Geneva has always been on my list of European cities to visit but I was hesitant because Geneva is expensive. Easy Jet’s black Friday sale last year was what finally tipped me over: return tickets were less than £55! So Yass & I booked without hesitation! I found a good budget hotel in a really good location and before we knew it, it was time to fly! In this post, I will be sharing our 3 days 2 nights itinerary to help you plan your trip! I will link as many things as possible so stay tuned!
As I said earlier, we booked a black Friday deal through Easy Jet, the flight was relatively short, 1hr 25 mins. I actually prefer EasyJet to Ryan Air. The flight was comfy, seats just a little bit better than Ryan Air and I appreciated the fact that I would quickly nap in silence without someone trying to sell me something every 5 mins LOL. Before I get into what we did, things you should quickly note about Geneva.
Transport
Public Transport is FREE.. yes! FREE from the airport – there’s a ticket machine in the arrivals hall, clearly labelled. This is an 80 min ticket to get you into the city centre which is basically 10 mins away. So you can use this ticket all day if you wanted to. Then, you get a FREE transport card from the hotel you are staying at. To qualify, you have to book at least 1 night. More Info on that here
Hotel
We stayed in Hotel Genève in Corvain just 8 mins walk from the main station and really close to everything else. I chose this place because it had good reviews, extremely cheap for Geneva and of course location. Overall the hotel is a quirky little hotel, our room & ensuite bathroom were clean and they provided breakfast but most importantly it was WARM. Our stay came up to £176, £88 between us! It’s good if you are on a tight budget ( I am trying to save as much as possible this year so my travel budget is extremely tight). A few issues I had with the hotel: the breakfast area is small (but it is a small hotel) and the plates & cups weren’t cleared quickly enough and a few issues with the plates been clean. In all fairness, it looked like there were only two people for the breakfast service and it was extremely busy however if a plate has some crumbs on it, you can clearly see that before setting it down on the table. The breakfast buffet was ok and had a good variety.
Geneva Itinerary
Friday
We arrived super early, dropped our bags at the hotel and got our FREE transport card then away we went. We walked around Lake Geneve. The Jet d’eau wasn’t switched on the whole time we were there!!! Saw the flower clock, St Peter’s Cathedral and walked around the city centre. We had lunch at American Dream Diner which I recommend. Good service and a good amount of burgers. Dinner was eaten at Vapianos which was 3 mins away from our hotel. We wanted to go up Mount Saleve on Friday night but it was too late so we planned to go on Saturday
Saturday
After breakfast, we headed straight to Mount Saleve for hiking (yes in the cold SMH, layering was ESSENTIAL). This is really easy to get to from Geneva city centre. Get the bus 8 from the city center going towards Veyrier Douane and get off at the last stop which is Douane. It’s about 30 mins. Then when you get off walk straight towards the mountain! When you see this sign, it means you’re going in the right direction! Follow those signs and it will take you to the cable car ticket office. Unless you are an experienced mountain climber, they don’t recommend you do this in the winter and I will tell you why soon! Anyway, a return ticket is 10.60 CF.
The cable ride is a short 5 mins and gives you beautiful views of Geneva. On a clear day I can imagine you can see all sorts but it was misty so although we couldn’t make out a lot, it was still beautiful. At the summit, it was SO COLD; it was actually covered in snow and was snowing! At the top, there is a 2hr circular trek you can do which Yas & I did! Make sure you grab a map from the cable car office otherwise the signs are easy to follow! We did get lost LOL but only because we started the walk in the opposite direction of what was stated but didn’t realise this until we finished the walk lol. Again on a clear day, you would see a lot! Including Mont Blanc but it was so misty and cold, we didn’t see anything! I mean it was still an experience and was so beautiful! We were lucky to meet someone right when we were lost and he was kind enough to walk with us seeing that we were going the same way. It’s funny because he said he was actually travelling the next day to London too lol. He gave us some commentary and took us the long way around and actually he was the one that pointed to us that we took the wrong way round LOL.
In all, we spent about 3 hours up Mount Saleve. Please please make sure you layer up and have appropriate walking shoes if you’re going to do this. I wore my Gelert Hiking Boots I got from Sports Direct. I am super impressed by them. They have good grip and kept my feet warm the whole time. It’s also waterproof so my feet didn’t get wet from all that snow!
Back down we headed straight to lunch! We went to Wine & Beef in the city center and I had the l’entrecote & fries (steak & fries, signature dish). It’s a lovely little restaurant, with good service and English speaking staff. It was extremely busy so I had to wait a bit for my food but the service was really good and for Geneva, it wasn’t that expensive. After lunch we went to see the Broken Chair and UN office although it was closed. The Red Cross museum was closed as well. We then went to see the Reformation Wall (which later sparked a good debate between Yass & I) and the Promenade de Bastions. We also got some chocolates (of course)! For dinner we went to Entrecote & Homard which is basically steak & lobster. A very popular restaurant, we didn’t book but we were seated within 10 mins of getting there. A simple straight forward menu, lobster or steak, we both opted for the lobster and it was really good!
Sunday
We had a morning flight so after breakfast we checked out and headed to the airport!
Geneva is a beautiful city and I am so happy I finally went! I think for the 2 days we had, we did a lot, just bummed the water fountain wasn’t on! And I am happy because I don’t think I could do a week in that cold girl! It was so cold a girl had to go and buy a face mask LOL. I would like to go back and climb Mount Saleve in the summer but maybe next year! Since the UK is leaving the EU, I am trying to cross off as many places before we start paying for a visa! Ideally, I would love to go everywhere in Europe but my top cities to visit are Brussels, Prague, Budapest, Milan, Venice, Amsterdam(again as the 1st time I didn’t do much), Lisbon, Berlin and Athens (Greek islands too)
That’s all folks! I hope you found this helpful! If you are planning to visit Geneva please don’t miss Mouth Saleve! For more tips on how to plan travel & budgets, see my previous post here
I will also share my thought on Revolut Card which I used when I was in Geneva so stay tuned for that! Off I go preparing for another mountain trekking trip which is coming very soon! My plan this year is to go to all the national parks and really go hiking in general! And of course, wherever I go, I will share my thoughts on my blog.
Travelling local? read my Windermere Lake District Guide
Peace out
xxox
sarah fynn 