A Day in Geneva

Geneva, the second-largest city in Switzerland, is located at the southern end of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) and is enclosed by the dramatic Swiss Alps and Jura mountain ranges. The city is known as a center for diplomacy as it hosts the European seat of the UNO. Even the International Red Cross directs its humanitarian campaigns from here. Home to many chocolatiers and cradle of watchmaking, this french speaking Swiss city has so much to offer!

Lake Geneva Promenade

Geneva was a transit city for us. Our main goal was to reach the mountain resort village of Chamonix in France. Though the city was not on our bucket list, we decided to explore around and capture few of city's highlights. I'm glad we did it! In-total, we spent about 10 hours in Geneva which was just enough time to see the famous landmarks, experience a perfect nightlife ambiance and adore the sunset views across lake Geneva!

Getting to Geneva

We relayed on Flixbus to travel to and from Geneva. We boarded the 9 hour nightbus from Munich ZOB to reach Geneva the next day. We had a transit of 7 hours before our next bus to Chamonix. While returning back to Munich (nightbus) from Chamonix, we had a 3 hour transit at Geneva.

Our Itinerary (6 June 2023)

We reached Geneva bus station at around 6 in the morning. With a rough overnight bus journey we were not in a condition to start sightseeing right-away! Plus we had our cabin luggage with us! So, we decided to head to Geneva's central railway station - Cornavin station to look for luggage storage lockers.

After freshening up, we stacked our luggage at the lockers (pretty expensive 12 CHF for 6 hours) and headed out for coffee at Starbucks. By 8.30, we were ready to explore the sights of Geneva and here's what we did:

• Brunswick Monument

From Cornavin Station, we started to walk towards the lakefront - particularly the western side of lake Geneva. As we walked, we came across a neo-gothic monument in the middle of a public park. The elaborate structure features intricate details and dozens of small spires. This monument is a mausoleum built in 1879 to commemorate the life of Charles II, Duke of Brunswick (1804–1873). He bequeathed his fortune to the city of Geneva in exchange for a monument to be built in his name, specifying that it be a replica of the Scaliger Tombs in Verona, Italy.

Brunswick Monument

• Palace of Nations and Park Ariana

We continued to walk along the lake promenade until we reached the second most important United Nations office in the world - Palais des Nations or Palace of Nations. The Palais des Nations was built between 1929 and 1938 to serve as the headquarters for the League of Nations, the UN’s predecessor. The complex is in constant use, hosting thousands of intergovernmental meetings each year.

Alley of Flags at Palace of Nations

We had no plans of going inside the building so we explored around the park - Ariana. Here is where we witnessed many structures and statues symbolizing peace. Be it the Shinagawa Bell - a replica offered by the Honsen-ji buddhist temple to the city of Geneva in 1990 or the Statue of Gandhi - donated to the city of Geneva by the government of India in 2007 as a token of friendship.

Shinagawa Bell and Statue of Gandhi at Park Ariana

Whilst in park Ariana, we also came across a grand, neoclassical building - Museum Ariana. The museum is free to enter and is devoted to ceramic and glass artwork. It contains around 20000 objects from the last 1200 years, representing the historic, geographic and technological breadth of glass, ceramic manufacturing over-time. The entire collection is one of a kind in all of Switzerland.

Museum Ariana

Just across the building of Palace of Nations is a unique sculpture of Broken Chair. This monumental sculpture is made of 5.5 tons of wood and is 12 m high. Designed by Swiss artist Daniel Berset, it symbolizes the opposition to land mines and cluster bombs, and acts as a reminder to politicians and diplomats visiting Geneva and the Palace of Nations.

Broken Chair

• Old Town, Geneva

Tired from all the walking and heat-wave, we decided to use Geneva's efficient public transport to head back to the city center. We bought the ticket (single ticket 3 CHF for 60 minutes) from the vending machine and boarded the tram 15 from Nations to Plainpalais. From here, we walked around the most important points of interest. We found the old town to be quite compact with a lovely mixture of cobbled streets, historic sights and beautiful parks.

Our first stop - Reformation Wall. Located in the grounds of the University of Geneva, the Reformation Wall is a monument, built in 1909, in the old city walls of Geneva to honour many of the main individuals, events, and documents of the Protestant Reformation by depicting them in statues and bas-reliefs.

Old Town, Geneva

Reformation Wall

We exited the park and walked up-hill to an open air museum - L'Ancien Arsenal. Located in the heart of the Old Town, L'Ancien Arsenal is a compact artillery museum with a collection of vintage cannons (5 of them) and battle-themed mosaics. It serves as a remainder for Geneva's defense against the invaders. Apart from the medieval cannons, the arsenal consists of mosaics depicting three important events in the history of Geneva: the arrival of Julius Caesar in 58 BC, Geneva as a trading center and Geneva welcoming refugees.

L'Ancient Arsenal

We walked towards the main cathedral of Geneva - St. Pierre Cathedral. A former roman catholic church (built in 12th century) that was later converted into an exquisite protestant church (16th century) during the Protestant Reformation. The church underwent multiple changes during those years and hence has a variety of architecture styles.

As we walked downhill towards the lake promenade, we came across a very recognizable symbol of Geneva - Flower Clock in the English Garden. The clock is made out of various flowers that bloom during different times of the year, thanks to which the clock always looks different. Aside from its decorative value, the Flower Clock is also a symbol of Swiss accuracy and city's watchmakers, with the time being kept in sync by radio. One more important detail - at a length of 2.5 m, its second hand is the longest in the world.

Flower Clock in English Garden

• Lake Geneva Promenade

We had lunch at Subway near Cornavin station and continued our sightseeing in Geneva. We walked around the lake promenade for a while and absolutely loved the vibe. This beautiful promenade along the shores of lake Geneva is 10 km long and is lined with palm trees and exotic flowers. The clean waters and sublime views certainly made it an unforgettable experience for us.

Lake Geneva Promenade

• Jet d’Eau - The Geneva Water Fountain

As we walked along the lake Promenade, we came across the famous landmark of Geneva - Jet d’Eau. Jet d'Eau is a large water fountain, located at the point where lake Geneva meets the Rhone river. The fountain reaches an altitude of 140 m and it pumps out 500 litres of water every second into the air. The coolest part is that we could actually go close to the fountain. The wind was blowing in our direction and as we moved closer to the fountain, we were completely drenched which was much needed on a hot summer day! :)

The Geneva Water Fountain - Jet d'Eau

Platform closer to Jet d'Eau

• Ferris Wheel and English Garden

After spending all evening at the eastern promenade of lake Geneva, we returned back to the English Garden to ride the giant Ferris Wheel. The wheel was placed for the duration of Big Geneva Festival: Pre-Fêtes de Genève (July - August). The ride was amazing as we could get 360 degree views across the city of Geneva.

Ticket: 6 CHF per person

Ferris Wheel at English Garden

Views from the Ferris Wheel

Right next to the Ferris Wheel is the Monument national. It was inaugurated in 1869 and symbolizes the entry of Geneva into the Swiss Confederation on 12th September 1814. The monument was constructed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this alliance.

We enjoyed the ambiance at English Garden and decided to have a small picnic (french baguettes and cola) near the Kiosque à Musique. The live music, dancing by the locals, sunset views across lake Geneva and colorful lights made it an unforgettable experience for us. :)

Sunset views at lake Promenade

Nightview, Lake Geneva

With that we ended our day in Geneva and headed back to the bus station to catch our night bus to Munich.

Thanks for reading.