From Geneva or Vaud: Explore the cities around you!
If you live in Geneva, or somewhere near in Switzerland, you know that one of the advantages is its central location. You can easily explore a Swiss city, or a city in France or Italy. Some cities have some great museums and sites to explore as a family. Here are some of our favorite weekends away!
Turin
Turin is a beautiful and very family friendly city! Its Egypt museum is a must-see for families and has a captivating audio guide in several languages for children. Our family also loved the glass lift that takes you up right through the dome shaped landmark of Mole Antonelliana, we had never been in such a lift before! There is a lot of choice when it comes to food in Turin, a part from famous Italian ice-cream and plenty of restaurants, we also loved the antipasti you could order everywhere. Bonus for Turin is in case you or your children like soccer… Our children loved watching a Juventus game 😊.
To see the complete article on Turin:
Lucerne
Lucerne has something for everyone! Its beautiful location by the lake, an old town center with an authentic feel, mountain tops, and historical bridges. Lucerne is also home to a must-see museum in Switzerland for families: the Swiss Transport Museum. You can easily spend a day here and your children will love it!
Article on Lucerne, see the article here.
Aosta
Easy and quick Italian get-away from Geneva as Aosta is really close by. It is not a big city, so can very easily be explored by families with small children. There are beautiful Roman ruins accessible from the car-free town center, hotels with spas, and nice restaurants.
Our article on Aosta:
Chambéry
Lovely city close to Geneva! We loved exploring Chambéry with its traboules (narrow passage-ways), historic town center and shops. If you would like to explore nature the next day, there are plenty of sites near Chambéry.
To find out where to go:
Annecy
Annecy is easily feasible on a day trip. A walk on the beautiful lake side with the many mountains as a back drop, or a walk in the old town center which is very picturesque! Annecy also makes for a great city for some shopping as there are plenty of cute boutique shops in the old center, and there are many great restaurants.
Chamonix
Another possibility for a day trip from Geneva or Vaud is the city of Chamonix, nestled at the foot of the Mont Blanc. The cute cogwheel train going up towards the glacier ‘Mer de Glace’, is really worth it and suitable for children as well. The scenic train ride takes about 20 minutes before you arrive at the Montenvers mountain train station at 1913m. From there, you can soak up the views of the glacier and surrounding mountain tops!
Zermatt
Another famous mountain is of course the Matterhorn! It is the most photographed mountain of Switzerland and definitely a town to visit at least once! We loved having lunch in one of the restaurants with a beautiful terrace facing the Toblerone shaped mountain peak!
