Geneva Daytrips

I’m staying in Montreux for 5 nights in June and these are some of the things I have listed to possibly do. You might be able to do some from Geneva, or you might want to stay in Montreux or Lausanne instead—they are more centrally located.

Chillon castle

Saint-Saphorin walk through vineyards

Lutry

Rochers de Naye; daffodils near mid-station Haut de Caux

Train to Vevey, cog railway from the Vevey railway station via Blonay
to Les Pléiades

Funicular to Mont Pelerin

Zermatt; Gornergrat Bahn

Gruyeres; Maison Callier chocolate factory

Lausanne; Colline de Montriond / Cantonal Botanical Museum and gardens

While in Wengen, be sure to check out Mannlichen.

I would strongly recommend that you stay in Montreux or Lausanne. Carrie gives a great list of nearby sights, which are much easier to get to from Montreux or Lausanne and all in Switzerland, so no border crossings or COVID protocols to concern you.

Travel to Geneve for a day, if so desired.

I would choose more time in Wengen/Lauterbrunnen area over Zermatt...though a day in Zermatt is wonderful if weather permits and the Matterhorn is visible.

I would give Geneva one night at most. Agree with above. The big question would be where are you flying in to. Geneva? Car or train? If so, you could use Geneva for one night to recoup from jet lag before moving on to your destinations if Geneva is a must see for her. Annecy or Chamonix are close enough by, but you now deal with crossing borders and COVID restrictions at time of travel and who knows what that will be. What time of year are you planning? The Bernese Oberland area is quite lovely. If you stay in Montreux as suggested, check Montreux to Thun via Zweisimmen for Golden Pass line and for GoldenPass MOB Panoramic or other special trains. Thun is a lovely town with a castle, beautiful lake, and charming town. It is only about a 40 minute train ride from Thun to Wengen. The area is absolutely gorgeous.

When your wife sees the cost of hotels in Geneva she may change her mind about staying in the city. It is very business-oriented, and the hotel prices reflect that. You can stay in one of the smaller towns nearby (we chose a lakefront hotel in Morges) and easily reach Geneva by train for sightseeing there. Or stay in Montreux or Lausanne as suggested by others.

You must have reservations to visit CERN but they are easy to book on their website.

If it matters, Rick does not care for Geneva and does not include it in his guidebooks

To answer the question: the UN building is nothing special (not even sure visits are offered these days), and the CERN is fascinating if you have at least a mild interest in physics (needs to be booked though!) but really quite dull otherwise.
Geneva is fine for a day or so if you are passing through, perhaps as your last night if that's where you fly out from, but that's it. Day trips from there aren't terribly convenient (slow rail services or less user-friendly buses).
Much better to head straight to Lausanne, Vevey or Montreux (and places in between).

Thank you all for your very helpful guidance. This is our first first to Switzerland. We will be arriving and departing from Geneva airport but will be relying entirely on trains for traveling from place to place. I was originally thinking of spending our first 3 nights in Geneva & perhaps visiting Montreaux & Chamonix as day trips but your advice has given us reason to reconsider that option. I did notice that Rick Steves completely ignores Geneva in his guidebook & wondered why since he gives other large cities plenty of attention (Bern/Zurich).

I agree about Geneva - nice enough but so many much better places not far away.

I was distinctly unimpressed, and I went with an open mind as a friend had lived there previously.

I wouldn't mind living in Geneva or Zurich, but if it's your first visit to Switzerland and you only have 9 days then there are much better ways to spend your time.

Geneva's main tourist attraction is the Jet d'Eau, (water-jet) on Lake Geneva. Geneva is very much a business town and compared to other places in Switzerland, I found it quite dull also. (I even prefer Zurich). Montreaux is pleasant enough along the shoreline down to the Chillon Castle. Zermatt was interesting enough but not my favorite place. The Matterhorn is beautiful don't get me wrong, but I found the village very commercialized and catering more towards very rich winter tourists. I think the Lauterbrunnen valley is not to be missed. It is just breathtaking.
Margaret

Thank you for all of your great advice! I'm now leaning toward staying the first 3 nights in Lausanne, then 2 nights in Zermatt, followed by 3 nights in Wengen. The final night would be near the airport in Geneva. Alternatively, we would stay only 2 nights in Wengen then one night in Bern.

Definitely skip Bern, 3 nights in Wengen is already barely adequate in my opinion.
While I like Lausanne, do have a look at other towns in the area (Vevey, Montreux) as they can be more charming and still very convenient.

Alternatively, we would stay only 2 nights in Wengen then one night in
Bern.

I suggest you stay in Wengen. You can always do a day trip to Bern as it's only 1 hour and 39 mins from Wengen. I wouldn't take the time to change hotels for something that close. And that way you're not committed to Bern if you decide you'd rather have more time in the mountains.

Agree with Balso and Carrie. Look into Montreux and day trip to Bern. I think once you get into the mountain areas you will understand why you are being driven to the smaller towns for your stay. Big cities are just that, big cities.

Thanks for all of your very helpful guidance. I'm now thinking of spending the first 3 nights in Lausanne, with day trips to Montreaux & Bern; 2 nights in Zermatt; 3 nights in Wengen; then the final night in Geneva before our return flight.

You can’t go wrong with the sites Carrie has listed. A boat trip on the lake is a must, you can actually use it to get from Lausanne to Chillon castle area. Montreux and Lausanne are quite close to Geneva by train. If you can push on after you fly in, and given the short amount of time you have overall in CH, hop on the train and head directly to Montreux or Lausanne. Geneva is not worth spending time in with such a tight itinerary. Then def to Lauterbrunnen area. Really with 9 days you could split the time between just these two areas if you are flying in and out of Geneva.

Btw Carrie you are going to have such a great time, I envy you! This year I am committed to a family trip with brother and nephew to England and Jersey but if I were returning To CH I would do exactly your itinerary!!!

I can’t believe I forgot the boat rides!! You can even go across to France, which is covered with the Swiss Travel Pass.

I also found some great walks around Gruyeres. Details here:

https://www.fribourgregion.ch/en/la-gruyere/groups/hiking-gruyeres/

cchapin, yes, I’m very excited!! I’m looking forward to exploring the French side of Switzerland. It looks like there are a lot of great places to walk. Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and see a few cows. 😊