What budget to travel Geneva? Money and currency

What budget for activities and outings Geneva?

Geneva is often stigmatized as an expensive city to discover. But many of its sights are accessible and even free. All you have to do is plan your stay accordingly.

Good ideas for free discoveries. Every first Sunday of the month, paying museums are free. The city's twelve museums open their doors free of charge to temporary exhibitions normally subject to a fee, as well as private museums such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum.

Many concerts are also free on Sundays.

In summer, the parks become open-air cinemas: Ciné Transat (www.cinetransat.com). Access is free, with the only charge being for deckchair hire.

The new public beach is accessible to all, and the Bains des Pâquis (a mythical spot) is available at the derisory price of CHF 2 admission.

The parks are all freely accessible, as are the Botanical Garden and its animal park. Free visits are often organized.

For more great deals, check out the Geneva Tourism website (www.geneve.com), the Genève pas cher website (genevepascher.com) and the city's website (www.geneve.ch).

Culture Passes and interesting attractions. For museum visits, the Pass Musées (https://museesdegeneve.ch/pass-musees) brings together sixteen Geneva museums at a price of CHF 40, with no time limit.

The Geneva City Pass (www.geneve.com) gives you free access to all museums, around 30 free attractions and free public transport. It's the best way to save money on your visits. It quickly pays for itself, as some museums are only CHF 13. The 24h pass costs CHF 26, the 48h pass CHF 37, and the 72h pass CHF 45.

For people with disabilities, the Cédille association has developed the Culture accessible Genève website (https://culture-accessible.ch) to promote cultural events accessible to people with sensory, physical or mental disabilities.

Lake Geneva gives another dimension to Geneva. It is this river that makes Geneva unique, stretching out in an exceptional setting enhanced by the Jura on one bank and the Mont Blanc massif on the other. Geneva is also a hymn to nature and sport. On sunny days, it is a real pleasure to swim in the clear waters of the lake - even in winter. You will be spoilt for choice between the beaches along its shores, from morning to night. The Eaux Vives beach, extended by Genève Plage, the Pâquis bath, and all the beaches along the shores near the city in Versoix, Coppet and as far as Nyon, offer an escape and a vacation before its time. Moreover, few Genevans leave in the summer because Geneva offers a plethora of free cultural and musical events. From morning to night, concerts are organized, such as the Aubes concert at sunrise in the summer at the Pâquis baths, an exceptional musical event.

Almost all water sports are practiced: swimming, sailing, paddle windsurfing, diving, not forgetting of course the famous crossing of the lake which takes place every year and is exceptional for its participants.

The parks are beautiful and many activities are organized: yoga classes, concerts, outdoor cinema... In summer, you can even borrow a book, a game and a deckchair for a break. The Botanical Garden organizes free thematic tours of the park, check the dates: www.ville-ge.ch/cjb

Inline skating and cycling have their place around the harbor and the Geneva countryside offers bucolic paths for bike rides: www.geneve.ch/fr/thèmes/mobilité-transport/vélos

Regular clothes in department stores like H&M and C&A are competitive. In general, ready-to-wear clothing is more expensive than in France. You will find thrift stores with notably luxury products on sale. This is an advantage of the city.

Shoes can benefit from interesting prices. Concept stores are often a little less accessible but always very original.

Tax exemption. You can ask for a refund of the VAT with the help of the tax-free form, which must be stamped by a Swiss customs office. In Switzerland, the VAT is 7% and is included in the sale price. If your purchase reaches the sum of 300 CHF in the same store, you will benefit from the VAT refund. The application is made at a Global Fund office. There is a kiosk at Geneva airport for this purpose.

The cost of living in Geneva is high. For this reason, many Swiss people come to live in France while working in Switzerland - like the majority of cross-border commuters - and do their food shopping there.

Geneva is however an extremely dynamic city in its cultural offer and proposes many free cultural events. In the summer, in particular, free concerts are held in public parks such as the Parc Lagrange or on the banks of the lake. These are concerts of excellent quality, of great variety, between world music, jazz, blues, rock, classical music ...,

or the one of the "Aubes", exceptional in summer, free at the Bains des Pâquis.

The beaches are free. A lunch or dinner at the Bains des Pâquis offers a meal at an unbeatable price. In summer, access to the beach is 2 CHF.

Visit www.genevepascher.com/animations/ to find out about cultural events in Geneva at moderate prices.

What budget to eat Geneva?

A real culinary scene: the range of tastes is wide and there is something for every budget. There are more than a thousand restaurants in Geneva, enough to satisfy your desires. Some very nice restaurants offer menus starting at 80 CHF, while traditional restaurants are more affordable at 25 to 50 CHF. You can eat on the run in a restaurant for 15 CHF for the dish of the day. Many restaurants offer lunchtime menus.

In the summer, temporary terraces by the lake and food trucks invite you to picnic in the parks or on the beaches.

Locally, the Fourchette verte website (www.fourchetteverte.ch) lists the restaurants that have received the label by category and price.

The prices of the drinks are in line with the destination, a little more expensive than elsewhere. A coffee (here, equal to a large coffee) costs 3,50 CHF with the small cream, beer 7 CHF, soft drinks 5 to 7 CHF, cocktails from 12 CHF.

Service is included but a tip is always appreciated.

What is the budget for accommodation Geneva?

Hotel rates are, for the same services, almost twice as high in Switzerland as in France. No pleasant double room costs less than 180 CHF. Lodging in Switzerland is therefore expensive, but hotels are generally very well kept and of good quality. It is good to know that on weekends, many establishments offer good rates. Overnight stays in Geneva are mainly concentrated during the week with business tourism.

In summer, hotel rates are lower because Geneva is a business city.

Beware of trade shows and other events that take place in Geneva: room rates can go from simple to triple, or even more, depending on the law of supply and demand.

The rates given are for information only. Consult the hotel websites, as rates vary greatly throughout the year. Thus, a rate for a high comfort hotel can be slightly higher than a lower end hotel for small budgets. Do not hesitate to compare rates. Hotels in Geneva for small budgets are still very expensive for a very relative quality/price ratio.

You will also find all the hotel chains for medium budgets. For a less expensive stay: bed and breakfasts offer a good solution (see the website www.bnb.ch), as do youth hostels.

And for an even cheaper stay, consider setting up your base camp in France: there are hotels in Ferney Voltaire and in villages a little further away

there are hotels in Ferney Voltaire and in villages further away from the border at a much lower cost. The villages benefit from a good bus network connecting them to the city center of Geneva, to the airport or to the train station regularly and quickly!

Travel budget Geneva and cost of living

Geneva is not known for being a low cost destination! But you can find good deals to optimize the budget of your stay, such as traveling on weekends when hotels favor deals or taking the Geneva City Pass to access tours at a discount. It is not in the Swiss spirit to negotiate and prices are fixed. However, it is always appreciated to show your appreciation with a tip in cabs, hotels and restaurants.

Budget ideas. Small budget: 140 CHF per day (night in a youth hostel or camping, two meals "on the go", bus, one drink in the evening, additional expenses). Medium budget: 250 CHF per day (night in a small hotel, two meals in "cheap" restaurants, bus, one drink in the evening, additional costs).

Big budget: from 400 CHF per day (night in a charming hotel, two meals in good restaurants, bus, cab, one drink in the evening, additional costs).

Transportation: TPG bus and streetcar tickets 2 CHF (three-stop hop-on hop-off) and all of Geneva 60 minutes 3 CHF, day pass 10 CHF. Hotels distribute the Geneva Transport Card which gives free access to public transport.
Parking: in most parking meters, you must enter your license plate number and you can pay in euros. About 1 CHF/20 minutes. You can pay directly with your cell phone.

Accommodation. If your budget is really tight, you can book a hotel on the French side, at the border. Indeed, Ferney-Voltaire and the other villages of the canton and the Pays de Gex offer hotel rooms at much lower rates than in Switzerland for the same quality/price ratio. Ferney-Voltaire and many villages are well served by a bus network that runs regularly to downtown Geneva. Also consider the exchange rate which, depending on the current rate, may not be very advantageous if the euro rate against the Swiss franc is lower.

In addition, Ferney-Voltaire, a border village, and many cities such as Annecy, Annemasse, Thonon-les-Bains, etc., belong to the Greater Geneva area. These towns will soon be served by the streetcar linking them to Geneva, making transportation much easier. The Leman Express already connects Annemasse to the Cornavin station, and the whole project will be completed in 2026.