We've just arrived at our magnificent Swissotel, checked in, seen the fountain on Lake Geneva and made a decision to take one of the Swiss trains along the lake to head to the small towns of Lausanne and Montreux.
The entire city of Geneva (and probably Switzerland) is pristine, and the train was almost empty. It was just the two of us - how romantic. Let me just summarise the highlights for you. The lake views from the train and from Montreux are stunning - postcard worthy in fact.
There are what look like castles, maybe very large homes atop various hills which are really pretty. We walked around a bit, but since it was getting dark soon, decided to visit and tour the famous Chillon castle. To get here, we took a local bus, and purchased a ticket to the castle. You'll be given a map, and allowed to walk around the castle in your own time - there are various levels, courtyards, dungeons, bedrooms etc. to explore. It was worth seeing.
The sun was rapidly setting, and we wanted to see Lausanne on the way back to Geneva, so hopped back onto the train. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived here, the visitor centre was closed, so we had to find our own way around. We managed to get a glimpse of the church here and take some more snaps of the lake. We then headed back to Geneva, ending the night with a sumptuous dinner at an Indian place called Bombay Palace.
The following day, we organised with our hotel concierge to book us in for a fascinating and highly informative tour of the United Nations (Palais des Nations). Checking in at the reception (which required at least one of us to have a passport for identification), we were lead by a cheerful tour guide around the building- the whole tour lasted about an hour or two. Following this, we walked around the other government buildings but if you have time, there are other museums you can visit also.
There are many wine tasting, chocolate tours that take you outside Geneva into the countryside, however you will need advanced bookings and generally the tours leave first thing in the morning so if you're interested find out early! Also, there are plenty of other outdoor activities such as boating, hiring a bike etc., depending on what you wish to do!
Check out the view from the plane as we flew over the French Alps! Stunning.
