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Getting There By Air:

Geneva International Airport (GVA)
Tel: (022) 717 7111.
Website: www.gva.ch

Geneva International Airport is located 5km (3 miles) from the city center.

Airport facilities: These include duty-free shops, newsagents, banks, bureaux de change, ATMs, a post office, travel agency, pharmacy, dry-cleaning, hairdresser, tourist information, hotel booking, left luggage and lockers, as well as several bars and restaurants. Assistance is available for the disabled (tel: (022) 717 7111 for further information). Car hire providers include Alamo, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt. Wi-Fi hotspots and mobile phone hire are also available.

Transport to the city: On arrival by air, take a free ’Unireso’ ticket from the ticket machine in the baggage recovery area which will enable you to use public transport in Geneva city for 80 minutes. Transports Publics Genevois (TPG) (tel: 0900 022 021, in Switzerland only; website: www.tpg.ch) operates a bus route (bus 10) to the city center (journey time - 35 minutes). CFF (tel: 0900 300 300, in Switzerland only; website: www.cff.ch) trains leave every regularly from Cointrin railway station at the airport (journey time - 6 minutes). Taxis to the city center cost about SFr30-35 (journey time - 15-20 minutes).

Approximate flight times to Geneva: From London is 1 hour 30 minutes; from New York is 7 hours 20 minutes; from Los Angeles is 11 hours 30 minutes; from Toronto is 8 hours 30 minutes and from Sydney is 23 hours 15 minutes.

Getting There By Road:

Swiss roads are generally good, although mountain routes can be narrow and winding. Chains and/or snow tires may be required in winter, and after a heavy snowfall some routes may be closed altogether. There is a telephone number for information on national road conditions (tel: 163). Cars drive on the right. The maximum 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, except postal buses when a yellow posthorn on a blue background sign is displayed (a line through this same sign cancels this). Road numbers on green signs indicate toll expressways, where a toll vignette (sticker) must be displayed. An annual road tax is levied on Swiss motorways - motorists should purchase a vignette at border points or from Switzerland Tourism before departure. Stickers are valid for one calendar year. The legal driving age is 18 and a national driving license is sufficient documentation, although Green Card insurance is recommended. The maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.05%.

There are two motoring associations in Switzerland. These are Touring Club Suisse (TCS) (tel: 0844 888 111; website: www.tcs.ch) and Automobil Club der Schweiz (ACS) (tel: (031) 328 3111; website: www.acs.ch).

Emergency breakdown service: TCS (tel: 140).

Routes to the city: 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. Chamonix and Mont-Blanc are within one-and-a-half hours, and Italy (via the Mont-Blanc tunnel) is within two hours. A branch of the same motorway provides rapid links from Grenoble in the south and Lyon in the west, with good connections from Paris. Lausanne, Berne and Zurich are all on the northbound A1 road.

Approximate driving times to Geneva: From Lausanne - 45 minutes; Berne - 1 hour 45 minutes; and Zurich - 3 hours.

Coach services: Geneva’s coach station, the Gare Routière, is situated at Place Dorcière (tel: (022) 732 0230 or 0900 320 230 (in Switzerland only); website: www.gare-routiere.ch). 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 Citybus (tel: (022) 785 4369; website: www.citybus.ch), and Alsa and Eggman (tel: 0900 573 747, in Switzerland only; website: www.alsa-eggmann.ch), who operate in conjunction with Eurolines (tel: 0900 573 747, in Switzerland only; website: www.eurolines.com).

Getting There By Rail:

Schweizerische Bundesbahn, Chemins de Fer Fédéraux Suisses (SBB-CFF) (tel: (051) 220 1111; website: www.cff.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 should, however, only affect travelers who are far from the many tourist areas. Rail travel in Switzerland is comfortable, free of hassles, punctual and almost always scenic.

The main railway station is Gare de Cornavin, Place de Cornavin. Facilities include bureau de change, left luggage, newsagent and post office. Further information is available from national rail enquiries (tel: 0900 300 300, in Switzerland only).

Rail services: 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 (journey time - 8 hours 40 minutes), and there are InterCity and EuroCity trains to Italian cities including Milan (journey time - 4 hours 15 minutes).

Getting Around:



Public Transport
Geneva’s superb bus and tram network is operated by Transports Publics Genevois (TPG) (tel: 0900 022 021, in Switzerland only; website: www.tpg.ch). Although timetables may differ, depending on which line is taken, services in general operate between 0500 and 2430.

It is illegal to board a bus or tram without a pre-purchased or validated ticket. Coin-operated vending machines (where tickets can also be validated) are situated at all bus and tramway stops. These provide a variety of tickets including the Tout Gèneve ticket, which allows unlimited travel for one hour, or cheaper Saut de Puce tickets for three-stop trips or one lake crossing (maximum 15 minutes) on a Mouette boat. Multiple tickets are also available.

Every visitor will receive a Geneva Transport Card upon check-in at their hotel, valid for the entire duration of their stay, covering buses, tramways, boats and trains in Geneva, together with a voucher booklet offering price reductions for restaurants, excursions and shops. You can buy a one-day unireso pass for buses, trams, trains and Mouette boats at CFF stations, TPG sales offices and tourist information offices.

Taxis
Taxis can be ordered by phone, hailed in the street or found in one of the 60 authorized taxi ranks around the city. Taxi drivers are required by law to be able to speak English, although this does not apply to minicab drivers. Taxi-Phone Centrale SA Genève, Geneva’s central taxi service (tel: (022) 331 4133; website: www.taxi-phone.ch), provides a 24-hour daily service.

The fare is shown on the meter, which includes a tip and VAT (rates rise at night and on Sundays and holidays). A tip and VAT are included in the price; however, it is customary for customers to round up the fare to the nearest Franc.

Driving in the City
The roads in Geneva are good and rarely congested. There are extra low speed limits on narrow sections of road, such as in the Old Town. White markings with a meter signify pay to park for a limited period of time, white markings without a meter signify free parking for unlimited time, while blue indicate free parking for a limited time (usually 90 minutes) with a parking disk (see below) and red, 15 minutes. Parking discs can be obtained from police stations. Once in possession of this disk, parking is free of charge in designated zones. Three main car parks are situated under the Mont-Blanc bridge (under the lake) and at Place de Cornavin and Rue Henri Dunant.

Car Hire
Cars can be hired at the airport, railway station and hotels. A national driving license and credit card are required. Drivers must be aged 21 years or older. (There is a supplement for drivers under 25). Providers include Avis (tel: (022) 731 9000; website: www.avis.ch), Budget (tel: (022) 717 8675; website: www.budget.com) and Hertz (tel: (022) 717 8080; website: www.hertz.ch).

Bicycle Hire
You can hire bikes from Rentabike at Cornavin railway station (tel: (051) 225 1482; website: www.rent-a-bike.ch), Hot-Point, Rue des Pâquis 22 (tel: (022) 738 3696; website: www.hotpoint.ch), and GenèveRoule, Place de Montbrilliant 17 (tel: (022) 740 1343; website: www.geneveroule.ch).

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