- Geneva may be the most effortlessly international city in Europe. Almost forty percent of the locals were born elsewhere, and the Swiss must be born with some language gene most other people lack, since most of them slip between French, English, German and Italian without a pause, and many of them speak two or three other languages, too.
- Lake Geneva's every bit as pretty as you hoped it would be.
- Good Manners. Any experience of a restaurant or a hotel in Geneva will instantly explain why the Swiss still set the world's standards for the hospitality industry. Service is cordial, efficient, multi-lingual and often charming.
- The Bling. With the dollar in the dumps, it's unlikely you're going to flash your credit cards much in this expensive city, but the window-shopping is world class. I could spend hours alone at the Victorinox shop looking at the ingenious knives. The antique stores in the old town are terrific, too, and if you've got the time, Geneva's got watches galore.
- The Hotels. British novelist Anita Brookner nailed the special sensibility of Switzerland's lakeside hotels in her novel Hotel du Lac—think British Victorian manners with 19th century French grandeur and a saving dash of Italian style. Geneva has one of the best luxury hotel parks in Europe, and the newest star is Sir Rocco Forte's Le Richemond, a gem of a hotel with stunning views over a quiet garden and the lake. His talented sister Olga Polizzi gave this grand dame a very sexy makeover during the course of two year top-to-bottom renovation, and you've got to love a hotel that suggests slices of fresh white truffle on your eggs in the morning on its room service menu.
- Migros. Whole Foods could learn a thing or two from the largest Swiss supermarket chain, which is probably the most assiduously organic supermarket chain in Europe. Their bread is delicious, they have a terrific selection of the world's best organic yogurts, a superb lineup of cheese, and the organic vacuum-packed rosti potatoes are one of Switzerland's best but most affordable and least-known souvenirs. These stores are also great places to stock up on organic bouillon cubes, spices, and other pantry items.
- Hotel L'Armure. This sublime fondue, which best follows an assiette valaisanne—a heavenly assortment of Swiss charcuterie that includes country ham, air-dried beef, cured bacon, and several types of sausage, is a dish worth traveling for. A luscious fondue with a garnish of cepes mushrooms. The next time I come here, I plan to pack a couple of quart-sized Tupperware containers and bring some back home to Paris. I also love the Bistrot du Boeuf Rouge, which does terrific old-fashioned Lyonnais dishes that you're hard put to find in Lyon these days. The Buffet de la Gare des Eaux Vives is a wonderful restaurant, too, with the spin of occupying the former lunch room of an old train station and an excellent French-Mediterranean menu.
Seven Reasons to Love Geneva
11.05.07
- Keywords
- europe,
- alexander lobrano
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