Unanticipated layover in Geneva

[cannon_fodder]

I'm flying YYZ - YUL - GVA on AC and then GVA - WAW on LOT. There were 2 days scheduled to be in Geneva but I just found out that I have to go to WAW on the same day as I arrive in Geneva.

I am supposed to arrive at 10am and depart at 7:30pm. As there is no way for me to change my flights for an earlier time without an excessive upcharge (or a very tight connection through MUC), there will be time to spare in Geneva.

I'm not sure I'm going to be in great shape to do much sight seeing since I will have been awake for at least 24 hours.

Would I have access to any *A lounge that has a shower (I'm AC-E) in the airport? Are there lockers large enough for very large pieces of luggage?

Any suggestions from the hardcore FT'ers on how to spend the time?

[Seat13F_AC_CRJ]

There is a train station at the airport. It is very easy to travel to Geneve mainstation and go for a walk about along the lake shore or into the historic centre. Other possibilities, visit the Red Cross HQ or UN Geneva for a tour.
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13F

[monahos]

Originally Posted by cannon_fodder

Would I have access to any *A lounge that has a shower (I'm AC-E) in the airport? Are there lockers large enough for very large pieces of luggage?

The airport's left luggage facility is actually at the adjacent train station and, being a manned one, can accommodate large luggage.

Star Golds have access to the Swiss Senator and Business lounges (airside, departure side); GVA being my home airport, I have never checked if those have showers, though.

As for the tight MUC connection, if the tight part is in MUC, their short listed connection times are actually quite doable, with some posters reporting successful transfers in ~30 minutes.

If you decide to spend your afternoon in Geneva, get a free bus/train ticket at the distributor located just next to the exit in the baggage claim area, and take a train to Geneva main station, which is the first stop for all trains departing from the airport. From there, most of Geneva is within easy walking distance.

[jaymar01]

If your looking for a cheap place to sleep/shower.....the NH Geneva Airport, and the NH Geneva Downtown frequently come up on Priceline bidding at around $60/night. Both are good properties.

Check biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com for dates and amounts of winning bids.

[catandmouse]

There are paying showers in the arrivals hall (at least there used to be). The lounges aren't worth spending too much time in, whatever your status. I don't believe any of the lounges has showers.
My suggestion would be:
1) Take a shower in the arrivals hall (where bags get delivered).
2) Grab a free transportation ticket just before going through customs (this gives you 80 minutes to travel around the city).
3) Go to the airport rail station and deposit your bags - no I have a better idea, you can probably check them in directly at the departures level. LO will be handled by LX I guess.
4) Take a train or bus trip into town (depending on what you want to do)
5) You'll need to purchase a ticket to ride back to the airport - cost 3 CHF.
Whilst you can pay just about everything in Euros in Geneva (including the bus tickets), you won't get a very good exchange rate.

[Koby]

In your case (after a TATL overnighter) I would try to get to WAW as soon as possible, so I would go for the connection through MUC. If the short connection is an official one on LH I would not worry. MUC is great for short connections.