Cheese, chocolate, skiing and The United Nations
Think Geneva and think…
Mentioning Geneva immediately brings to mind…
OK. Here I am – sitting in a little taverna on a small Greek Island in the wine dark Aegean (see “Folegandros”) trying in vain to come up with a snappy intro for “The Travelling Kid: GENEVA!”.
Why Geneva? Well, we found ourselves in this super Swiss city, far from the Aegean (or any sea for that matter) when my husband was asked to speak at the ‘United Nations Technology something – or – other’ and we had to stop there en route to our family vacation. I was a bit concerned about entertaining my Travelling Kid for three days - ‘cuz think Geneva and you think: United Nations, Red Cross and Geneva Convention. Not bad, but not #1 on the old family vacation list. HOWEVER, I just scratched the surface of this little gem of a city and I found plenty of fun family things to do! First of all this lovely French-speaking city has lots of cafes, chocolate shops and more than 20 parks for your travelling kid to run and run and run around in - not to mention a giant, gorgeous lake:
LAKE GENEVA (locals call it LAC LEMAN)
Genevans love their lake and so did we…criss-crossing the glacial blue waters in tiny boats (Mouettes). These little water taxis run regularly across the lake and provide practical transportation while simultaneously delighting young and old alike. Running every 10 minutes from 7:30AM to 6PM you can zig and zag on the M1, M2, M3 or M4 lines (except in winter, of course). But Mouettes aren’t just for tourists. They may be super-fun and very picturesque but they are also a convenient, inexpensive mode of transit. In fact, they can be free too if you are clever enough to take advantage of the GENEVA TRANSPORT CARD. As of January 1st, 2007 all visitors who stay at a hotel, hostel or who even camp in Geneva can get one of these cards that enables its holder to use the ENTIRE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION NETWORK! For FREE! That means bus, train AND boat. It’s a pretty sweet deal, not to mention it was a breeze taking my train-phillic son on public trams just for fun! (For more information: www.unireso.ch or ask for the card at your hotel. I suggest printing out the page in case your hotel doesn’t know about this offer.) In addition to the mouettes there are cruises and lots of other boat activities. For more on mouettes and information on other boat trips on Lake Geneva visit: www.swissboat.com
On our daily voyages across the largest lake in Central Europe, we never tired of the iconic Jet d’ Eau spraying a giant rooster tail of water 459 feet into the air at an astounding 132 gallons per second. It’s one heck of a display and the city’s most famous landmark. We also never tired of spotting swans swim gracefully in tiny circles…blissfully unaware of the urban bustle around them. In fact, we had our own personal swan who greeted us upon our daily mouette departure from Quai du Mt. Blanc and we were sad to say goodbye to our swan pal on our last day there.
[Above left: Jet D’Eau ; right: Swan Pal]
And so our days went…riding boats, bikes, trams and carousels – eating fondue and chocolate and enjoying life. The lack of ‘must sees’ in Geneva is actually a bonus in some ways. Our only “must see” was the MT. SALEVE CABLE CAR – an acrophobe’s nightmare that rises almost 4,000 feet up the dramatic rock face of an imposing limestone cliff…in France. www.saleveautrement.ch/accueil.htm (and yes, you may need your passports.)
It is kind of cool that you can take Bus number 8 about 4 miles out of Geneva and then take a cable car to…France!
Once in France, we took in the breathtaking view of Geneva and Mt. Blanc and watched hang gliders launching off the cliff –all the while picnicking on fresh fruits, bread and cheese purchased at a morning farmer’s market in CAROUGE.
CAROUGE…
…is a groovy little part of town with an artist’s soul. Easily reached by Tram number 11, Carouge is an adventure in itself. (more on the wonders of tram riding later). Carouge was built in the 18th century by the King of Sardinia to rival Geneva and was the ‘decadent’ part of town for many years. The King brought in Turinese architects and the result is a lovely little place to wander with a market square replete with a fountain and plane trees. There is an open-air market every Wednesday AM where we bought tomatoes (that I swear were actually candy), some freshly baked bread and some Swiss cheese (natch).
Speaking of food – Geneva has some great delicious culinary choices for kids. I mean what kid doesn’t like Fondue, Pizza and Chocolate? We were lucky to get some great eating establishment recommendations from our friend, Samar, who lives there – so you are getting the inside scoop on great food!
FOOD:
In general, the food is wonderful in Geneva. There are little cafes everywhere for croissant and coffee and hot chocolate for breakfast. Some of the locations, like PLACE DU MOLARD and PLACE DU BOURG DE FOUR are great destinations for people watching and just hanging out. Here are some places with great locations and great food to check out:
Our hotel’s restaurant had THE best view in town and the food was astounding and in my opinion worth the price of admission. The breakfast is one of those endless, cook before your eyes extravaganzas. The breathtaking views of the lake and mountains alone are worth the trip so if you don’t want to spend the money for a full meal – go for an afternoon ice cream. It is not crowded at that time of day and the light is lovely and they have a full ice cream creations menu. The restaurant is on the second floor and is called: FLOORTWO – Food For Thought. www.kempinski-geneva.com This location is great – just on the Quai du Mont Blanc where the mouettes come and go from.
PIZZA, PEOPLE WATCHING AND CHOCOLATE
MOLINO PIZZERIA RISTORANTE: Place du Molard 7, 1204 Geneva (022.310.99.86) First of all the location is fab. PLACE DU MOLARD is a cobble stoned, café-filled people-watching wonderland. If the pizza, pasta and salads on Molino’s menu don’t do it for ya you can just wander over to another restaurant. The location is especially great for kids on two counts – no cars whizzing by AND there is the tempting…
ROHR CHOCOLATIER: Place du Molard 3. One of three locations, this famed artisan chocolate maker will make everyone very, very happy. Just check out the website – yum! www.chocolats-rohr.ch
LOCAL FLAVOR
RUE DE PAQUIS: This little street is lined with cafes where you can get a croissant and hot chocolate. At one end of the street you will also find an open-air farmer’s market in season. This same area boasts many Lebanese restaurants and our Genevesian pal, Samar, recommends Parfum de Beyrouth on rue Beine for a ‘Sandwich Shawarma Poulet’. She also recommends Bistrot du Boeuf Rouge on rue Paquis. For Japanese she mentioned Miyako on Rue Chontepoulet.
ULTIMATE FONDUE The award for the ultimate fondue goes to:
LES ARMURES: For fondue and raclette. 1, rue des Puits-St. Pierre (022.310.92.72) The fondue is wonderful but the thing Jacob loved most about this place is that it is located on a little cobblestone street right next to a medieval arsenal filled with COOL OLD CANNONS! The restaurant also has pizza and pasta. My son loved the hamburger (sans bun here). It was literally chopped steak – not just ground burger - and it was full of flavor. The burger caused my husband to have ‘order envy’ even though our fondue was superb. Again: location, location, location! The 16th century building that houses the restaurant, Les Armures, is located in the darling, interesting neighborhood of OLD TOWN.
OLD TOWN
Old Town is located on the RIVE GAUCHE (LEFT BANK) of the lake and is a lovely part of town to wander through. Meander along the colorful and historic squares connected by cobblestone streets, or do as we did, which was try to keep up with my four year old son zipping from one old stone public drinking fountain to the next so that he could drink water from whatever demon, lion or dragon had water pouring from their mouths. (Most fountains are potable and the ones that are not have signs)
PLACE DE LA MADELEINE’S carousel and book market will be fun for both kids and parents. The carousel is picture-book perfect with wooden horses. History buff parents will be interested in the fact that the Temple de la Madeleine played a major role in the Reformation. Kids will care less and want you to buy a little toy from one of the many vendors that gather here in season. Jacob got a little knit finger puppet that he loves to this day.
Parents will really love PLACE DU BOURG DE FOUR, a charming old square with equally charming cafes. Perhaps a nap will allow you to sit and enjoy this quiet cobble-stoned respite from the urban bustle or perhaps a bribe of hot chocolate will buy you some peace.
At the outer limits of Old Town’s ancient city walls you’ll find the PROMENADE DES BASTIONS. Not only is it a great green place to run and wander but at the entrance on PLACE NEUVE you will find a kid’s dream…GIANT ENORMOUS, BIGGER THAN LIFE CHESS PIECES! Jacob was transfixed, watching people play. So were we.
BEYOND OLD TOWN
Venture further out of OLD TOWN into the Left Bank and you will find the NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM www.ville-ge.ch/mhng with it’s cast of familiar taxidermic characters. Jacob loved it. So did I and here’s why: it is very compact. The small bite size-ness of it makes up for its simplicity.
Before we leave the Left Bank I would like to mention another park: THE ENGLISH GARDEN. This park, created in 1854, lies on the bank of Lake Geneva. You will encounter tons of families enjoying the park and at the park’s end you will find the FLOWER CLOCK – a working clock made of…you guessed it! What will the Swiss think of next?
Solar Mini-trains? Free bikes? Yep & yep. Geneva is home to a:
TRANSPORTATION EXTRAVAGANZA!
We have already talked about the abundance of boats and boating excursions. But there are so many more modes of fun transportation Geneva is almost like a little theme park!
MINI TRAINS
There are three mini trains that operate in season touring through the parks and streets of Geneva. Some of them are solar powered and all of them are kitsch. (Mini Trains info)
TRAM and BUS RIDING
As I mentioned before you can get a free transportation pass and jump on any tram, bus or boat. The trams are quick, clean and go everywhere. Jacob LOVED the trams and for him they were a ‘destination’. We would just jump on one and ride it to the end and then get on another one…and another one and…did I mention…
I’ve saved the best for last. Geneva has an amazing thing called: GENEVA ROULE. www.geneveroule.ch The Geneve Roule program provides free bikes and you can ride the bikes anywhere. Lots of very well marked bike routes line the city and I had a blast with Jacob in a Bakfiets bike from Amsterdam. In fact, we liked it so much that I bought a Bakfiets bike (www.clevercyles.com) for my birthday and I ride it all over Santa Monica. Geneve Roule supports people who are unemployed or seeking asylum while at the same time promoting the health of people in Geneva. Roule also provides helmets on request. You will need id (passport) and you need to leave a deposit. The money will be returned to you when you return the bike. Make sure to tip the workers as most are barely making ends meet.
We picked up the bike at the Quai du Mont Blanc and rode it along the banks of the RHONE RIVER to the junction of the ARVE to the BOIS DE LA BATIE where you can get up close and personal with peacocks and wander wooded paths. The woods were developed back in 1874 and you can see goats, sheep, chickens and ducks hanging out with the peacocks. Pretty cool.
We also took a fling along the promenade on the RIGHT BANK from the QUAI du MONT BLANC to the PERLE DU LAC park to the BOTANICAL GARDENS. The gardens boast a collection of 16,000 plant species, an arboretum, rock garden, greenhouses and an animal park. (http://www.geneve-tourisme.ch/?rubrique=0000000473&lang=_eng)
Our bike journey took us past people diving into and swimming in the lake at the BAINS DES PAQUIS OUTDOOR POOLS (www.bains-des-paquis.ch) and by hundreds of people just hanging out by the Quai du Mont Blanc. There were kids running and running in the grassy knolls and families laying out evening picnics and lots of people like us lazily biking along this parade of simple joys along the banks of lovely Lake Geneva.
As you can see: just dig beneath the surface and you’ll find that Geneva offers up plenty of great fun family things to do and see. Luscious parks; free bikes; carousel and tram-rides; chocolate and fondue - not to mention lovely Lake Geneva! This city was a sweet surprise on our way to Greece. Overall, not bad for a little Swiss City…far from the Aegean Sea.
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See Google Map below for Geneva Live!
