SWITZERLAND

Nestled along the shores of Lake Geneva with the majestic Alps in the background, Geneva is a city of elegance and charm. Renowned for its luxury watches, rich history, and international diplomacy, it also comes alive during the festive season. At Christmas, the city sparkles with lights, cozy markets, and winter activities like ice skating at Place du Rhône. Strolling through the Old Town, indulging in Swiss chocolate, or visiting iconic landmarks like the Jet d’Eau and St. Peter's Cathedral makes Geneva a captivating destination any time of year, especially during the holidays.

 

Why We Love It​ - Whilst Geneva didn't have the best Christmas markets we had an incredible time because this was a surprise trip for Jax to see Santa in Montreux. Geneva itself is lovely, very quiet, slow paced, clean and beautiful. 

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How To Get There - We flew from London Gatwick to Geneva and from Geneva Airport to town is a short ride on the number 5 bus. The Airport is very close to the centre and is well connected. The transportation system in Switzerland is very good and reliable. Navigating the bus station and signs from the airport is very easy.

 

Where To Stay -​ We found that accommodation came at a premium in Geneva so if you are after a cheap place to stay, you are probably out of luck unless you don't mind staying in a hostel or run down digs. We managed to find the Ibis Geneva Centre Nations for a "reasonable" price, I say reasonable because it was the cheapest of the better hotels. Breakfast wasn't included, however, after a quick look on Google Maps I saw there was a supermarket very closed that we could get pastries from in the morning so not having breakfast included was fine for us. The hotel was actually really lovely, very clean and the beds super comfortable. When we arrived at 11am our room was ready to check in and the checkout time was at 12pm. Staying with this hotel you get free local transportation so that was even more impressive. Our 2 night stay cost us £244 for the 3 of us. The location of the Ibis was also perfect, about a 10 / 15 minute walk straight down the road was the lake and where the Christmas Market was and en-route was the train station that we needed to take the train to Montreux. 

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How Long Do You Need - If you are going for the Christmas markets like we did you only need a weekend. Friday Morning to Sunday evening is plenty of time to explore and eat and maybe do some Christmas shopping.

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What To Do - The sole reason we came was for the Christmas Markets and to take the Santa Train to Santa's house in the mountains. 

• Christmas Markets in Geneva - Running right along Lake Geneva is where you will find the Christmas Markets. There are a fair few stalls here selling a variety of hot foods - from raclette cheese filled baguettes to Bavarian sausages to chocolate churros and waffles, you will find something for everyone. There are lots of drink stations too where you pay an extra 5 Swiss Franks to get yourself a proper cup for your mulled wine, the 5 Swiss Franks is refundable or you can just keep the cup as a little memento to take home. 

• Visiting Santas House in Montreux - The main reason we chose Geneva as our Christmas Break was to take Jax to visit Santa in his house in Montreux and it was quite simply magical. A few people has said to us it looked better than Lapland which is sounds crazy as we couldn't even compare. In order to get to Montreux you need hop onto the train and ride it for around 1hr and 10 minutes or so. We pre booked our train tickets prior to leaving the UK and found that there were plenty of train times to choose as they run very often. You have to pre-book your Santa House visit in advance, we booked our tickets as soon as they had been released as we were not sure how quick / if it would sell out and turns out it does sell out and quite quick too. Tickets go on sale here mid September. Once you arrive in Montreux you take the Santa Train up Rochers-De-Naye mountain right to the very top which takes a further 40 minutes. The mountain was so stunning and snowy, the view going up was so beautiful. Once you arrive you walk through the tunnels to see Santa, if you are lucky like we were you will get off the train quick and get to the front so you don't have to queue for ages to see him. Once you have seen him you can enjoy the snow, the view and watching the people skiing and snowboarding. You can also enjoy a drink and bite to eat in the cafe up there too. You have no timed ticket back down the mountain so you can stay as long as you like. Make sure you check our blog posts to read our full experience here as it was truly an amazing day 

• Montreux Christmas Markets - the Montreux Christmas market is up there as one of our favourites we have ever been too. It is lively, busting and very busy. There is so much to from deciding what food to eat, what you'd like to drink, if you want a take away raclette or if you want to sit down and eat that in the warm to checking out all the Christmas lights and riding the big ferris wheel. On the hour of 5PM, 6PM and 7PM daily you will be able to see Santa fly over the lake on his sleigh, such a wonderful sight to see. There are so many craft stalls too selling lots of local and handmade items, we could have taken a lot of things home with us, unfortunately our baggage would not allow

• Treating Yourself To A Fondu - made of cheese. If you get the chance and you have the money to do it, make sure you treat yourself to a fondu. A quick google search and you will find a lot of restaurants available to this. They are so delicious but also very filling so make sure you wera your big pants.

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Geneva With Kids​ - If you are coming for the Christmas markets then it is absolutely perfect, especially if you decide to stay in a hotel that is relatively close to the lake like we did as little legs get tired easy so staying close is probably the best idea. Whilst Montreux was very busy it can become quite overwhelming for the little ones so Geneva is certainly a good alternative as it is a lot less busy. 

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Getting About​ - very easy and very convenient. Getting the bus from the airport was simple as was getting the train to Montreux. We also got the tram back up the hill to our hotel as we had the free transportation pass. A very easy city to navigate wether you're walking or using public transportation. 

 

Where To Eat - If you are not content with just the food at the Christmas Markets why not try a fondu at Au Petit Chalet which is where we decided to go. It wasn't cheap but we knew the prices before we went in. We had the cider cheese fondu with breads, boiled potatoes and cured meats and it was delicious. They do various flavours of melted cheese so you have a wide option to choose from. You can't really come to Switzerland and not have a fondu.