Train to Geneva

When planning our trip, we deliberately chose flights that would give us a (very) long layover. We love long layovers (so it should be no surprise that we love Bourdain's new show "The Layover" on the Travel Channel) because it gives us the opportunity to take a "day trip" in a place we might otherwise never have the opportunity to visit. When we saw that we could have a ~10 hour layover in Geneva, we jumped at the chance.

After a brief snack at the airport and a visit to the grocery store (one of my obsessions), we headed down to the train platforms to catch the next train to Geneva's city center.


One of the great things about taking the train to the city center is that it doesn't matter what train you get on at the airport. They all go to Geneva's main station. That eliminates any confusion about whether you're on the right platform or getting on the right train. Just jump on the next train to arrive!

Another great thing about Geneva is that they give you a free train ticket to the city.


I don't recall how I first heard about this (probably online forums or travel sites) but you can get a free ticket, valid within 80 minutes of printing, at the airport. I think it's great that the city encourages visitors to get into the city of Geneva by subsidizing the cost of a ticket! When we saw the ticket machine, we printed up our tickets and kept one eye on the clock to make sure we didn't miss our 80 minute window. (I think we just made it.)

It was a short train ride and it was great to see the sun shining for our day trip.


In just a few minutes, we had arrived at our destination - Geneva's main station, Gare de Cornavin - ready for our Swiss adventure!


Next: we go sightseeing in Geneva!