We are travelling to Switzerland, and have selected Geneva as a home base, due to its proximity to other lake towns, France, and transportation options, as we are travelling with a toddler.
We are looking to stay with a lake view, nearby a train station, and charm of the City. Old Town looks good, but unsure how far from the train station by walking.
Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
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Appreciate it Kent. However, none answered my specific question. Thus, a new thread.
Forget Geneva it is a meh business town kind of non-descript place to be based at not known for tourism. that is why you are not finding ideas of where to stay.
When you land take the train to Interlaken or Bern.
Jazz, that seems to be a consistent theme, but hard to beat the location, transportation, mountain and lake views, and amenities of a large city when travelling with a toddler?
Lausanne is a more charming alternative less then an hour from Geneva with great connections. A little further is more-charming Vevey, also right in the main rail line. Vevey has a delightful lakefront scene, perfect for strolling.
We spent a week in Lausanne last fall and enjoyed it. The convenient Metro served us well avoiding some of the hills. 🙂 We had to walk a block or two to the Metro which whisked us to the train station. The apartment we had would not suit a couple and a toddler, but I found our place on www.Booking.com or www.VRBO.com. Can’t remember which as I use both sites frequently for our travels. We took a boat trip to France one day, many trains into the mountains for hiking outings. Rick Steves covers Lausanne pretty well in his guide book
Montreux is another possibility a bit further east.
Meant to add, when we return to the area, we would stay in Vevey.
I have the Lonely Planet Switzerland guide (in addition to RS), and it has a chapter on Geneva. It offers several suggestions for places to stay. We are staying near the airport for a conference, so that wouldn’t help you.
Geneva is not the Swiss go-to destination for tourists. And for a Swiss "Big City" experience I much prefer Zurich over Geneva.
but hard to beat the location, transportation, mountain and lake views, and amenities of a large city when travelling with a toddler?
I would disagree with all of those, except "large city".
Location - working city at the far extremity of Switzerland.
Mountains - It isn't in the mountains, you see them in the distance.
Lake views - it is a big lake, with many other places on it (Lausanne, Montreux to name two). Plus lots of other lakes in Switzerland.
I would strongly recommend you investigate Luzern as your base. It ticks all your boxes ("lake view, nearby a train station, and charm of the City"). Lake and mountain trips nearby. And it has a central location for trips from the station.
Luzern tourist info including hotels: https://www.luzern.com/en/
360° view of Luzern: http://tour.luzern.com/360/en/
Sorry if that isn't what you ask. This forum is a bit "robust" and we try to guide people who we think may be asking the wrong questions.
Thank you all, greatly. Very helpful, and extremely appreciated.
To those suggesting Lausanne, where best to stay? In Old Town, or on the Lake. Is it walkable from Old Town to the Lake?
Lausanne, . . . . Is it walkable from Old Town to the Lake?
Yes, but not vice-versa. Lausanne is on the side of a hill. From the old town it is downhill to the lake. A very steep uphill the other way.
One line of the métro (M2) runs between the lake and the old town, so you don't have to walk up.
The station is in between, about 2/3 of the way up to the old town, also on the métro so you can use that to get up to the old town..
