I spent this week end away again but this time in the French speaking Swiss city of Geneva. I really enjoy weekend breaks to cities where you can easily walk around and Geneva is definitely one of them with most of the sights you want to see all within walking distance. The city surrounds a beautiful lake punctuated by the famous Jet d’Eau, a 140-metre-high stream of water that starts in the morning, continues for some time at night and is visible from all over the city.

Just south of the lake you can find the old town, the more historic and the more touristy part. In this part of the city, you will find the town hall where the Geneva Convention was first signed, the longest bench in the world, and the reformation park containing a number of giant game boards including chess and checkers.

Walking around the north shore of the lake, you head towards the botanical gardens complete with a mini-zoo including deer and sheep. Further north you will find the United Nations where you can take a guided tour at 10am and 2pm each day. Just opposite the United Nations you will find the International Committee of the Red Cross. It is one of the only museums where you must pay an entrance fee but you get an overwhelming understanding of why the organisation was created and what they do through their serious exhibitions.

Geneva is not a cheap city, even translated into London prices, but things are not as excessive as those in Scandinavia. Finding decently priced restaurants is possible and most of the places we ate served excellent food. Over the weekend we indulged in a couple of traditional dishes including Raclette (freshly scraped melted cheese served with bread, ham and potatoes), Cheese Fondue (bubbling melted cheese with various things to dip into it). We also dined at a Café De Paris restaurant where they only serve one dish, the excessively rich but tender Beef Entrecote.

We had fantastic weather for the entire weekend with clear skies and a moderate temperature. This allowed us to go for a small hike up a nearby mountain called Mont Salève that is readily accessible by bus and just lies across the border into France. From the top you get a spectacular view of Geneva, its lake and Mont Blanc in the background. Geneva is a friendly town and offers a nice little weekend away from London.