Geneva (and French Swiss) Shopping/Dining/etc.

[Browneyes]

So.. I'm moving to Genève tonight actually, and I thought I'd start a thread!
I included "French Swiss" in the title, because i thought maybe Geneva is too limited a category, and people might want to add info from Nyon, Versoix, Lausanne, Montreux and such cities/areas in the French parts of Switzerland too.

- Anyways, I will return with whatever info i discover in the next couple of months, and would love to see other peoples ideas too

xoxo Browneyes

 

[Browneyes]

Ok, so this is quite long overdue...

Here are some eating suggestions:

Relais de l'Entrecote, restaurant on Rue du Rhone
an excellent place for carnivores, and fabulous deserts!

Home made ice cream, on Rue du Paquis
probably the best ice cream I've had

Les Armures, restaurant in the "Old Town"
quite cosy, cheese fondues and raclette

So Mel, bakery on Rue de Lausanne
really really nice "croissants brioche", pains au chocolat... and none of it is too greasy!

Filets de perche, a dish of fillets of fish from the Lac Leman and thin french fries - Restaurants serving this are to be found along the whole coast going "up" from Geneva towards Lausanne (and beyond?) in the small towns etc. I've heard a good place to have this is in the town of Ivoire (sp?) on the other (French) side of the lake.

 

[Browneyes]

Shopping:

The posh shopping street is Rue du Rhone, where you can find:
Gucci
Chanel
LV
Bottega Veneta
Hermes
Celine
Hugo Boss
A store selling Chloe, Prada, Balenciaga, Valentino...
A wide selection of high-profile jewelry shops...
Amongst many others...

Then there's Bon Genie, on Rue du Marche, which sells different designer clothes, and luxury skincare brands and perfumery.

For myself, I like to go to the Plainpalais market on Saturdays! There you can find all sorts of stuff, such as old books and LPs, antiquities, clothes, jewelry/bijouterie, furniture, and other old+new junk

There is also a nice shoe store called Pompes Funebres, close to Bel Air, but I forget the name of the street (will try and find out). They sell havaianas, nice heels, etc.
Next to it is a sports shoe store, where they sell Converse etc.

I'm going to explore further the shopping territory, I especially want to go into the Old Town for that. I'll keep posting!

 

[annelein]

Thanks for the posts Browneyes. I am in Geneva a couple of times per year so it is very helpful to have a few tips. I remember running around the blocks with Burberry etc and mainly only finding old-rich-lady shopping. Then i found BonGenie which isnt bad and more interestingly the quarters up-and-behind- to-the-left of BonGenie, just where the slope starts getting noticable - there were several nice smaller boutiques. So far I am not horribly impressed with Geneva shopping. For all the money in that town I expected better, but I guess money does not mean diversity and that my tastes differ from that of the typical Swiss population...

 

[Browneyes]

^ I agree with you - shopping and fashion sense in Geneva is not at all what you would expect! In fact I see many more really "badly dressed" people (imo at least!) here than in any other city that I have visited /lived in so far

I'm seeking out new shopping territory here when I have the time, and will update for the benefit of other visitors to Geneva etc. since, as you say, the mainstream shopping is actually quite blergh here.

I will post my newest finds once I have the exact addresses
In the meantime, I will be seeking "greener pastures" in Lyon (France) next weekend heh!

 

[Belapuente]

I have felt the same way about Gebeva Shopping......not all that..... My favorite place to shop is stil NYC!!!

 

[aris]

have you been to Charivari Chaussures. Adresse: rue d'Italie 8, Genève, they sell Christian Louboutin, 'll be there in April - what is their selection?
Browneyes, thank you for this thread!

 

[Hebden]

Giving this thread a bump as I'll be in Geneva at the end of this week...any new recommendations out there?

Also, as far as the Plainpalais market...where exactly is it and what time is it held from/to?

TIA

 

[lifeistiffanyblu]

le lion l'or is a great restaurant in cologny!

shopping wise i would say when the alberto bini sale starts its a great placwe to go for some knitwear...but yeah the style here is pretty conservative and plain. i dont mind it that much and i guess it has a lot to do with the history and culture of the place as well. i think you notice the richness even more when its summer time and you get the flock of rich tourists coming over just to shop...

 

[lifeistiffanyblu]

oh and i guess cafe du soleil is a good old tourist spot for fondue, its one of the oldest places in geneva for fondue i think. its rather sweet!

one of the locals favorite is restaurant da paolo, a great little trattoria with good pizzas and comfy atmosphere!