Places to Visit in Geneva

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Best Places to visit in Geneva

Surrounded by the expanse of Alps and Jura mountains, the picturesque city of Geneva, located in the southwestern corner of Switzerland, not only prominences in triumph of geographic beauty but also houses the base for some of the World’s largest organizations. This mesmerizing city in Switzerland located at the Southern tip of expansive Lake Geneva or Lac Leman.

State Express Global Voyages welcomes you on board to experience one of the most spectacular trips you can ever imagine. Let’s take a run-through and explore some of the most enchanting places worth visiting in Geneva.

1. St Pierre Cathedral

As we tread past the borders and dive into the spirit of traveling, our first recommendation in Geneva should undoubtedly be St. Pierre Cathedral. It is the Principal Reformed Protestant church of Geneva incorporating the ever fascinating Gothic, Neoclassical and Romanesque architecture. This morning is for sure a boon for History enthusiasts. This Cathedral is rated a whopping 4.5 out of 5 by visitors.

Tips:

Take a Line 20 bus, and pay SFr 7-17 to reach the cathedral within 13 minutes.
Don’t forget to enjoy authentic swiss breakfast at Saint-Pierre restaurant at a distance of around 20 steps from the cathedral.
Pay a small fee to climb the north tower.
Make sure to visit the archaeological site below ground level.

The second recommendation would be Geneva old town; This being Switzerland’s largest historical city, is a must visit. Its mesmerizing maze of small cobblestone streets lead to St Peter’s Cathedral, museums, and many secret passages unraveling the mysteries of the past. This place provides a glimpse of the enriching history of medieval europe. Called Vielle Vielle in French, this small town is enriched further with the culinary specialities of Old Town Cafe and Place du Bourg-de-four.

Highlights:

Town is home to the famous St. Peter’s Cathedral
Rental bicycles are available for tourists.
Streets are buzzing during evening time.

After the ever impacting historical influence, another must visit place is the Flower Clock; Also called L’horloge fleurie, it is an outdoor flower clock, which comprises 6,500 flowers and shrubs that were used to make the face of the clock. Our clients reviewed this a generous 4.5 out of 5. It is said that the flowers open and close their petals according to the time of the day, hence the name flower clock. This for sure qualifies as the most instagrammable sites around.

Geneva also has to offer you the Palais des Nations; or palace of nations, home of the United Nations headquarters, this place is an outstanding testimony to twentieth century architecture and situated in the beautiful Ariens park in Geneva. This would be the time your heart is filled with pride seeing your country flag wave high amongst hundreds of other countries.

Must see at Palais des Nations:

Human rights and Alliance of Civilization Room
Assembly Hall
Rustic Celestial Sphere

As important as history and sightseeing are when on holiday, so is the food! And what better introduction to Swiss cuisine than a tour of Gruyere – Castle and Cheese factory, popular by the name of La Maison du Gruyère, it is a magnificent factory thrown open to visitors to discover the production of the swiss cheese or as they call it Gruyere and taste different specialties.

Your To Dos:

Taste Swiss Vacherin Fribourgeois cheese.
Make sure to buy enough dairy.
Don’t forget to take souvenirs offered by the factory.
Have a delightful desert.

It prides itself as a place of memory creation and debate. The Museum at the core asks a question- how does humanitarian action affect us all? Collaborating with Partners and artists across the world, the museum aims to showcase original artistic content to promote understanding of history, current events and challenges in the world. The place provides people with the chance to explore numerous rows containing information about the current scenario concerning humanitarian issues across the world.

Highlights:

Exhibition – The Humanitarian Adventure
Annual Theme Party – ( gender and diversity 2024)

A mesmerizing habilitation situated on the banks of Lake Geneva, the town of Vevey is world known for its colorful vintage festival “ Fete des Vignerons”. Its lakeside location gives it a breathtaking view under the colorful city lights during the night time, which is also the best time to be sipping the world class vine produced in the town.

Culinary Delights:

Fresh Pastries and coffee at Cafe du Midi
Medieval ages inspired traditional swiss Cheese fondue.
Pasta al forno at La Corsa Al Cilento
Meat with Puree at Le Fouquet’s.

This Museum located at a distance of only 10 minutes away from the Vevey train station, is your place to meet the legendary Charlie Chaplin- the family man! This site stands on the former country estate of the Chaplin family “Manoir de Ban”. The entire place, built in 2000 is divided into sections each showcasing the sets and aesthetics of Charlie Chaplin movies.

Tips:

The tour is not included in the Swiss pass, buy a separate ticket to enter the museum.
Take a bus from Vevey train station to Chaplin’s World.
Prices for tickets this year are CHF 29.00 (Adults) and CHF 19.00 (Youth).
Children under the age of 6 get a free entry.

This Historical landmark in Geneva, also known as The International Monument to the Reformation is a testament to the Protestant Reformation. Varios memoirs of key individuals, events and documents are depicted therein in statues and bas-reliefs at the magnificent site. This wall stands tall and proud at the grounds of the University of Geneva. At its heart are statues to William Farel, John Calvin, Theodore Beza and John Knox.

Nestled between steep alpine hills and the lakeside, is a traditional resort town of Montreux. At an elevation of 396 meters, the place welcomes visitors with a pleasant breeze throughout. The town is a miniature of Switzerland where Visitors and locals blend together well. Being culturally rich the place offers a lot to experience when on a holiday.

Highlights:

Montreux Jazz Festival.
Chateau de Chillon
Grand Belle Epoque Buildings
Formal halls and a chapel with 14th century murals

A 70 minute travel from Geneva via will take you to the beautiful mountainous resort area of Chamonix, which lies near the junction of France and Switzerland. Renowned for its skiing activities, this place offers panoramic views of some famous peaks like Aiguille du Midi above town, and Pointe Helbronner across a vast glacier on the Italian border. Cable cars are one of the easiest ways to get to these captivating peaks, unless you have perfect shoes to hike in the snow!

Food at Chamonix:

The food here is influenced by French and Swiss style of cooking, though much of the food is made with generous amounts of cheese and cream. Crozets de Savoie and Tartiflette are the dishes definitely worth a try.

Famously known as the “ White Mountain”, this peak is regarded as the highest in the Alps. Located on the French border, this mountain surrounds the beautiful Chamonix, besides giving birth to many beautiful valleys like the Montjoie and Arve.Although a hike to Mont blanc can be dangerous due to frequent rockfalls, we’ve got you covered with our listed out ways to reach the peak.

Transportation:

Cable car from Chamonix through Col du Geant
Tramway du Mont-Blanc (TMB)
Heavy-motor car ride through Mont Blanc Tunnel, a major transpline line.

Located on the banks of Thou river, the French Alpine town of Annecy is known for its cozy nature of zig- zag cobbled streets, winding canals, and cute pastel coloured houses. This city was once home to counts of Geneva and hence bears the influence of the place till date. This place is no- doubt a lot touristy and a popular vacation location, especially for swimmers.

Highlights:

Europe’s cleanest lake- Lake Annecy.
Château dAnnecy
Heritage Museum

Geneva Water Fountain or as locally called Jet d’Eau is a large fountain which is one of the most important tourist attractions of Geneva city. This massive landmark is visible from all corners of the city and even when you are flying over the city. The fountain pumps, at any given moment, a large 1,800 gallons of water in the air! The fountain can be reached via a stone jetty from the left bank of Lake Geneva. As much fun as the site is to visit, but be careful as with a slight change in wind direction, you may be surprised to find yourself completely drenched.

Famously regarded as the “Balcony of Geneva”, Mountain Saleve is a peak of French Peralps located among Auvergne-Rhone Alpes. This mountain offers a magnificent panoramic view of the city of Geneva and is a center for many leisure activities.

Tip:

A hike at Mount Saleve should essentially be started at the lower station and go up a staircase with 119 steps that is carved into the rock. A short walk up to the top on paths that the electric rack railway once used, should get us to our desired point.

Dive into the world of Science and innovation at European Organisation Nuclear Research, also known as CERN. This International establishment, located in the Meyrin, a western suburb of Geneva is the largest particle physics laboratory of the world. This is a perfect place to gather sciency intellect and act smarter, besides getting to know how some of the phenomena of the world work.

Your To Dos:

Enjoy multimedia exhibits
Watch science shows
Engage in discoveries
Participate in innovation-prototyping workshops.

Maison Cailler or Cailler Chocolate Factory is one of its kind offering tours, Tastings, workshops and an interactive museum. Its Museum in Broc invites visitors to have a multi-sensory experience and a chance to meet the finest chocolatiers of Switzerland.

Highlights:

Cailler is the oldest chocolate brand of Switzerland.
It allows visitors to search chocolate recipes and also customize chocolates of their own choice.

Known as Musee suisse de la céramique et du verre, is one of the museums in Switzerland incorporating a collection of 27,000 items from Europe and the Middle east. It is particularly devoted to a spectacular display of ceramics and glass. This museum is open to visitors from Tuesday throughout the week till Sunday with timings being 10:00 – 18:00 hours.

Locally called as Chateau de Chillon, this Castle in itself a picturesque island embarked on Lake Geneva in the canton of Vaud. This beautiful site is an inspiration for literary artists like novelists and also a muse for poets of medieval times.

Tip:

Guided tours are offered at the Castle.
Make an advanced booking and choose your desirable language for a guided tour.
Spend a minimum of 2 hours to tour the entire Castle without missing any nook or cranny.

With that, the highlights of our promised tour remain as such, if you enjoyed reading about these selective places then brace yourselves about what comes when you are physically present and get to experience the magic of a Swiss holiday with us!

Places to Visit in Geneva

Best Places to visit in Geneva

1. St Pierre Cathedral

Tips:

2. Old town Geneva

Highlights:

3. Flower Clock, Geneva

4. Palais Des Nations

Must see at Palais des Nations:

5. Gruyere

Your To Dos:

6. International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum

Highlights:

7. Vevey!

Culinary Delights:

8. Chaplin’s World

Tips:

9. The reformation wall

10. Montreux

Highlights:

11. Chamonix

Food at Chamonix:

12. Mont Blanc

Transportation:

13. Annecy ( France)

Highlights:

14. Jet d’Eau

15. Mountain Saleve

Tip:

16. CERN

Your To Dos:

17. Maison Cailler

Highlights:

18. Musee Ariana

19. Chillon Castle

Tip:

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