An Amazing 2 Days in Geneva Itinerary, Switzerland

Last updated on September 20th, 2023 at 05:55 am

Surrounded by the Alps and Jura mountains, Geneva is an incredible place to visit for its amazing landscapes, the Léman lake and delicious dishes (cheese galore!). I spent two days in Geneva in winter and loved my time in this peaceful city, and I have my 2 days in Geneva Itinerary for you to enjoy the city as well!

Geneva is located on the border of France. Therefore, the French influence is widespread. From the old town to the Headquarters of Europe’s United Nations, there is plenty of things to do in Geneva.

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2 Days in Geneva Itinerary, Switzerland

As I stated above, I went to Geneva for two days during winter time with a friend; it was the first time that I spent some proper time in Switzerland.

This also gives you a great insight into the main things to do in Geneva.

If you enjoy Switzerland, check out those beautiful quotes and puns about Switzerland for your next Instagram or TikTok post!

Things To Know Before Visiting Geneva

• You’ll get a free Geneva Transport Card if you stay at a hotel or hostel. It’s a great way to save on the price of daily transportation. You need to download it and keep the QR code on your phone.
• Use the Free Transport Card to go from and to the airport.
• While Switzerland is on the European continent, it isn’t part of the EU and has its own currency, the Swiss franc.

Are 2 Days in Geneva Enough?

If you’re planning your trip to Geneva (or a Switzerland trip), you might wonder how many days in Geneva are enough and if 2 days are enough to visit the city.

I am used to day trips and moving fast while travelling to make sure to get to see what I want to see, but I didn’t feel rushed while visiting Geneva. 2 days is a great time to see the prominent landmarks of the city and enjoy some delicious cheese dishes and chocolates. But if you want to explore more in-depth, I recommend spending 3 days in Geneva.

How To Get To Geneva

You can easily access Geneva by bus, train, plane or car.

The public transportation in Geneva is effortless as well.

My favourite means of transportation to travel to Geneva if you’re coming from Paris is the Lyria.

The ride with the Lyria takes 2h30, and the train is very comfortable, it’s friendly and efficient as it takes you from one city centre to another. It is also a more eco-friendly way to travel than a plane.

You can leave Paris as early as 6h49 and be in Geneva at 10h35. It’s not early enough for sunrise, though, so if you want to arrive earlier and are on a budget, then the night bus is a great option.

This is what we did; we took a night bus late in the evening in Paris. It was pretty empty, so it was easier to be at ease, and we arrived in Geneva before 7 a.m., right in time for a beautiful sunrise.

Book a plane ticket to Geneva here.

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The French capital offers plenty of fantastic train rides (Eurostar, Thalys, Lyria…) to the neighbouring countries, and it’d be a shame to miss out on that.

You can check out train tickets on websites like Trainline or Omio.

Where We Stayed In Geneva

Switzerland is notoriously expensive, and we were on a budget, so we tried to find the cheapest accommodation possible for our overnight stay while avoiding staying in a dorm.
We stayed at the Geneva Hostel for 80€ the night, so 40€ per person.

The room is elementary, but we had our private shower and a balcony view; it’s an excellent budget accommodation in Geneva if you want one.

With our reservation came a free transportation card for public transport (this included the shuttle boat); while Geneva can be mostly done on foot, if you like to walk, it is pleasant to have the option to use the transportation.

You can check out more accommodations on Booking.com or HostelWorld.

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Do you like Switzerland? Then check out those fantastic quotes about Switzerland.

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Geneva In 2 Days Itinerary: Here is a summary of what we did during our 2-day trip.

Day 1 In Geneva:

• Quai de Wilson – Sunrise Stroll
• Alps Square – Brunswick Monument
• Quai Du Mont-Blanc – Mont Blanc Bridge
• Horloge Fleuri
• Old Town Geneva
• Promenade de la Treille
• Parc des Bastions
• St. Pierre Cathedral
• Musée d’histoire naturelle
• United Nation/ Broken Chair

Day 2 in Geneva;

• Conservatory and Botanical garden
• Shuttle Boat ride
• Jet d’eau de Geneve – Port des eaux vives
• Parc de la Grange & Parc des Eaux Vives
• Carouge Market
• Place des Grottes

This itinerary can be done any time of the week and can also be used as a Geneva weekend itinerary if you’re visiting over the weekend, as most of the things to do will still be open.

Geneva What To Do In 2 Days

Two days in Geneva may seem short, but I can assure you it is enough time to see the highlights of this beautiful city, and you’ll see this with my itinerary.

Okay, let’s start this 2 days in Geneva Itinerary!

Geneva Day 1

We arrived early in the morning in Geneva from our bus night ride from Paris; we used FlixBus.

After we dropped our bags at the hostel, we started our day. We were right in time for the sunrise on Lake Léman; it was truly magnificent; if you are in Geneva and willing to wake up, it is a gratifying moment.

Promenade Quai wilson TO Quai Mont-Blanc

We started walking near Palais Wilson on Quai Mont-Blanc to the Mont Blanc Bridge; the lake is one the best city lake I have seen.

While we were there in 2022, the promenade hosted an open-air exhibit with 20 “Chats de Geluck. welcoming you. It was a fun addition to the path (see above)

You can find café scattered through the promenade if you want to enjoy a drink while you admire the scenery.

Square des Alps – Brunswick Monument

The Square des Alps is located on the Quai Mont Blanc; there, the Brunswick Monument is a mausoleum dedicated to Charles II, the duke of Brunswick.

It is a really beautiful mausoleum with very detailed architecture when you get close by.

Horloge Fleurie – The FLower Clock

The famous Flower Clock, located at the entrance of the English garden (Jardin des Anglais), commemorates the watchmaking tradition of the city. The Flower Clock was created in 1955. It was the longest clock installation at 2.5m until 2005, when a 15m was created in Teheran, Iran.

We chose to wait until the second day to stroll through the Jardin des Anglais as we were heading directly to the Old Town Geneva.

Old Town Geneva

The Old Town of Geneva is great to visit on foot; it has the city’s most emblematic landmarks, charm, and history.

Did you know it is the largest historic centre in Switzerland? Now you do.

Here are some things you can do in the Old Town Of Geneva:

Another exciting thing to do in the Old Town of Geneva is to pay attention to the street name. You’ll find some odd street names if you speak French (or can translate them)!

Cathédrale Saint Pierre- St Peter’s Cathedral and its towers

Saint Peter’s Church and the Chapel of Maccabees are located in the Old Town of Geneva and are a must-visit in the city.

The cathedral was built between 1160 – 1252 and is the most important cathedral in the city. Built for the Catholics initially, it became a protestant place of worship in 1535.

You can visit the chapel of Maccabees there, a place rich in decorations, and climb the 157 steps leading up to the towers.

It’s the best place in Geneva to get the best view of the city, a perfect 360 over the city. You can admire the Jet d’eau and the landscape from there. It’s also a great photo spot.

You can also visit the archaeological site in the basement.

Promenade De la treille

You can find the longest bench in the world on the Promenade de la Treille: a 120m (393ft) bench!

You will walk on the remains of what used to be the city’s fortification to keep the city and its people safe back in the day. And make your way to your next stop, the Park Bastion

Parc Des bastions – Bastions Park

Under the Treille Promenade, Bastions Park, originally called “Belle Promenade”, was built in 1720 to allow the city’s inhabitants to walk within the fortification.

The park is famous for two things:

• 100m-long Reformation Wall – this wall was erected in honour of men who worked on creating Protestantism. You can see the statues of 4 great preachers: Jean Calvin, Guillaume Farel, Théodore de Bèze and John Knox.
• The Giant chess games: it’s a fun way to play chess; not as fancy as the Harry Potter chess game in the first movie, but it’s cool!

It’s a popular spot amongst students as you can find the University nearby and several monuments of interest: a few palaces, the Saint-Léger fountain, and Geneva’s library.

Place Neuve is another spot of interest close to the park; you can see an equestrian statue of General Dufour, a national hero and cartographer. It’s a really fun area to explore.

Natural History Museum

After exploring Bastion Park, we visited the Natural History Museum; it’s enjoyable if you like animals and nature. It’s quite an interactive museum, so I think it’s also a great museum to visit with kids.

Check out more museums you can visit in Geneva:

• Philippe Patek Museum
• International Red Cross & Red Crescent Museum
• Geneva History Museum
• Ariana Museum
• Rath Museum
• Musée D’Art & D’histoire
• Barbier-Müller Museum

And more! You can check the complete list of Geneva’s museums here.

Lunch at Restaurant Auvergne de Savièse

For lunch, we, of course, wanted to eat some delicious cheese dishes. You’ll find that eating in Switzerland is pricey, but the food is delicious. We ate at “Restaurant Auvergne de Savièse” and had a fantastic time; the place is cute, the staff very friendly and gave us tips, and the food was delicious.

After lunch, we walked more and decided to take a break and return to our hostel before exploring more of the city.

Broken Chair / United Nations

Geneva is home to the United Nations headquarters. You can visit the Palais des Nations; we didn’t get a chance to visit it at 4:30 p.m. when we explored the area. So, we checked the other landmark in the area, the Broken Chair.

Sponsored by Handicap Internation, the Broken Chair Sculpture, a giant 12m high wooden chair with a broken foot, has stood before Geneva’s Palais des Nations since 1997. It symbolizes fragility, strength, imbalance, stability, violence, and dignity.

Walk through Various Parks

We decided to walk back to our hostel by passing around the botanical garden, to go and visit it next, which is underneath the United Nations; unfortunately, at the time of our visit, it was closing as the opening hours were still based on the winter ones so that we couldn’t get in.

However, we had an amazing walk through the several parks (Parc Barton, Parc de la Perle du lac, Parc Mon Repons close to the bank of Lake Léman and Quai Wilson; it’s the perfect peaceful walk surrounded by nature; you will forget that you are in a city.

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That’s a wrap on the first day of our 2 days in Geneva Itinerary; as you can see, if you arrive early morning in Geneva, there are a lot of activities you can do on your first day. Then it’s sleep and repeats for the next day!

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Geneva Day 2

Here is the second day of my 2 day in Geneva itinerary. Our second day started early, and we saw the sunrise shyly from our hostel balcony as we were lucky to have a room on the last floor. It was a lovely and crispy morning, and we left our bags at the reception to carry on our exploration of Geneva and tick off the things we missed on our bucket list.

We had to leave the city in the late afternoon, so our itinerary wasn’t as packed as the previous day. We checked in more detail some places we had seen the first day but didn’t have time to visit appropriately, such as the English Garden, and more that you’ll see below!

Conservatory and botanical garden

Bright and early in the morning, we made it to the Conservatory and Botanical Garden. It’s a great thing to do in Geneva after you visit the United Nations headquarters, and it’s free!

The park comprises several greenhouses (tropical, temperate etc.), a small Japanese garden, an ethnobotanical garden, swiss protected plants and more. There’s a lot to do in this green oasis.

I loved exploring the botanical garden; it is lovely and peaceful. We also came across an adorable little hedgehog.

Opening hours: 8 am to 5 pm in autumn/winter and 8 am to 7:30 pm in spring/summer.

Shuttle Boat ride

If you’re in Geneva, you must at least ride a boat on Lake Léman once, even if it’s simply the shuttle boat you can ride with the Geneva free transport card.

It’s a great view of the lake and its fifty shades of blue and the city and a good way to get from one side of the city to the other without using the tram or walking across the bridge.

You can see the pickup points and timetable of the Mouette Genoises right here.

We rode from Genève de Châteaubriand to Port-Noir with the M4.

You can also book a scenic lake cruise with snacks and wine for a different experience!

jet d’eau De Geneve

Of course, I couldn’t do a 2 day in Geneva itinerary without including one of the most iconic spots in Geneva.

The Jet d’Eau is easily one of the most photographed places in Geneva, so it’s a great Instagram photo spot.
Although to be fair, the beauty of the lake makes it a great photo spot from wherever you are.

You can also do some paddle boats on the Lake.

the Jardin Anglais – English Garden.

Located near Lake Geneva, the English Garden is an iconic landmark of Geneva and an excellent place to stroll around and enjoy the view over the lake.

The leisurely walk and the beauty of the view make the English Garden a famous spot in Geneva amongst locals and tourists.

You’ll also find the Monument National, which commemorates Geneva’s attachment in 1814.

You can visit the English Garden when you check out the Flower Clock; we just split those two activities.

Carouge & CAROUGE market

Carouge is a quaint area of Geneva; you can spot a church in this district that gives a feel of Italy due to the design created by architects from Turin in the 18th century. It’s packed with heaps of restaurants and cute shops.

The famous Carouge Market is held every Thursday and Saturday, where you can buy fresh products and beautiful flowers.

It’s easily reachable by tram.

Quartier Des Grottes

Quartier des Grottes was our last stop of the day before heading to Geneva Station due to its proximity to Geneva Corvin Station to catch the Lyria and return home to Paris.

This area is famous for its street art and complex architectural building with the “Schmurph house”. It has nothing to do with the actual “Schmurph” besides that it looks similar to the houses you can see in the comic.

On “Place de la Grotte” there’s a popular market every Thursday afternoon.

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Final Thoughts on What to do in Geneva for 2 days

That’s a wrap on my 2 days in Geneva Itinerary; I hope this post will be helpful for you to plan your getaway in Geneva.

You can do so many activities in Geneva over 2 days; you’ll get to see all the city’s highlights, all while taking the time to soak in the city’s beauty and enjoy yourself.

Geneva is an excellent addition to a road trip if you’re travelling across Switzerland or in the southeast of France and want to take the time to explore a bit of Switzerland.

Geneva was relaxing; although we did a lot, it wasn’t overwhelming.

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Geneva 2 day Itinerary: Best Things To Do In Geneva

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✈ Best Travel Ressources To Plan Your Next Trip

If you need help planning your next trip, don’t worry. I’ve got you covered! Here are my favourite websites and apps to plan a trip!

✈ How To Find Flights?

My favourite website to book flights is Skyscanner; it is a good comparator for finding the cheapest flights.
Google Flight is also a good help when it comes to comparing flights.

✈ Where To Book Accommodations?

The best sites to book accommodations are Booking.com or Expedia. They both allow you to collect points for a discount; it’s worth comparing the two as they often have different pricing for the same hotels.

Another perk about Booking.com and Expedia is that you can get bundle deals for flights and accommodations, which can sometimes help you save a lot of money. And don’t worry; you can also select to add accommodation for only a specific part of the trip if you’re not only staying in one place.

✈ Best Sites To Book Activities

My go-to website when I need to book an activity is GetYourGuide when I can’t get a ticket directly on the website or if it’s easier to go through them.
I always check if the price is the same, though, as the whole point is for it to be easier but not more expensive.

If I don’t find the activity I want on GetYourGuide, I like to check Viator for more options!

You can also check out Klook if you need to book more than just activities and would like to get everything from the same website—(i.e. transport cards, car rental, hotel…).

✈ Other helpful travel resources

– Radical Storage: If you need a place to keep your luggage for an extended period when you travel, I recommend using them. It was a great help when we needed a place to keep our luggage safely while we left the city for a few days.
– TheTrainline: If you love to travel by train like me, then TheTrainline needs to be your go-to website for train travel in Europe. It is very reliant and easy to use.

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