ch

SMGN (Boats)

Address:

Email:

Phone: +41 9 00 022 021

Website: www.unireso.com

More Information:

Taxi

There are numerous taxis you can easily find around town and they are very reliable and fast. Note that taxis are fairly expensive in Geneva.
Here are examples of taxi companies:

AA Genève Central Taxi
+41 22 3 202 202
www.geneve-taxi.ch

Taxi-phone SA Geneva:
+41 22 33 141 33
www.taxi-phone.ch

Address:

Email:

Phone: +41 22 33 141 33

Website: www.taxi-phone.ch

More Information:

Post

There are many post offices throughout the city. Mailboxes are yellow, and you can purchase stamps in the post offices and in some press shops.

The main post office is the Poste Mont-Blanc located in the centre.

Address: Rue du Mont-Blanc 18, Geneva

Email: custcare@post.ch

Phone: +41 8 48 88 88 88

Website: www.post.ch

More Information:

Pharmacy

You can find many pharmacies around the city. For emergencies and all night pharmacies, please consult the webpage given. It is updated daily with the information of the pharmacies you can visit by night on the date.

Address:

Email:

Phone:

Website: pharmageneve.pharmacity.ch

More Information:

Electricity

230 Volt, 50 Hz

Address:

Email:

Phone:

Website:

More Information: