Switzerland's second largest city, and capital of Romandy, the French-speaking region that makes up a quarter of the country, is a handsome, elegant, and affair with a gorgeous lake- and riverside setting, cosmopolitan cultural and dining scene, and majestic views of the soaring French Alps (more or less three hours away, if you love skiing or snowboarding) and just an hour from another wonderful Francophone Swiss city, Lausanne.
Geneva has plenty of great places to visit, including the cobblestone Vielle Ville (Old Town), the Botanical Garden and Conservatory, and Paquis Baths, a riverside spot especially popular in the summer for its beaches and restaurants. Here I'd like to tell you about three of my other favorites (and since two of them are out of town, I recommend you rent a car or SUV to make traveling there as flexible and easy as possible; otherwise, getting around within the city is fairly easy with public transport and taxis):
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Museum of Natural History
Switzerland's largest natural history museum, the Musée d'Histoire Naturelle is within walking distance of the Lake Geneva shore welcomes 250,000 visitors a year to explore its 8,00 square meters of exhibitions on regional fauna (including replica habitats), minerals/geology, dinosaurs, and a whole floor devoted to the earth and the history of humankind. There are also interactive workshops especially geared to kids. The museum also focuses on future scientific challenges, new technologies, current issues and, of course, environmental protection. And there's a café for light bites and refreshment. An engaging few hours, for sure - and to top it all off, the museum is free of charge!
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Lake Geneva
Locally known as Lac Léman and stretching across 224 square miles straddling through the Franco-Swiss border, Europe's largest lake is a popular spot for warm weather recreation and vacations, and has captivated locals and visitors alike for generations and and even lured a few of those visitors to take up residence on or around the lake (some of the more famous examples including David Bowie, Charlie Chaplin, Phil Collins, Noël Coward, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, and Freddie Mercury).
The locals in Geneva and the surrounding cantons of Vaud and Valais love it for swimming, kayaking, boating, water skiing, wind surfing, wake-boarding, rowing, even scuba diving. If you want to stick to Geneva itself, you can join them, take a tour of the iconic Jet d'Eau (top) at the mouth of the Rhône River, spouting 500 liters per second to a height of 140 meters, or a cruise excursion for an hour or a whole day to various points along the lake. You can also jump in a car or take a train to various lovely towns and cities dotting the lake shore, such as the spa town Évian-les-Bains, the aforementioned Lausanne, Lavaux with its vineyards and wineries, and the beautiful, culturally rich resort city of Montreux, You could easily spend a week just exploring the environs of this magnificent lake!
Benoit Kornmann
Mont Salève
Dubbed "the balcony of Geneva," this 4,524-foot peak looms over the city from 12 miles away, just over the border in the French Prealps, and it's a popular day trip for locals and visitors alike. You can drive up here, or the more fun way is to park your rental vehicle at the bottom and take the Téléphérique du Salève cable car (with daily service in summer every few minutes, less frequently off season) up to the observatory restaurant, which by the way specializes in simple French mountain dishes. Besides spectacular views over Geneva, the lake, and surrounding countryside,it offers lots of recreation opportunities, from hiking trails and bike tracks to rock climbing, paragliding, hang gliding, caving, and even winter skiing - there's something for all levels of physical fitness. There's also a Maison du Salève visitor center, occupying an 18th-century stone farmhouse, with exhibitions about the mountain's history and natural environment. Curiously, there's also a Tibetan Buddhist center up here that's open to visitors.
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