Three Days In….Geneva

Location:  Geneva, Switzerland

Visit:  July 2019

The first things that popped into our head when we first started talking about visiting Switzerland, and specifically Geneva, were stoic bankers, expensive watches and the global elite, coming to check in on their money. Not to say there isn’t any of that – Geneva has the reputation of being a global banking hub, and all that goes along with that, for a reason – but there is a lot more to Geneva than meets the eye. There is a relaxed atmosphere here, surrounded by mountains and lakes, that makes you forget about the troubles of the outside world. Here is a recap of our three days in Geneva.

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Day 1

Geneva is located about as far west as you can get in Switzerland, along the western tip of Lake Geneva and only a few miles from the French border. The proximity to France allows many people to live in France (where it is cheaper) and commute into Geneva. We found this to be true of many of the wonderful staff and service workers that we met, including drivers. We landed in Geneva in the mid-morning, after a day in Amsterdam to catch our breath and adjust to the jet lag, and requested an Uber to the hotel. Uber is definitely the easiest way to get around here, and in most of Europe – easy directions, known routes, fixed fares, and language is rarely an issue.

Through our Marriott Bonvoy membership, we were able to get a free night at the Ritz Carlton Hotel de la Paix, right on the waterfront of Lake Geneva. This allowed us to spread the cost of the second night, making it much more affordable. [Travel Tips #9: earn hotel points while you sleep]. As expected, the room was not ready upon an early arrival, but we had a lovely breakfast at one of the hotel restaurants (Living Room Kitchen), and shortly thereafter, our room was ready.

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Our first stop was to head across the bridge to the “downtown” area to do some window shopping and look around the city. The streets along the lake are dotted with luxury hotels, watch stores, boutique banks, and high-end shopping, but as you get a little further from the lake, you see that Geneva is like many other European cities, with small apartments, cafes, bars and restaurants scattered throughout the “old town”. The luxury shopping is quite an experience though. Although only a few items in each store were in our price range, it was a blast to overhear the salespeople cater to international, frequent shoppers. From Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, there were lots of people spending LOTS of money. The 1% indeed!

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After our excursion, we headed to get some lunch at Gusto, at the Hotel Metropole. The patio setting was perfect for lunch and we managed to get a seat in the much needed shade, as Geneva was in the midst of a heat wave. From there, we headed back to the hotel for a change of clothes and some pre-dinner cocktails. The Living Room Bar, adjacent to the hotel lobby was hosting a chocolate (locally made and sold onsite from Phillipe Pascoët), so that was our first stop, of course. Afterwards, we headed to our room and popped open a bottle of our own wine that we’d brought with us from the US. [Travel Tips #1: bring your own alcohol] and enjoyed the view from our room while we got ready for dinner.

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The Pont du Mont-Blanc bridges the two side of Geneva, separated by the Rhône River. On the western side are most of the high-end hotels and on the eastern side are most of shops and restaurants. We really wanted a proper Swiss meal, so we headed back to the “downtown” (eastern) side and walked up the hill to one of the better rated restaurants in the city, Restaurant Les Armures (at the Hotel Les Amures). Everything was quite good, but the highlight was the cheese fondue. What’s a trip to Switzerland without a good fondue, afterall?

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As expected, the delicious, but heavy meal put us over the top and a food coma set in pretty quickly. The walk back to the hotel helped the situation, but after three days of heavy travel, the sweet sheets of the Ritz were calling our name, so it was off to bed.

Day 2

We had a leisurely morning, with breakfast in bed and taking in the views of the lake from our room. We wandered around the “west bank” for a bit, but saved the majority of our activity for the afternoon.

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Crossing the Pont du Mont-Blance, to the “east bank”, we walked up the hill, behind the high-end shops to get a better sense of the city, eventually ending up on a relatively quiet street to grab a couple of cocktails at L’Altelier Cocktail Club. The weather was nice, so we took advantage of the outdoor seating, but the crowd was a little off-putting, with lots of cigarette smokers, so we only had one drink and then headed the Metropole Hotel rooftop for another round. The Metropole looks out over three of the landmark attractions in Geneva: The Flower Clock, the Geneva Ferris wheel and the Jet d”Eau (Water Jet).

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As sunset neared, we headed out to get a closer look at the Jet and the Ferris Wheel.

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Under the Ferris Wheel is a little “village” that comes alive around sunset, with different food and drink vendors, games for the kids and live music. Super fun way to mix with the locals. Once the sunset had hit it’s peak “fire sky” level, we headed back to our hotel for dinner.

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Dinner tonight was back at the hotel, at the Fiskebar, which had near the top of our list of places to dine in Geneva. From their website:

With sleek, organically minded décor and a tailored menu, Fiskebar brings the flavors and mindset of Scandinavia to The Ritz-Carlton Hotel de la Paix, Geneva. The culinary experience, full of bold flavors, emphasizes on highest quality sea products, organic and seasonal ingredients. Guided by a philosophy of the product, the chef Benjamin Breton is constantly searching for rare and exclusive ingredients. Culinary highlights include the lobster rool, the spider crab, chili and sabayon and the pickled mackerel, cauliflower and colonnata. The dishes are created like music scores where fermented or pickled ingredients vibrate in unison to capture the best of Scandinavia. Sit down in the fine-dining restaurant, at the communal high table or in the quietly elegant bar or lounge to indulge in Nordic specialties. The first of its kind in Geneva, the restaurant showcases rare and exclusive ingredients that evoke flavorful authenticity.

Although a tasting menu was offered, we opted for the a la carte and focused on a mix of French-inspired and Scandinavian dishes, including mussels with tomatoes, cod with spinach, and an assortment of local cheeses, capping off the night with a drink at their bar. A delicious meal. Highly recommended, especially if you are staying at the Ritz and can roll right to bed afterwards – which is exactly what we did.

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Day 3

Switzerland doesn’t get a lot of attention as a wine country, especially given the mountainous landscape of much of the country. But Geneva is at relatively low altitude and is adjacent to France, which has some of the best wine in the world. To that end, located just 30 minutes outside of Geneva is a great little wine region that did not disappoint. Switzerland only exports a small percentage of their wine, so most of the wines are ones you’ve never heard of. But the region around Geneva produces a good number of wines and is second only to the Valais region, in terms of total production amongst the cantons.

As has been our experience throughout Europe, Uber was the way to go, once again. Our driver even agreed to wait for us (for a fee) while we tasted and then offered us a ride back to Geneva for the same rate that we would have been charged.

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The winery we visited was Domaine Les Perrières (Domaine Les Perrières, Route de Peissy 54, 1242 Satigny, Switzerland – lesperrieres.ch), a small, but diverse winery in the heart of the region. We were served by both a lovely woman from the tasting room and the son of the proprietor, who had spent time in the US and Australia and helped bridge the language gap. The staff (and owners) were super friendly and we learned a lot about the local grapes, the history and why most of us haven’t heard of any Swiss wineries. We ended up buying a half a case to help replenish our stash and bring a bit back to the US.

Back in Geneva, we had an afternoon of leisure. One of our favorite things to do in cities like Geneva (and London, Amsterdam, etc.) is to have afternoon high-tea service. Not only is it a relaxing way to get off your feet for a bit, but it’s also great tea, great food, and great champagne. The Four Seasons Hotel was just down the street from our hotel and always have a great set up. Four Seasons Geneva did not disappoint – finger sandwiches, champagne, tea (of course) and lots of sweet treats. The crowd had a very “Real Housewives of Abu Dabi” vibe mixed with bankers and random trust fund kids. Great people watching!

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Eventually it was time to head to our next destination, Ibiza, but Geneva was great. Definitely worth a couple of days as a side trip to other destinations. It’s a wonderful place to relax, but also has a few sites to see if you are on a more “attractions-centric” trip, like the United Nations Headquarters, The Red Cross Headquarters, or even the CERN Particle Accelerator Lab.