Day 34: Geneva

Our route from Chamonix to the Burgundy wine region took us right by Geneva, so we thought we would see it on our way.

Geneva is the fourth most expensive city in the world, but ranks second in the price of its hotel rooms. Only Moscow is more expensive. And the hotels on the lake are the highest. Thanks to American Express Points, we found Hotel Rotary, one block from the lake. It is a charming old Swiss hotel that has been completely modernized--with one exception: no parking whatsoever. I suppose most of their guests arrive by taxi or limo, so there is not a great need for parking. To park the Opel, I was directed to a parking lot 6 blocks away, and for a mere 50 Swiss francs per night (about $60 US) I had the world's tiniest parking place on the 5th floor of a Lilliputian parking garage. For that much more money, we could have gotten a hotel on the lake!

Tim, ever the fashionista, had an outfit for every destination. After he didn't get to wear his white linen suit to the casino in Monte Carlo, he insisted on wearing his Swiss t-shirt in Geneva.

Ah, Geneva. The city of money and time, or the city of banks and watches. This unique flower clock was created in the 50's at the entrance to the English Garden and has become a Geneva landmark. The only problem? It shows the wrong time--and not by just a few minutes, but by a factor of hours. So much for famous Swiss accuracy of timekeeping! One can only hope the banks work better.

And of course the other famous Geneva landmark is the Jet D'Eau (water jet) that shoots water at a speed of 120 KPH to a height of 140 meters. It was originally installed as a pressure relief system for the public plumbing system. What? Were their commodes exploding? I'm just sayin'....

 

And money--the other main business in Geneva. Many of the best known banks surround the lake. As we walked the streets of Geneva, we basically saw 3 types of people: tourists (like us) in shorts and flip-flops, well-dressed women in expensive high heels shopping for clothes and jewels, and businessmen (and a few women) in dark suits with dark brief cases striding through the street looking very unhappy and having obviously serious conversations on their cell phones. In fact, the only happy people we saw wearing suits in Geneva were the limo drivers and the watch salesmen!

 Lake Geneva is beautiful and clean, and the buildings of the city fronting the lake are a delight to the eye.

The Four Seasons Geneva on the lake where we had lunch. I had smoked salmon and Tim had the salmon club sandwich. The salmon tasted fresh and delicious, but if Chamonix was our best food value, the Four Seasons was the worst. More expensive than France, even. We each paid 50 Swiss francs (about $60 US) for our lunch, plus wine. Made the parking fee seem reasonable! And to add insult to injury, we both got sick later that night.

The English Garden fronting Lake Geneva. But pedestrians beware! People wearing business suits on bikes ride at breakneck speed through the park without bothering to ring a bell or call out to people walking into their paths.

There are many lovely old mansions along the left bank of the lake facing the park.

We also observed that if the French people are more formal than Americans, the Swiss (at least the ones in Geneva) are downright icy. And in some cases, they are even un-helpful. Maybe if we had arrived in a limo with $26M in a suitcase we might have been better received. 

So our final score for Geneva as a destination: 4 out of 10. Been there, done that, don't need to go back. Can't wait to get back into France!