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Writer's pictureShannon Heaton

Geneva – Lake, Alps and Vines


Switzerland is known for watches, knives, banks and mountains. We opted to see more of the countryside than industry and spent the weekend exploring Geneva and surrounds.

Geneva is situated on Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) which is shared with France, and is home to the Red Cross and Europe’s United Nations.

The day started with a delicious Swiss breakfast of pastries, muesli, cold meats and (Swiss) cheese. We were fueled and ready to start our hike over the Lauvaux Swiss Wine route. This path starts at St Saphorin, travels through vineyard villages which provide excellent views over the lake and Alps, and ends in the beautiful town of Lutry. Covering 800 hectares, Lavaux is the largest continuous vineyard region in Switzerland, with vines grown in every spare piece of land in the area. The Lavaux region has been protected by UNESCO since 2007.

The path takes approximately 3 hours to complete one way, and there is a train that will take you back to the start. In fact, we could have skipped the hike together and simply caught the train on this scenic route, but that would not have been as rewarding…. After climbing the hills we earned the wine that was the end of the trip!

A pop up wine tasting presented itself at a quiet view point which was the perfect way to finish our walk, relax and enjoy the view of Lake Geneva and the Alps.

After an incredible day of exploring the Swiss Wine Route on foot, what better way than to replenish all those calories burnt than with Swiss cheese fondue?! This quintessentially Swiss meal would have been more thoroughly enjoyed in a ski chalet in the winter, but we did it anyway. Delicious melted cheese over a hot pot with all the bread you need ready to be dipped.

Day 2 was time to explore Geneva itself, so we headed to the Old Town for some delicious Swiss Hot Chocolate (the best I’ve ever tasted!) and to see what the city has to offer.

As it turns out, not much on a Sunday. Many shops and restaurants close down and are not open until the afternoon, if at all.

However we made do with what we had and checked out the flower clock, the United Nations and the botanic gardens.

The Jet d’Eau is one of the city’s main attractions, and is simply a water jet originally installed as a safety valve for a hydraulic power station. Today, the jet powers water 130m into the air year round.

The city of Geneva is pristine, with flowers, lake views and mountain glimpses from every corner. Next time we return to the lake (and we will!) I will definitely bring my swimming costume to brave the icy waters, and perhaps explore more of the other side of the lake from Lausanne or Montreax.

Here are some more snaps from our time exploring Geneva.

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