While we certainly had a lot of fun traveling throughout Europe this Summer, we also loved exploring our new hometown of Geneva. Even though Randall and I lived here for two years from 2005 to 2007, we are seeing sides of the city that we never saw before thanks to Kenzie & Lexi! It really is a fantastic city for raising children; thanks to the lake, ease of getting around & tons of parks & playgrounds.
This Summer in Geneva was awesome (people keep saying that we shouldn’t expect it to be that amazing every year)! We had tons of sunshine (& many hot days), which was ideal for exploring around the lake.
Here is our list of Top 10 places and things to do in Geneva in the Summer:
1) Baby Plage – we discovered Baby Plage on our very first day in Geneva and it quickly became a favorite spot for the girls. Not only is there a sandy beach and swimming access, but there is also a very cool playground that is made out of recycled tires …. Think American Ninja Warrior training ground for kids :)
2) Geneve Plage – This place is huge. There is a giant swimming pool, a baby pool with small water slides, a huge water slide and lake swimming access with diving platforms. The girls absolutely love the big water slide and on a couple of the hottest days of the year taking a dip in the lake at GenevePlage was just the relief that we needed.
3) Quiet spots along the lake – While Baby Plage & Geneve Plage are awesome, especially since we can access them by bus or walking, they do get very crowded especially on hot weekend days. So we found that if we hop on our bikes or in the car and venture a bit further out along the lake there are some really nice quiet spots for swimming and relaxing. The girls loved floating in their intertubes in these spots & next Summer I really want to get a stand up paddle board!
4) Feeding the ducks near the Jet d’Eau – There are tons of ducks and swans in the lake and the girls love to feed them whenever we have stale bread (which is quite often, since the bread here does not have preservatives and therefore only stays fresh for a couple of days.) Win:Win … the girls love feeding the ducks and the ducks are fat & happy :)
5) Parc Bertrand (especially since it is just 2 blocks from our apartment) – I am so glad that we live so close to this park. This Summer we were there on almost a daily basis. It has a great playground (although the girls prefer the “exercise park” which is meant for adults but has been taken over by kids), a really nice trail for riding bikes and running, a wading pool, and tons of green space ideal for picnics and soccer (football) games. Parc Bertrand continues to be a favorite spot for meeting up for playdates after school or burning off some last energy after dinner, now that school has started.
6) Parc La Grange – This huge park which sits right above the banks of Lake Geneva is beautiful. Not only do you have amazing views of the lake, but the playgrounds are really cool, the wading pool is ideal on hot days, and the girls love visiting the sheep.
7) Old Town – We can see the spires of Cathedrale Saint-Pierre from the balcony of our apartment, so we are very close to Old Town and therefore we end up spending quite a bit of time there. I love the old cobblestone streets, architecture and unique shops. Kenzie & Lexi love the playground, the gelato by the fountain and “the chicken shack” (aka Chez Ma Cuisine).
8) Riding bikes & walking through the vineyards surrounding the city - the countryside surrounding Geneva is just beautiful and provides the perfect setting for family bike rides and walks. You are basically biking/walking on farm roads which have very little car traffic and are therefore ideal for the whole family.
9) Saleve – we can take the #8 bus from right in front of our apartment and get to the Telepherique du Saleve in about 10 minutes. The cable car takes you to the top of the mountain and you have amazing views of the city (and Mont Blanc and the Alps to the other side on a clear day), some great hiking trails and beautiful picnic spots. The girls also enjoyed watching the paragliders take off from the top of the mountain! We took Sara up here on her last day in Geneva and it was a nice spot from which to say “au revoir” to the city.
10) Route de Florissant – Last but not least, we enjoyed spending time at home this Summer. We settled into our new place and the girls adjusted to apartment living fairly easily. I really do like our new home and love how even though it is much smaller than our house in Cincinnati and a completely different layout, there are things that are similar and therefore remind us of home. I will post a full home tour in another post. While there are some days that we miss having a house with a yard, I am happy that we chose to live in such a central location so that we really take advantage of all that Geneva has to offer!
