At the beginning of February we did something a little crazy for us, we booked a very last minute trip abroad, just over a week out of our departure date. We had planned to go to Amsterdam since our trip last year ended up not going ahead (there were still quite strict covid restrictions back then that ruled out short trips) but it just wasn’t feasible after all due to a change in circumstances and having paid quite a bit for the bedroom renovation in January.
We still had my annual leave booked, and the children looked after though, and we were desperate to explore somewhere new. So we headed online to see if we could get a last minute bargain. Our only real requirements were the flight dates and that we wanted to fly from Bournemouth direct return, as it is so much easier for us, the airport is only ten minutes by car from us. We hadn’t really ever considered Switzerland for a travel destination for us before but when Geneva came up as the only real option based on our availability, we decided to go for it.
Our flight out was on 14th February, so it was a nice touch to be spending Valentine’s in Geneva. We arrived at the airport at 4.15pm local time and got a taxi to our hotel right away (we only had cabin bags with us, again saving time and money). We should have read our hotel fine print properly though as we could have saved ourselves a £40 taxi fare as public transport is included with most hotel accommodation in Geneva! A lesson learnt and one I would urge others to take advantage of, the taxi ride was only around ten minutes but a costly journey for us on what was a budget break.
We had booked Hotel Edelweiss, after extensive trawling of the Booking.com website and I was really happy with it. The location was perfect, right in the town centre, just a few minutes walk to Lake Geneva and surrounded by several very reasonably priced supermarkets for essentials (and a 3 CHF bottle of wine, yes please). It was also conveniently located for the public transport links including tram and train, and pretty reasonably priced in comparison to other hotels in that area. What drew me to it initially was the decor as it is set out in the style of the Swiss Alps, and is really lovely, so warm and welcoming. Their restaurant, which is also open to non-residents, has live entertainment in the evening, a traditional Swiss menu (the chocolate fondue was so good) and there was even a Yodeller when we ate there!
On the first afternoon, after checking in at the hotel, we headed to the lake to explore a little before the sun set. We had no idea that you could swim in the lake, and we would have been tempted to join the people we saw swimming if we had of packed our swimming costumes, but it was pretty chilly! There is also a sauna lakeside, which is open during the winter, which we didn’t visit but again, very tempting. Instead we took a few photos of the sunset, walked along a little and saw the lighthouse and then returned to the hotel to get ready for our dinner, which we had booked at a local Indian restaurant (yes, I know, we were in Switzerland, but we love an Indian and it was Valentine’s so my choice). I swear it was the best Indian food I have ever eaten and now I am sad just thinking about it as we probably won’t go back to Geneva anytime soon and I want it all over again.
The next day we planned to explore Geneva so after breakfast (which we had in an adorable little cafe just down the road from our hotel) we headed across the lake on one of the yellow public service boats (free to us with our hotel accommodation). The boats depart every 10-20 minutes from four different locations along the lake. We mainly got the one that was closest to our hotel, and it takes only a few minutes to get across, it is so easy! We knew we wanted to see the Jet d’eau, to be fair, it’s hard to miss it when you are in Geneva as it is so tall (taller than the Statue of Liberty apparently). It seemed that it was on until 4pm, this may just be winter times, so worth researching before you go, and is totally free to see, you can get up close and personal with it (something Ed noted would not be the case in the UK with all our health and safety measures). He went right underneath it and filmed a clip for my reel, but I didn’t want to get my hair and clothes wet so stayed back a little – top tip, take along an umbrella to stay dry and for some epic shots under the fountain!
After the fountain, we headed a little further along the lake to find the English Gardens, which were a little underwhelming if I am being honest. I think they would be much better in the summer, as there was a fountain which wasn’t even turned on. The Flower Clock was quite cool though, and it changes each season as the flowers that are planted bloom at different stages of the year. Across from there are the designer shops, everything from Cartier to Tiffanys to Versace, Gucci and Louis Vuitton, it was nice to walk around and see the storefronts, even if we were too intimidated to actually step foot inside (is this a thing, can you window shop in designer shops?).
After that we headed a little further in to Old Town Geneva, which is where the starting point was for the Zombie treasure hunt interactive tour I had previously downloaded through Booking.com. It cost me around £4 and was honestly so good! The app led us through a Zombie outbreak storyline, with points of interest and some pretty simple challenges to do along the way, but the best bit were the facts about Geneva we were informed of as we walked around, and the hints of other things to do in the area including climbing to the top of the cathedral, where you can see panoramic views of the city! It only cost us 7 CHF each and was totally worth it, a great find! The views were incredible and the cathedral itself (which was free to walk around) was also lovely – a really good place to explore.
After we finished the interactive game, we were back near to our hotel on the other side of the lake (you will definitely get your steps in walking around the city), so we headed back for a quick freshen up before going by boat back across the water to catch the sunset on the other side for our second evening. That evening, as I mentioned above, we had dinner at our hotel and I would really recommend it, the traditional Swiss food was so yummy, and the atmosphere was perfect – plus, if you are staying at the hotel you get a 25% discount on the food too, which made it a pretty reasonable meal (Swiss food and drink is pretty pricey in general).
Now technically we did have another full day in Geneva as our flight back wasn’t until early morning on the Friday, but we decided on a bit of a whim to spend it up in The Alps, in a different country as we crossed the border into France, in Chamonix Mont Blanc (I have written another post about this amazing day trip and why you must do it if you are in the area).
So that was our 24 hours exploring Geneva, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way – just the right amount of touristy bits, walking, food and photo opportunities, at a relaxed pace! The only thing I would do if we went again would be to travel a little later in the year when the bigger boats were heading out more often, so that we could explore further along Lake Geneva, as it is huge! I would also like to head to Zurich in future, as there are lots of things that way I would enjoy too.
