Known for decades as the “Capital of Peace,” where nations work out trade agreements, sign peace treaties and debate global land mine issues, Geneva could also be called the “City of Acronyms,” where the letter designations of 83 Geneva-based international organizations — among them ILO, UNHCR, WHO, WMO, WTO, ICRC and CERN — are as familiar to Genevois as the names of their family members.

Almost completely surrounded by France, Geneva’s city streets run seamlessly from one country to the other; and with non-Swiss citizens from 190 countries making up 40 percent of its population, Geneva sometimes struggles to establish its own Swiss identity. In fact, France annexed Geneva in 1798 along with other French-speaking cantons until the city rejoined the Swiss Confederation 16 years later. Today, French remains the language on the streets and in local media, and the city’s cuisine and fashion sense seem more Parisian than Swiss. Thousands of workers commute to Geneva from suburbs located in France. And even Mont-Blanc, the snow-capped, 15,781-foot mountain that stars as Geneva’s most iconic view, belongs to France.

At its heart, however, Geneva is thoroughly Swiss. The city’s natural environment — located on two major rivers and Lake Geneva, Europe’s largest freshwater lake — and views of the Alps and Jura Mountains give it a dramatic and beautiful Swiss sense of place. Swiss banking and tax laws attract international corporations and the very affluent, helping to make Geneva one of the world’s wealthiest cities. The city ranks third in the world in the number of millionaires per capita (18 percent are millionaires), trailing only Switzerland’s largest city, Zürich, and top-ranking Monaco. Despite its reputation among critics as a pretentious city of rich playboys, expensive watch and chocolate shops and snooty waiters, Geneva won the title “Europe’s Leading City Break Destination” at this year’s World Travel Awards, beating out Paris, London, Madrid, Rome and Dublin. Obviously, this Swiss city must be doing something right.

For the city of Geneva and the canton of the same name, that something right includes reaching out to visitors with savvy promotions such as a free Geneva Transport Card with a hotel reservation, free bicycle rentals and free WiFi throughout the city — good gifts to alleviate sticker shock for first-time leisure visitors. The city also welcomes traditional businesses, innovative startups and a thriving meetings industry. More than 931 multinational companies maintain offices in the region, as well as four major convention and conference centers. Geneva pays close attention to infrastructure and public transport to make life as pleasurable as possible for the 195,000 people who live within the city limits and the additional 700,000 who reside in the Swiss and French suburbs surrounding the city.

However, Geneva’s efficiently run transport system does not yet reach into the newest suburban communities, and its crowded roadways struggle to keep up with the region’s population and employment growth. Urban planners faced transportation issues for years, moving suburban commuters into and around a growing metropolitan area whose geography is splintered by two major rivers, a large lake and many hills while also challenged at every stage by local environmentalists concerned about noise, air pollution and loss of green space, which is sacred to the Swiss. Thus, no wide expressways or ring roads cross or circle the city, keeping neighborhoods intact and parks pristine but leading to nightmarish rush hours.

The Hans Wilsdorf Bridge, built in 2012, spans L’Arve River. © Ron Bernthal

With just a few narrow bridges crossing the rivers linking Geneva’s districts, residents fear adding another bridge or even a tunnel under Lake Geneva (which was voted down this year) would do little to improve traffic congestion. For now, hopes lie with CEVA (Cornavin-Eaux-Vives-Annemasse), a major new rail project that will complement and link the existing Swiss and French rail networks and provide 10 miles of a new semicircular rail line connecting the northern and southern sections of the city (right and left banks of the lake), including seven new rail stations. The project, started in 2011, is expected to take six to seven years and will result in new residential neighborhoods developing around modern rail stations, with commuter parking areas, new commercial districts and, with two-thirds of the line underground, plenty of greenways for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Because of the severe shortage of inexpensive living accommodations in central Geneva, some of the more affordable residential projects resulting from the new CEVA line have already been announced, including a sustainable development expected to accommodate 11,000 residential units in the city’s Vernets neighborhood, with two CEVA stations nearby. Swiss architects will design one of the project’s residential towers to include a large park, the use of renewable energy and limitations on residential car use.

In a situation unique to Geneva, strict Swiss zoning and building permit regulations created a residential and commercial building boom in the suburbs, which in Geneva’s case means the adjoining areas of France, where building permits are easier to obtain, prices for almost everything are lower and, thus, housing rentals and property purchases are less expensive. Nearby French communities like Ferney-Voltaire, Gex, Divonne, Annemasse and Saint-Julien sit relatively close to Geneva’s business district, and commuters are filling new apartment buildings there.

New accommodations opened in Geneva this year include the Float Inn, a five-cabin luxury catamaran which offers one-night rates on Lake Geneva or a combination of two nights and a lake cruise.

In a city where even not-for-profit organizations need generous food and beverage expense budgets, pricey restaurants and bars abound on almost every street and, recently, on many rooftops as well. Several rooftop restaurants appeared this year, including the excellent IZUMI atop the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues. Rooftop⁰42, on the roof of a commercial building on Geneva’s upscale shopping street Rue du Rhône — currently a hip place for late-night eating, drinking and socializing — offers great views of city and lake. Open only in summer, the spacious 5 Rooftop Lounge/Bar/Restaurant features umbrella tables and views from the top of the Swissôtel Métropole.

Things to Do in Geneva

The close-in neighborhoods of Geneva, each with its own identity, offer plenty of shopping, restaurants and museums. On the Rive Gauche (Left Bank), Old Town marks the historical heart of the city, where stone buildings and narrow, hilly, cobblestoned streets evoke Geneva’s earliest beginnings. When your legs give out, sit on the world’s longest wooden bench (720 feet) on Promenade de la Treille. Eaux-Vives, also on the Left Bank and close to the lake, offers beautiful views, large parks and lots of shops and restaurants; look for the LeCorbusier 1932 glass building on Rue Saint-Laurent. In the Plainpalais neighborhood close to the University of Geneva, visit a huge flea market popular with locals, or explore the Patek Philippe Museum for a look at the Geneva-based watchmaker’s most famous timepieces. Nearby find the new and expanded Musée d’ethnographie de Genève, opened this fall in a shiny metal building with diamond-shaped windows. La Junction lies between the two rivers, a gentrified neighborhood with many new shops and restaurants.

Lavaux Vineyards on the north shore of Lake Geneva © RegisColombodiapo.ch

On the Rive Droite (Right Bank), near Gare de Cornavin, Geneva’s central rail station, explore the interesting but gritty neighborhood of Pâquis where stores and restaurants mingle with a small, legal red-light district. Quartier Grottes Saint-Gervais, a great little residential neighborhood on the hilly streets above the station, offers good non-touristy restaurants and the fascinating Schtroumpfs (Smurfs) apartment buildings with their colorful, curved walls. In the International District, you will find the huge Palais des Nations (The United Nations Office), the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum, and the tall Broken Chair sculpture created by Daniel Berset in 1997 to bring attention to land mines.

Farther south on the Left Bank, Carouge, originally settled by Sardinians, offers an idyllic place to spend a few hours. Meander streets lined with Mediterranean-style residential buildings, many with bougainvillea, lemon and orange trees in front. Browse the boutiques, outdoor cafés, parks and fruit and vegetable markets.

You can’t miss the city’s most popular visual attraction, the Jet d’Eau high-pressure fountain that shoots water 420 feet into the sky from its location along the shore of Lake Geneva. Visible from almost every part of Geneva, the closer you get, the more dramatic it becomes. For spectacular aerial views of the city and region, head to the all-season Mont-Salève Cable Car five miles south of Geneva for a quick ride up the 4,500-foot mountain.

CHECKING IN WITH BERTRAND STAEMPFLI

Press Officer, Genève Aéroport

Considering Genève Aéroport borders France, what arrangements allow easy passenger access between France and the airport?
Genève Aéroport’s runway expanded in 1956 into French territory, thanks to an agreement between Swiss and French authorities. France negotiated direct access to a dedicated sector of the airport. Ever since, every flight from Geneva to a French airport is considered a domestic French flight and operates from the “French Sector” of the airport. Passengers can reach the French Sector from the main Swiss terminal, actually going through French Customs, or directly from France by a dedicated road linked to the French city of Ferney-Voltaire.

Does the airport maintain special security to handle diplomatic flights and dignitaries who transit here?
Our city is home to many international organizations and hosts more and more international conferences. Genève Aéroport has naturally participated in the enhancement of political and diplomatic activity. Federal and cantonal police, as well as the army when required, manage security on airport grounds. The Airport Protocol Office, staffed with about 20 persons, is dedicated to heads of state, prime ministers, heads of international organizations, members of royal families and other visiting dignitaries, handling about 4,200 welcoming operations a year.

Being three miles from the center of Geneva, how does the airport manage the conflicting needs of the business community, tourists and environmentalists?
Genève Aéroport was built in the early 1920s in a quiet place near the border, but villages edging the airport grew to become cities. The airport is now located between a road, a highway, a railway, industrial buildings, an international exposition center, a concert hall and the French border. Public transport links passengers to the center of the city in less than seven minutes, but our development definitely has reached its limits. We strictly apply the night ban (12:29 a.m.–5:59 a.m.), and our environmental policy is a great priority. We financially participate in installing insulation in housing within noise exposure areas, on both Swiss and French sides, and we meet on a regular basis with representatives of residents’ associations.

Where would you take visitors around Geneva?
I grew up here and know the city quite well, and I would invite visitors for a stroll through Old Town, seeing the cathedral and some of the oldest architecture, witnesses to the story of this city. We would visit museums there, and after letting my guests spend some Swiss francs in the main shopping streets downtown (known as les Rues Basses), we would go to the lovely Bains des Pâquis, a pier giving access to a beach on Lake Geneva. We would have dinner at Les Fourneaux du Manège in Onex, 20 minutes from the center of Geneva, tasting specialties based on fish straight from Lake Geneva.

Geneva: Just the Facts

Time Zone: GMT + 1
Phone Code: Country code: 41 City code: 22
Entry/Exit Requirements: U.S. citizens must have a passport that is less than 10 years old and valid at least three months after the planned departure date; no visas are required for stays of up to 90 days.
Currency: Swiss franc
Official Language: French, although English is spoken everywhere. Italian, German and Romansh are also official languages of Switzerland.
Key Industries: Information and communication technologies, watch industry, banking and finance, commodity trading, fragrances industry, life sciences and biotechnologies, international organizations, tourism

Geneva Info to Go

Geneva International Airport is located just three miles from city center, with easy access by train (about six minutes), bus or taxi. All trains stop at Geneva-Cornavin station in the city center. Taxi fare into the city runs about $37–47. The airport’s main Terminal 1 has been enlarged and modernized, and Altitude restaurant, located in the departure area’s public zone, offers gourmet cuisine by noted Relais & Châteaux chefs with views of the tarmac and surrounding mountains.

View of Geneva from Four Seasons Hotel des Bruges © Four Seasons Hotel des Bruges

Where to Stay in Geneva

Four Seasons Hotel Des Bergues An exquisite city landmark on Lake Geneva since 1834, the 5-star property offers 115 beautifully decorated guestrooms and suites, extensive spa facilities, great dining and fully equipped meeting venues. 33 Quai des Bergues $$$$

InterContinental Genève Hotel This newly redesigned 5-star luxury hotel close to the United Nations offers great views of Lake Geneva and Mont-Blanc, an outdoor pool, two restaurants and a business center. 7-9 Chemin du Petit Saconnex $$$$

La Réserve Genève Hotel and Spa Situated on 10 acres on Lake Geneva, close to the airport and downtown, the 5-star property offers private surroundings, indoor and outdoor pools, dining venues, spa and fitness facilities and a skating rink. 301 Route de Lausanne $$$$

Restaurants in Geneva

Le Flacon Opened in 2011, the small restaurant with an open kitchen already received its first Michelin star. It’s pricey, but the menu du jour is delicious and reasonable. 45 Rue Vautier, Carouge $$$–$$$$

IZUMI Reserve one of the 45 seats (25 when the terrace is closed) in this beautiful rooftop sanctuary attracting guests and locals for Japanese-Nikkei fusion cuisine and views of the lake and Mont-Blanc. Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, 33 Quai des Bergues $$$$

Restaurant Le Cigalon Chef Jean-Marc Bessire serves wonderful fish and local Swiss wine at this Michelin-star restaurant southeast of the city. Enjoy the chef’s table in the kitchen and summer courtyard dining. 39 Route d’Ambilly, Thônex $$$$

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