Switzerland’s beauty is indisputable, as well as the research papers state the country is one of the best to live in. Everything comes with a price. So how do the ordinary tourists manage to survive in Switzerland without going bankrupt? Do you need to have all of your savings with you to enjoy the country? We figured out some tips and tricks (completely) unintentionally to share with those of you who want to visit this wonderful place. Some things turned out to be completely free, others are a good deal having in mind the high standards. So, fortunately, our long weekend in Geneva and around turned out not to be equally expensive as a 3-week vacation in a tropical destination. Let’s find out how we can visit Geneva on a budget.
Enter Saint Pierre Cathedral and Old Town (free, access to tower 5 CHF)
For those who don’t get bothered with walking on cobblestone streets mostly up- or downhill, Old Town is expecting you with nice sights and hidden corners full of charm. Entering and walking around the Old City comes for free (yes, there are places on Earth you need to pay even for this). One of the main points of interest is the Saint Pierre Cathedral which could be enjoyed from the inside for free. Access to its tower costs
5 CHF(as of August 2015) but see the views from up there first before you decide if you could sacrifice 5 CHF and climb a decent amount of stairs.
Now you can enjoy some of the promised views from above. The lack of photo coverage from the climbing is intentional.
Open Summer City Festival
This festival spreads for ten days at the beginning of August and we were totally surprised by the diverse atmosphere. With food and drinks booths from around the world and music shows on three different stages, the party is guaranteed. The lake bank was so colorful and full of hundreds of people.
While wandering around the festival stalls and performances is free, eating and drinking are not. Caipirinhas would come at the price of 10 CHF, which was the minimum price for durum. We wanted to try something from Switzerland so we went for Fondue in two pieces of French bread. Altogether with two Mexican tequila beers – 30 CHF. That is probably one of the cheapest treats if you eat out in Switzerland.
One-hour long fireworks
Those fireworks are part of the festival and were amazing. They had a special choreography – fireworks dance aligned with music and most importantly – they lasted for an hour! It is completely free of charge and everyone residing in the city was in the center, on the bridges, or along the lake bank to see this show.
Here’s our video with 45 minutes of the fireworks (our hands failed to hold the camera for longer).
Admire the fountain
Jet d’Eau is probably the city’s most famous landmark. The actual usage is to release some water pressure when Geneva Lake empties into a river. Since its aesthetic value was noticed, it is a thing to admire and nowadays you cannot say you’ve been to Geneva unless you have a photo with the fountain.
Bains de Pâquis – 2 CHF entrance and food is cheap
This is one of the trendy beaches in Geneva. Easily accessible (it is in the very center) and situated IN the lake, that is the place to get some tan on the hot summer days.
2 CHF is the fee to enter the complex and you can walk around, lie on the “beach”, lie on the rocks, or lie everywhere. The food corner is attractive – with a breakfast set for 10 CHF and lunch set for 20-30 CHF – this is super cheap for Geneva.
Weekend public transportation card for two
Even if you are single you might want to take advantage of this transportation card for two people that cost 10 CHF and applies for weekend days. With a single ticket of 3 CHF for a 1-hour trip, you may also consider walking more:-) We heard some hotels provide you with a free card for the public transport network but having in mind the prices for hotel accommodation, we wouldn’t say it’s free.
The city is well-connected with trains, trams, and buses. They are always on time (wow, Swiss punctuality) and very clean.
Geneva is cool but there is more to see around if you have a day or two available. In the spirit of visiting Geneva on a budget, we’ll try to point out things to do for free or for a reasonable price. This time we’ll expand the horizon from Geneva downtown.
Visit CERN (free, advance booking required)
This is the largest particle physics laboratory in the world! You don’t have to be a scientist to admire what an enormous complex is built there and how many scientists contribute to the future of science.
They have a really informative 2-hour tour for individuals. The tour guides are people who work at CERN and have a lot to tell about history. Currently, the museum part is being enhanced. A special stop is an old accelerator that was used for over 15 years and after the radiation vanished (hopefully) its 5-meter-thick door was open to visitors. They even take you through the Franco-Swiss border (a border is a fuzzy concept here) to visit the magnet testing facility. After the lecture, everyone in our group understood how the acceleration of particles is actually happening.
Access to real experiments underground (like the Large Hadron Collider) is forbidden even for most of the CERN scientists and engineers. Only specially trained technical staff can enter when it is necessary. So we still have to pass the Lyulin particle accelerator to get some speed:-). Bookings for CERN can be made here. Otherwise, you can just show up and hope someone with reservation won’t. The guided visit lasts around two hours and is FREE!
Around Geneva Lake in Geneva
The only free lake experience is walking around it. If you want to sail, things get expensive. One cheap option for just a sample of sailing experience is the public transport boats which connect different parts of Geneva. The ride is short and costs 3 CHF. Most of the captains don’t even check your ticket.
Outside Geneva
Geneva lake is very big so a lot of towns and villages share views to it. There are plenty of boats and ships (not cheap) and also trains from Geneva which can drop you at some spot and then you can choose to hike/hop on a train towards the mountains or walk along the lakeshore until you reach another magical place. For further getting around, you might want to consider the Swiss Travel Pass. We did quite some walking from Montreux to Villeneuve and explored beautiful places along the lakeside promenade for free.
Views over Geneva
If you cross another fuzzy border and hike up the nearby mountain Saléve you will reach the Balcony of Geneva. Technically it is part of French Prealps and for the amazing view of Geneva and the lake you have to hike 2-3 hours or do like us – sacrifice some (12 CHF pp return ticket) franks for the cable car. Up there when the car brings you, you start the real beautiful hiking routes to the highlights of Saléve. 15 minutes and you get to the view of Mont Blanc.
Fountains with drinking water, public toilets, and food in Geneva
Even with the August heat, you can drink nice water from the many fountains in the city, the mountains, etc. Tap water in Geneva is tasty and drinkable. Most of the toilets we visited(plenty of them in crowded locations) were clean and free. The exception in terms of price was the restrooms at Cornavin (the main) station.
Accommodation in Geneva
Stay in an apartment rather than in a hotel. We booked an Airbnb place and we had the perfect location in a green neighborhood, stylish interior, and the freedom to experience Swiss dining on a budget.
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We suggest that you try to find nice apartments/rooms on Airbnb. Booking.com is also an option here.
Even “expensive” countries and cities can be explored money-wise. This was our attempt to show you some tricks and tips for Switzerland. Are you willing to give it a shot?
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