Day Trip in Geneva

Moving from the most populous city (Zurich) in Switzerland to the second most populous city. And yes, it’s Geneva (French: Genève). It’s also the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland and the capital of the Canton of Geneva.

We got to Gevena by train, it’s about 3 hours train ride away from Zurich. Because I had purchased the Swiss Travel Pass earlier on, so I got to hop on and off the train and go to anywhere in Switzerland for ‘free’.

Voilà!  Je vous présente Genève…

The weather was great and perfect for taking photos. The giant water fountain below (known as The Jet d’Eau) is actually one of the city’s most famous landmarks. It instantly reminded me of Canberra (the Australian Capital city) where we have our beautiful Captain James Cook Memorial Fountain too.

We shopped a little at the City Center of Geneva. It is the most famous shopping destination of Geneva where various designer boutiques and world famous watchmakers line the streets. It extends from the banking district to Eaux Vives, the parallel streets of Rue du Rhone and Rue du Marche make up Geneva’s main shopping district.

We shopped around for a while and many retail stores were having big sales/promotions. I bought the chapeau that I was wearing in the photos below. Love it. 🙂

After exploring around for a bit more, we spotted a nice café to sit down and take a break, Martel Chocolatier established in 1818. We ordered café crème, two croissants (almond and chocolate) and some lovely macarons.

Our next stops were the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG) and the Red Cross Museum (they were only one bus stop apart). Also, with the Swiss Travel Pass, I got free admission to the Red Cross Museum which was really nice.

There are three separate parts to the exhibition in the Red Cross Museum that allow us to learn about the three major challenges faced by today’s society: Defending Human Dignity, Restoring Family Links, Reducing Natural Risks.

It was a rewarding visit and was definitely a lot more thought provoking than I had expected. It made me realise some of the real difficulties that many have endured or are still facing. It’s probably in our human nature to tend to take things for granted, as it’s just so easy to neglect the things we have or the people who care for us. But we really should not. So let’s be reminded to always appreciate and be grateful with what’s given, never take anything for granted and engage in more ways to help others in need.  <3

Moving on to the UNOG, not many people may be aware of these, but Geneva is known as both the ‘smallest of big cities’ and the ‘city of peace’. It is home to the European Headquarters of United Nations (UN) which is the second largest UN centre after the Headquarters in New York.

Finally, a photo of Palais Des Nations to finish. The building in the photo below is Palais des Nations. It is international territory and it has housed the European headquarters of the UN since 1966.

It’s been a long day. Bonne nuit Genèva!

See you next time. 🙂