Geneva

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Geneva as part of my uni course and also as a little city break. One word to describe Geneva is... Amazing... I loved every moment there (aside the rainy days). Lake Geneva, the mountains, the excellent transport link and the friendly and welcoming people makes Geneva one of my favourite cities in Europe thus far, and I will definitely be going back !!

The week started off with sunny spells so I used this to my advantage and explored the city. Like most new places I travel to, I'm never to sure what to expect and the same was for Geneva. However, on arrival I fell in love with the mix of both modern and historical architecture and the cultural vibe of the city. Being a small city Geneva is quite easy to get around and as I mentioned before its transport links are excellent.

Hostel

Geneva is an expensive city and as with all good things there comes a price. As this was a uni trip we were advised to stay in a Hostel based in the center of Geneva called 'City Hostel Geneva'. This was my first time staying in a hostel and I must say the experience was actually good. The hostel provided us with a travel card for our entire stay to get around Geneva, a city map with all the places we could visit and WiFi internet access. I shared a room with a friend (much preferable than sharing with strangers) and the rooms were clean and also the shared facilities. A kitchen was also provided on each floor (which I didn't use) which is an added bonus for those travelling on a cheaper budget or would just prefer to prepare their own meals. On that note I would rate city hostel a 3.5/5, the location is perfect for those who would like to be in the center and also for those looking for a cheaper alternative. 

This is a room for two with a basin and storage space

Things to do

My stay at Geneva was quite eventful. I spent the mornings and afternoons at various institutions such as the United Nations, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), WTO Advisory Center and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

                       

However, in the latter part of the afternoons I took a walk by the lake and the park

I visited the 'Old Town' 

      

The 'unfinished' flower clock 

and one evening I also visited 'Jazz club Sud des Alpes' which is the place to be on a Tuesday night with a live jam session. 

The border of France is about an hour away from the center of Geneva so I decided to take the cable cars up to Saleve Mountain to enjoy the wonderful views. However, I went on a not so good day in terms of the weather but not to worry the experience was lovely. 

Food

There are a few cheap places to eat at in Geneva and one of the places I actually ate at twice was 'Chez ma cousine'. The specialty here are chicken dishes, so if you love chicken this is the place for you. The meal cost 14.90 CHF (Swiss franks), served with half a chicken, potato wedges, salad and some bread. The meal was tasty and the portions were a good size. For desert I had a tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream which cost 9 CHF. Other days I ate at the institutions of the United Nations and the food served there was also very nice and for an affordable  price.  

 Chocolate 

A nice way to end your stay in Geneva is to definitely indulge in some Swiss chocolate. We all love a little bit of chocolate right? It's not just any chocolate its Swiss chocolate..