Travel to Geneva
Flying to Geneva
British Airways, SWISS and easyJet offer direct flights to Geneva from the UK. Flights to Geneva take about 1 hour 30 minutes from London. Other airlines offering flights to Geneva from the UK include Lufthansa, Air France and Austrian Airlines. Cheap flights to Geneva are available from no-frills airline easyJet.
From London - 1 hour 30 minutes; New York - 7 hours 20 minutes; Los Angeles - 11 hours 30 minutes; Toronto - 8 hours 30 minutes; Sydney - 23 hours 15 minutes.
Travel by road
Swiss roads are generally good, although mountain routes can be narrow and winding. Chains and/or snow tyres may be required in winter, and after heavy snowfall some routes may be closed altogether. There is a telephone number for information on national road conditions (tel: 163). Traffic in Geneva drives on the right and the minimum driving age is 18. Speed limits are 120kph (75mph) on motorways, 100kph (62mph) on dual carriageways, 80kph (50mph) on main roads and 50kph (31mph) in towns.
On minor roads, traffic going up a mountain has priority. Road numbers on green signs indicate toll expressways, where a toll vignette (sticker) must be displayed. Motorists should purchase a vignette at border points or from Switzerland Tourism before departure. Stickers are valid for one calendar year. A national driving licence is sufficient documentation, although Green Card insurance is recommended.
There are two motoring associations in Switzerland: Touring Club Suisse (TCS) (tel: 0844 888 111; www.tcs.ch) and Automobil Club der Schweiz (ACS) (tel: (031) 328 3111; www.acs.ch).
TCS (tel: 140); ACS (tel: (044) 628 8899).
Geneva is connected to the rest of Europe by an excellent network of motorways. From the south, motorists can follow the 'Route Blanche' to the outskirts of Geneva. The French skiing resort of Chamonix/Mont-Blanc is within 90 minutes, and Italy is within two hours. A branch of the same motorway provides rapid links from Grenoble in the south of France and Lyon in the west, with good connections from Paris. Lausanne, Berne and Zurich are all on the northbound A1 road.
From Lausanne - 45 minutes; Berne - 1 hour 45 minutes; Zurich - 2 hours 45 minutes.
Geneva's coach station, the Gare Routière, is situated at Place Dorcière. A number of operators provide regular links to Barcelona, Dover, Lisbon, London, Lyon, Madrid, Marseille, Nice, Rome and the French skiing resort of Chamonix/Mont-Blanc. Service providers include Veolia Transport (tel: (022) 756 9000; www.veolia-transport.ch), and Alsa + Eggman (www.alsa-eggmann.ch), who operate in conjunction with Eurolines (www.eurolines.com).
Travel by rail
Rail travel in Switzerland is comfortable, hassle-free, punctual and often scenic. The main railway station in Geneva is Gare de Cornavin, Place de Cornavin. Further information is available from national rail enquiries (tel: 0900 300 300, in Switzerland only).
The Swiss rail network provides rapid connections within Switzerland and Europe, with hourly links from Lausanne, Berne, Basel and Zurich to Geneva. From Paris, it takes three hours and 30 minutes by TGV. Overnight trains Pablo Casals and Catalan-Talgo connect Geneva with Barcelona, and there are InterCity and EuroCity trains to Italian cities including Milan.
Schweizerische Bundesbahn, Chemins de Fer Fédéraux Suisses (SBB-CFF) (tel: 0900 300 300, in Switzerland only; www.sbb.ch) is the national railway system, covering most of the country. However, in some alpine areas, the railway is still operated by whichever private company initially provided the service in that area - this will only be relevant to travellers outside the main tourist areas.
From Zurich – 3 hours; Paris – 3 hours 30 minutes; Milan – 4 hours 15 minutes; Barcelona – 8 hours 40 minutes.