Old Town Geneva

Today we visited Old Town and downtown Geneva.

Ann's house is only a couple of blocks from the local train line, which goes from the countryside through Satigny and ends in Geneva.  The train is about 4 cars long and looks like a regular commuter train.  Ann's stop is a cute little building alongside a platform. The train took us into downtown Geneva within 12 minutes.

Once there, it was like a different world. There were many tall French-looking buildings with mansard roofs. Accordian-style bus/trains ran right through the middle of the city. At intersections, you had to make sure nothing was coming.  There are tiny Smartcars and scooters and Vespa motorcycles parked everywhere.  Ann says that motorcyclists are obnoxious and go to the front of traffic at every stop.  They weave through traffic like they own the road.

We came up to street level out of the train station. There were many shops with Swiss watches, Swiss knives, souvenirs for sale. We did buy a few souvenirs for the kids!!!

The first landmark we visited was St. Peter's Cathedral (in French it's St. Pierre). Construction began on this cathedral in 1160. It was a rather plain gray stone cathedral greatly influenced by the Reformation.  Ann took us through a tiny door and up nearly 160 windings creepy steps to the North Tower, which gave us panoramic views of Geneva and areas beyond. It was gorgeous! At the top of the cathedral, we saw the underside of the roof, which was quite eerie.  It looked like something out the Hunchback of Notre Dame.  This church was the home church of John Calvin, a leader of the Reformation.

In Geneva, we saw the Old Arsenal, which dates from the 1600s. The Old Twon section of the city itself was surrounded by a brick wall battlement, much of what we saw today.  We saw the huge fountain (Jet D'eau) which goes up 400 feet in the center of the Lake Geneva. We saw the Horloge Fleurie, which is a massive clock built into the ground surrounded by flowers. We went to a beautiful park where men were playing chesse with huge pieces taller than their knees. There are many outdoor cafes where people sit for a meal or drink.

It was a wonderful day. We really feel like it gave us an excellent view of what downtown and Old Geneva are like. 

Tomorrow we are going to mountains in France, near Mont Blanc. 

Audrey & Tammy