Geneva help
 

Hey fellows, i'm doing MR to Geneva in two weeks. NYC-GVA-NYC-YYZ, with no YQ charge prices out to $306.

Anyways, i've heard there's some sort of bike rental system throughout the city, are there any stations at the airport?
I'm there for about three days, dose anyone have any interesting suggestions on site to visit?
Is it worth to visit some cities nearby, if yes, any suggestions?

Thanks, if anyone is planning a trip to Southwest Ontario, pm me and i'd love to help out:D.

No bikes at the airport, but you can get a free 90 minutes ticket good for use on all public transportation (bus, train, tram) at the airport; the ticket machines are next to the green exits. This will get you to one of the free bike rental stations. Take any train to the Geneva main station (first stop, ~6 times an hour), where the main bike rental place is.

As the English link appears not to work (is French spoken in southern Ontario? :) ), here is the deal:
- free rentals only from 4/25 to 10/25
- four hours max, can be returned at any of 5 locations
- operating hours 9am-7pm, 8am-9pm for main site (Montbrillant, behind main train station)
- regular rentals also available for longer periods

The area around Geneva is actually quite nice to bike through, once you get into the countryside. It is easy to explore since you are hemmed in by the lake and French border, with the Saleve and Jura mountains as further visual roadblocks, so it is nearly impossible to get lost. Biking season here is roughly April to October, May to September for short sleeves.
As for Geneva proper, it is small and the 4 hour limitation will not be a problem. Nothing really spectacular to see though (my jaded native's point of view...) A visit to the northern shore of lake Geneva could be nice (by bike if so inclined, one can always load the bike on a local train if tired), with some of the more scenic routes/stops being around Nyon, Rolle, and the stretch past Lausanne to around Montreux.

What is your budget for accomodations? I doubt anyone would visit GVA for a mattress run, and a savvy mileage runner probably would want reasonably priced lodgings. There are some inexpensive-for-Switzerland options if you are willing to go slightly off the beaten path.

Your hotel should also supply a pass good for free public transit according to what I've read. (Which will get you back to the airport.)

I'm heading for GVA myself in a few weeks and my research suggests that it's worth some sort of boat trip on the lake and a visit to the Red Cross museum. I'm also spending a couple of days in Lausanne, which has the Olympic Museum (which seemed to get mixed reviews).

Depending on when you're there, it may be possible to arrange a visit to CERN.

I'm also obliged to buy chocolate for my colleagues.

thanks for the reply guys, i did take french in high school, but I've forgotten everything already. How well do people in GVA speak English? Apparently I've be there the day of the Geneva Marathon, is that going to be a huge probelm. As for hotels, i'm acturally thinking of hostels. I plan on visiting all the UN stuff, and definately that LHC place.

Thanks again for you help

mhnadel, when are you going to be there, maybe when can have a mini-do with monahos.

I'll get to Lausanne late on 26 May (from Dijon) and on to Geneva some time on 28 May. What train I take between them depends on how interesting or otherwise I find Lausanne. I'm flying from GVA to IAD on the 30th.

I've stayed at the hostel in GVA, it is great.

English in GVA not a big problem. English in Lausanne... big problem. People definitely appreciate some effort with the French in Lausanne.

Red Cross, UN stuff ^. Olympic Museum is pretty :td: imho.

Two cities of interest on the Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) boat trip:
Montreux is the other side of the lake wrt Geneva.
Evian (where the bottled water comes from!) is on the French side of the lake.

GVA is kind of a small city... one day is probably enough.

Lausanne has a walking tour... 2-3 hours should be plenty. Go up to the cathedral, go down to Ouchy.

The real touristy thing to do would be go to the center of Switzerland, Interlaken-Jungfraujoch-Luzern. 2 days total. Get a Swiss pass for that.

Buy your chocolates at Migros... the Frey brand chocolates are great.

That's too bad, i'm in town from the 9 to 12.

Thanks for the tip, it should be ok as long as they can speak english, i find that when i go to france, people think i'm from asia and don't hold it against me when i can't speak french, beside i still remember a little bit from high school french.

I'll definately need to take a train ride to central switzerland.

Oh yeah, I've noticed that too. I'm asian too and the French vendors have less problems with my terrible attempts in French compared to when my white friends go up to the same vendors for help.

It's less of a problem in Switzerland. Usually the vendors approach me in English if they speak it, and if not, I resort to broken French. The nice thing in Switzerland is because of the regional conflict over the usage of French versus German, I find English is the language that is many people's second language (in terms of expertise).