Fifth most expensive city in the world...
Most expensive city in Europe...
Welcome to Geneva, Switzerland!
On a whim this past weekend, my friend group and I decided to travel to Switzerland because we had the travel bug and found a roundtrip flight for only $85 USD through easyJet. I think most of us thought that since the flights were so cheap that the rest of the trip would be a breeze as well.
Oh boy were we wrong!
A decent breakfast or lunch will cost you upwards of $15 and a dinner will be well over $25. Between seven of us, our AirBnb totaled about $547 for three nights worth of fun. It sounds like an exorbitant price, but that was honestly the cheapest AirBnb that was close to the center of Geneva.
A few fun facts about Geneva:
Geneva is right across the France border so there is a lot of French influence in their food and in the language.
John Calvin built the first Calvinist Protestant Community in Geneva and developed his theocracy there because he was not Catholic and was forced to leave France during the Reformation period.
Geneva is surrounded by the Jura Mountains to the West and the Alps to the East.
The Internet or the World Wide Web that we use today was invented in Geneva in 1989.
Our plane arrived early in the morning and we were not able to check into our Airbnb until 3, so we decided to go explore the historical town. Two of my friends went on a free guided tour of the city that lasted about two hours, but the rest of us decided to venture on our own. Keep in mind, everyone only got two hours or less of sleep, which is why we chose to leisurely walk to our AirBnb and stop at places along the way.
Our first stop was the Brunswick Monument, where the Duke of Brunswick, Charles d’Este-Guelph, wanted his legacy to live on. Prior to his request, there had been no other mausoleum built for someone in Geneva, which made it difficult for the government to approve the build. However, in exchange for such an exquisite memorandum of him, he left his fortunes to the city of Geneva.
Brunswick Monument
After reading some plaques and taking some photos, we headed over to the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire Geneva or the Art and History Museum of Geneva. It was free admission to access all five floors, which are as follows in ascending order: Regional Archaeology, Archaeology, Applied Arts/Temporary Exhibits, Applied Arts, and Fine Arts. Walking around this gargantuan museum made me realize how vast, alluring, and intriguing art history really is. There are so many eras of art that it seems impossible to ever truly know EVERYTHING there is to know about art history. The photos below were some of the most eye-catching to me.
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire Geneva
On Saturday, we were all in agreement to go visit the Patek Philippe Museum. For those of you who are wondering "Why the heck is there a whole museum for watches?", Patek Philippe is a famous luxury Swiss watch and clock manufacturer started by Antoine Norbert de Patek, Adrienne Philippe, and François Czapek. They are most famous for their intricate and unique watch designs that incorporate eloquent art with high fashion. Patek was fascinated with Geneva's watchmaking history and when he found the talented watchmaker Philippe, he was in heaven.
It amazed me to observe how many designs this company could think of and put on such a tiny metal accessory. I am not acquainted with the watch world because I do not wear one, but my goodness am I fascinated with their craftsmanship. We were unfortunately not allowed to take our phones into the museum, so the only way you'll be able to visualize what I am describing is to go visit the museum yourself.
Patek Philippe Museum
Some people in my group had to leave Sunday or early Monday because of their class schedule, but my friend and I decided to stay until late Monday in order to visit a few other historical sites. One of those sights being the Headquarters of Europe's United Nations. We had to check out of our AirBnb early so we had to walk an hour to the the Palais des Nations building, which I would not recommend unless you want blisters by the time you finally get there.
There were paid guided tours at specific times during the day, but unfortunately it did not conform to our time constraint. We were able to take a few photos of the famous row of flags outside the building and witness them waiver in the wind.
United Nations
In front of the United Nations, there is the famous Broken Chair Sculpture, which stands at 12 meters tall and weighs about 5 tons. Daniel Berset created this masterpiece in 1997 as a representation and symbol of the victims of landmines and other explosive weapons.
Broken Chair Sculpture
Before leaving for France, I had to observe the ancient jaw dropping Saint Peter's Cathedral in Geneva. My friend and I decided to cough up the 5 Euros to gain access to the North and South Towers to get a panoramic view of the city of Geneva. But oh boy...
I was about to pass out when we finally got to the main balconies of the towers.
We began the trek up the stairs in the mindset that we were fit enough to do this, but we also did not take into account that we had about 20 pounds of personal items on our backs. In addition to this, the stairs were wide enough to barely fit one person. In the towers they actually had a sensor stop light system installed so that you would be able to know if someone was coming down the stairs and if you had to backtrack your steps.
We went up both towers, but I must say that the South Tower was my favorite purely because we were able to distinctly see the snowy mountains, the Jet d'Eau, and the city of Geneva below.
Saint Peter's Cathedral
That just about wraps up my travels to Geneva, Switzerland! Here are some other photos that I was able to take along my journey in Switzerland! Save up and go to Geneva! It is definitely worth the plane ride.
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