Winter road trip part IV - Annecy to Geneva.

We had planned a bus trip (55mins) from Annecy to Geneva, allowing eight hours for a visit to the city before heading back but I should have spoken to my brother first. Richard used to travel to Geneva from Paris once a week on business and eventually made the journey on a day return basis as even though he was put up in a 5 star hotel he found it a very boring place, a reputation that seems to be frequently labeled against the city. Here is a summary of our visit.

On arrival we walked down to the lakeside for our first look and to see if we could catch a glimpse of one of the city's main attractions the 'Jet d’Eau' - we couldn't as it was either too windy (it wasn't) or it was under maintenance.

Then we headed up to the 'old town' where we stopped for lunch which was good,large and surprisingly not too expensive.

After lunch we headed up to the highest point of the old town to visit St Pierre Cathedral which sits at its heart. 

I found the mix of Romanesque, Gothic and Neoclassical styles slightly at odds with each other and the inside uninspiring.

The visit was saved however by the discovery of the 15th century 'Chapel of the Maccabees' attached to the southwest wing of the cathedral, something I am sure some visitors may miss.

View from the high ground around the cathedral.

A short walk from the front of the cathedral onto rue du Puits-Saint-Pierre and you will discover the 'Maison Tavel' described as a unique testimony to medieval civil architecture in Switzerland. Rebuilt after fire in 1334 by the Tavel family it now hosts a museum in which its six levels illustrate the city's urban development and various aspects of the history of daily life of Geneva’s inhabitants.

Not sure this would have been part of 'daily life'

This may have been however...

and these

There was an interesting digital visual reproduction of how the city developed over time as well as an extensive 3d model which kept us amused for a wee while.

Above is a view of the internal courtyard.

Snuck into the courtyard of the nearby Hotel de Ville for a nosey as well.

We walked around the 'Old Town' and along the 'Promenade de la Treille' which can be found at the end of the Grand’Rue and just below the Town Hall, it has a120 m long bench, supposedly the longest in the world !

It is a lovely walk with a view down to the Parc des Bastions.

Then we went walkabout along the streets where we did a wee bit of window shopping but everything was too rich for our blood.

Like this bottle of Islay single malt at 2,400 Swiss francs!

Then there were the Rolex watches and Mont Blanc pens.

It was interesting 'watching' these young skilled craftsmen through the windows of their workshops.

We finished 'shopping' and headed down to the English Garden and its floral clock only to find that had been dismantled for maintenance.

It also gave us another chance not to see the famous Jet d’Eau!

We had a coffee in the restaurant with the non-view and a final look over the lake before heading for an earlier bus back to Annecy after clocking up 11.7km of a walk.

 Below is the image we did not get - from the Geneva Tourist Office.

Winter road trip, Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench in Venasque Provence.

 

Winter road trip part III - Annecy day 2 continued.

When we had gone to the Tourist office in the morning and a young lady advised us that most things were closed she suggested leaving Annecy and heading along the lake to visit one of its pretty villages ,Talloires-Montmin. At 6.70 euros for two return tickets by bus we thought it seemed like a good idea.

We at first headed for the church to keep the theme going, only to find it closed, before heading down to the lakeside.

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It was a pleasant enough walk and we did not 'Dali' as we made our way to the harbour. The lakeside was pretty and we walked along it in both directions.

There was a short marked walk leading back to the stop before we got off and we consider taking it but after talking to two young men who come from it and told us how steep it was,decided against it.

Having done all the exploring we need to do we decided to pop into a cafe and have a coffee before heading back for a return bus to Annecy. Only problem was we had too much time to kill to justify spending too long thee. Pauline worked out that we could head back up and catch the next bus which although would not take us all the way back to Annecy its destination would take us back within walking distance.We caught it and enjoyed the remaing walk back.