From the airport to the city centre Geneva

Geneva-Cointrin airport is located 4 km northwest of Geneva. Easyjet offers flights from Toulouse, Bordeaux, Corsica, La Rochelle, Nice, Nantes, Lille and Paris Orly, as does Air France with its low-cost tickets from many cities (without hold baggage). From the airport, the train offers connections not only to the center of Geneva, but also directly to the majority of Swiss cities such as Berne, Lausanne, Montreux, Neuchâtel, Zurich and so on. On arrival, you'll find car rental agencies, restaurants and a tourist information point. Geneva-Cointrin: www.gva.ch

There are several ways to get from the airport to the city center:

By train. Trains departing from the airport - and vice versa (every quarter-hour or so) - provide a 7-minute connection to the Cornavin station, for a fare of CHF 3 (zone 10).

Léman Express. The largest cross-border rail network has been in operation since 2020. It offers six lines and forty-five trains between France and Switzerland. You can use the Léman Express lines to reach the Cornavin train station. It connects the border town of Annemasse on the other side of the lake, serving all stations via the Eaux Vives station, including the left bank.

As part of the "Greater Geneva" project, a network of public transport infrastructures between Geneva, the canton of Nyon and the "French Genevois", i.e. the border towns on the French side, the Léman Express offers a whole network of public transport, buses and trains, linking Geneva and the cross-border region (e.g. Geneva to Annecy, Bellegarde, Annemasse, Cluses, Bonneville, Évian-les-Bains, Saint-Gervais-Le-Fayet, from where you can reach the ski resorts of the Chamonix valley. For timetables, routes and fares, visit www.lemanexpress.ch/fr.

By bus. Routes 5, 10, 23, 28, 57 and Y serve the airport. Lines 5 and 10 go via Cornavin station, while line 28 goes via Nations and Jardin botanique.

By cab. Cabs to downtown Geneva cost between CHF 35 and 45, depending on traffic and timetable.

Arrival by train Geneva

Geneva's main train station is located in the city center on the right bank. It is the Cornavin station (www.sbb.ch/fr/gare-services/gares/gare-de-geneve-cornavin.html).

From the airport station, you can reach the city center (Cornavin station) in 7 minutes. The rail network is excellent and extensive. Trains are regularly scheduled, very safe and punctual, as well as being very reliable. It's a very practical means of transport, recommended for travel in Switzerland.

TGV Lyria Paris Genève. TGV Lyria Paris-Geneva operates 8 daily round trips from Monday to Sunday, every 2 hours for a journey of just over 3 hours, from €29 one way (www.tgv-lyria.com/fr/fr).

CFF. Over 200 trains leave Geneva daily for the rest of Switzerland, France and Italy.

SBB offers season tickets and other discounts: day passes (valid only with a half-fare card and offering an alternative to ordinary tickets, which are excessively expensive in Switzerland), half-fare cards and Supersaver tickets.

The Swisspass product gives you an electronic smart card to download your season ticket, and above all greater mobility on Swiss public transport.

The CFF is part of the Unireso fare community (www.unireso.com): a single fare is applicable to travel by train, but also by bus, streetcar (TPG) and boat (SMGN) in the canton of Geneva and neighboring France. This means you can switch from one mode of transport to another with the same ticket, and from any location in Switzerland. Information and reservations: www.sbb.ch/fr

CFF Supersaver Tickets. Information at all SBB sales outlets or on the Internet, in the two SBB travel agencies (Cornavin station and airport).

Swiss Travel Pass, to discover Switzerland by train from Geneva. The Swiss Travel System groups together all Swiss public transport offers for foreign travelers in Switzerland (trains, post buses, boats on lakes and rivers, as well as local bus and streetcar transport in towns and cities). Swiss Passes make it easy to travel with just one ticket. Unlimited rail, bus and boat travel throughout Switzerland. For 3 consecutive days: CHF 244.

Point of sale Geneva: Tourisme & Congrès, and on the www.swisstravelsystem.com website.

Arrival by boat Geneva

A particularly pleasant way to travel: sailing on Lake Geneva! The lake is ideal for cross-border boat trips between Lausanne (CH) and Évian-les-Bains, Thonon-les-Bains (FR), and Nyon (CH) and Yvoire (FR).

Geneva has no commercial port, but several landing stages: Eaux-Vives, Pâquis, Molard, Genève-plage and Châteaubriand. Les Mouettes (SMGN) are the yellow water cabs that link the two banks(www.mouettesgenevoises.ch).

From the two landing stages, Mont-Blanc and Pâquis, you can reach the lakeside towns. These links operate seasonally.

CGN operates regular boat services between Nyon and Yvoire, Lausanne and Thonon, and Lausanne and Evian, Geneva and Lausanne via Morges and Nyon, Lausanne and St Gingolph via Montreux, and Chillon Castle. In summer, in particular, but also throughout the year, numerous cruises are available. For further information, contact the company: www.cgn.ch

Public transport Geneva

Geneva has a very extensive public transport network operated by Transports publics genevois (TPG): 64 lines operated by 452 buses, half of them owned by TPG. The network covers a total length of 363.48 km.

You can use the entire Unireso network with a single ticket, for an hour, a day or longer. Timetables and network maps are displayed at every bus and streetcar stop, and are also available at travel agencies and tourist information points. For even greater flexibility, you can now download the TPG app onto your smartphone for online payment.

TPG information desk. In addition to online information and purchases, you can reach the following information points: Cornavin station agency, place de Montbrillant 6, Lancy-Pont-Rouge agency, place de Pont-Rouge, Rive agency, rond-point de Rive 1.

Noctambus TPG are buses identified by the letter N. There are ten or so urban lines that run all night on weekends.

Fares. Tout Genève" one-way ticket: 60 minutes at CHF 3. Skip the line" ticket (3 stops): CHF 2. Day pass: CHF 10, CHF 8 (from 9 a.m.). For further information, call Info mobilité Unireso Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. TPG smartphone app and mobile web. For real-time information, selection and route planning, it's best to visit the TPG website: www.tpg.ch/fr

Geneva Transport Card. If you're staying in a hotel subject to the tourist tax, you'll get free use of the "Tout Genève, zone 10" public transport system when you hand over your Geneva Transport Card at check-in.

Geneva City Pass is a product of the Geneva Tourist Office designed to help you discover the city (over thirty free attractions and numerous discounts on tourist sites). This pass also gives free access to public transport on the entire Unireso "Tout Genève" offer (zone 10) in second class. Prices vary according to the length of the visit: 24h for CHF 30, 48h for CHF 40, 72h for CHF 50.

Unireso shuttle boats With 4.3 km of waterways, the famous Mouettes genevoises jaune et rouge (www.mouettesgenevoises.ch) are an integral part of the Unireso public transport network. These small boats (30 to 50 seats) enable passengers to go from one bank to the other in just a few minutes, with a transport pass or a simple ticket. They link Pâquis to Molard (M1), Eaux-Vives (M2) and Genève-plage (M3). Line M4 links the latter to Chateaubriand (Parc Mon Repos near the Perle du Lac). In addition to its practicality, a trip on the Mouettes can be a very inexpensive way to get around. Schedules from 7.25 a.m. to 9.10 p.m. Weekends and public holidays: 10.10 a.m. to 9.10 p.m. Four possible routes M1 to M4 to cross the Geneva harbor.

The landing stages are as follows: Pâquis (n° 1-2-3) port des Mouettes (opposite the grand Hôtel Kempinski); Eaux-Vives landing stage (in line with rue des Pierres-du-Niton); Molard landing stage (opposite Le Lacustre restaurant); P+R Genève-plage landing stage (next to the Port Noir monument); Chateaubriand landing stage (near the La Perle du Lac restaurant).

Intercity buses. The bus station at Place Dorcière offers many regular services (Blabla Bus, Flixbus). Numerous destinations are served, including France, as well as international routes to Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Romania. Coaches take holidaymakers to Alpine ski resorts such as Val-d'Isère, Tignes and Courchevel every day, and six daily return trips to Chambéry (2.5 hours), departing either from the airport or the bus station. Ski Bus packages include transport and lifts. Return tickets are valid for two months. Tourist destinations are also offered, such as the trip to the Europa-Park theme park in Germany.

Information, reservations and payment in five languages on the Internet (www.gare-routiere.ch). Many destinations served from Geneva. Open daily from 6.45 a.m. to 8.30 p.m.

Bike, scooters & co Geneva

Geneva wants to be a green city. It is being developed with a view to devoting more and more space to bicycles and public transport, and less and less to cars. Bicycle lanes are on the increase! Although the city is focused on sustainability, there are still no self-service loan points for electric scooters. The city prefers to rely on bicycles.

Cycle paths. The famous greenway is extremely useful. It's the "Grand Genève" greenway linking Annemasse to Bonne in Savoie. Eventually, it will be extended as far as... Chamonix! You can get around here by bike, skateboard, wheelchair, scooter, baby carriage, etc. There are many cycle paths, but no paper map of the network. You can download the virtual map from the city's mobility website: www.geneve.ch/fr/themes/mobilite-transport/velos

Bike stations: 18 in Geneva. Vélostation Montbrillant (17 place de Montbrillant, behind Cornavin station) is the most central. It's a public parking facility for bicycles run by the city of Geneva. Closer to the airport: Meyrinroule, 1 avenue Vaudagne, Meyrin. For further information, visit the Genève Roule association website (www.geneveroule.ch/fr/velostation).

Thanks to the Donkey Republic app, you can reserve and rent your bike for as long as you need in just a few clicks. The first hour is free; rates vary according to the loan period (24h: CHF 10; 48h: CHF 14; 72h: CHF 19).

With a driver Geneva

Cab. Cab fares in Geneva are very expensive. It costs between CHF 35 and 45 to get from the airport to the city center. Cab Phone (+41 22 331 41 33, www.taxi-phone.ch) is Geneva's largest private cab company (25 operators and 650 cabs, including 150 hybrids, and 750 drivers). Cab Ambassador (ambataxi.ch) has a fleet of 150 vehicles.

Uber. There is an Uber service in Geneva (www.uber.com/global/fr/cities/geneva).

VTC. There are a number of services offering chauffeur-driven vehicles for Geneva, the surrounding area, Savoie, Haute-Savoie and Ain. Rates vary according to vehicle type, number of passengers and distance. For example, visit https://prestigelimousinegeneve.com - https://savoie-vtc.business.site

Vélo-taxi. Bike-taxi rides or cab rides every day except Sunday (or by reservation). Open from March to the end of October with Taxi Bike. The www.taxibike.ch and www.welo.swiss websites offer bike tours in and around Geneva. Rates for a ride in Geneva: 1 km: CHF 3. From 2 km: CHF 7. Further kilometers: + 5 CHF/km + pick-up: 5 CHF.

By car Geneva

Speed limits. In built-up areas: 50 km/h. Outside built-up areas: single carriageway roads: 80 km/h; semi-motorways: 100 km/h; freeways: 120 km/h. Fines for speeding are very expensive! Beware, however, that the law really does favor safety, and driving licenses are revoked for exceeding 21 to 24 km/h in towns, and 31 to 34 km/h on freeways, which means a month's suspension. It should be noted that speeding offences over 25 km/h in towns, 30 km/h outside towns and 35 km/h on the freeway are recorded in the criminal record and mentioned for some time in the extract from the criminal record. We don't play around with speed here, and rightly so! cHF 20 to 40 for excesses of 1 to 5 km/h, CHF 60 to 120 for excesses of 6 to 10 km/h, CHF 20 to 250 for excesses of 11 to 15 km/h, for excesses of 21 to 25 km/h, the fine is CHF 260. Please note that the Mont Blanc bridge can be very congested at peak times, from 5.30pm onwards, or during events.

Maximum permitted blood alcohol level: 0.5 g/l.

Freeways in Switzerland. To use the freeways, you need to buy a vignette costing CHF 40 (valid for a maximum of 14 months, from December1 to January 31). Direction signs are of different colors: green on freeways, blue on national roads, white on other roads. If you enter Switzerland via a border crossing on a freeway, a lane is reserved for vignette holders to allow rapid passage. Driving without a valid vignette or with a vignette used improperly is punishable by a fine of CHF 200. Vignettes can be purchased at the post office or at customs.

Parking. Parking can be a tricky business. Covered parking lots are a practical solution, as they are usually located close to important places to visit. The downside is that they can be prohibitively expensive per hour.

Multi-zone "Tout Public" badges allow you to park in the blue zone (outside the ultracentre) for half a day or a full day. They are now only available via the multipark.ch application. They can be activated remotely at any time.

P+R allows you to park your car in an outdoor parking lot and use Geneva's public transport system with the same ticket. P+R Genève Plage rates (car + Tout Genève zone 10 ticket) for 6 hours' parking: 1 ticket: CHF 14.

Accessibility Geneva

For your mobility, buses, streetcars and trains are equipped for strollers and people with reduced mobility. You may sometimes encounter difficulties in accessing the old town and certain tourist areas. The small bus TPG n° 36 (www.tpg.ch/fr/lignes/36) allows you to get back to the narrow streets of the city center.

Tourist traps Geneva

To drive on Swiss highways, you must have a vignette. Please note that rental cars at Geneva airport often do not have a vignette. You have to get it for 40 CHF at the customs office and at the post office.