Geneva: The City of the Lake / by Andrew Wilson

The Jet d'Eau at Lake Geneva.

Just before Christmas Hannah & I snuck-in a little festive holiday to the city of Geneva in Switzerland. Geneva’s never been on my list of places to visit, but I do like to visit new places with my camera in tow. I was also easily swayed by a day-trip to Chamonix to see the stunning snow-topped mountain views (which I will feature in a separate blog).

 

Mont Blanc shrouded in cloud.

 

We spent several days in Geneva, exploring the sights of the harbour and the city (especially from up-high at St. Paul’s Cathedral), visiting the botanical gardens and the CERN tourist centre.

The combination of the harbour and new vs. old parts of the city reminded me of a mixture of Stockholm, Prague and Oslo. It's a bit of a shame we didn't have a few more days to explore some of the outer areas of the city and towns around Lake Geneva as I'm sure there are some stunning places and hidden gems to visit.

So here are my photos from the trip. I hope you enjoy them.

Day one saw us wander to the Jetee du Paquis at Lake Geneva.

Looking out across Lake Geneva.

 
 

Birds gathered on poles sticking out of the lake.

A walk along the lake brought us to the Botanical Gardens.

The sun sets on day one.

 

Day two began with us taking a closer look at the Jet d'Eau. It reaches a max height of 140 metres! Click here to find out more about it.

 
 
 
 
 

This type of looking tree (trimmed stubby ends) was a common sight in the city. This one was in the middle of a ring-road junction.

We made our way through the old town to St.Peter's Cathedral.

People have left their mark on their climb up to the top of the cathedral.

 
 
 

Detail of the main spire.

 
The view across Lake Geneva.

The view across Lake Geneva.

Christmas lights hanging above Rue du Mont-Blanc.

We kicked off day three with a visit to CERN. Pictured is the Globe of Science and Innovation and a sculpture by Gayle Hermick.

The 'Universe of Particles' exhibition inside the Globe.

Part of the 'Microcosm' exhibition at CERN's reception across the road from the Globe. This exhibition explains CERN's history what they do now.

Detail of a copper electrical panel (seen in bottom of above photo)

Hypnotic trails of particles generated by the press of a button. These trails would skirt across the top of a black surface, illuminated by a surrounding strip of lights. 

Looking down on the surface right above a button-trigger point...

...particles clash and disperse...

 

...and come back together in clusters...

 

...I could have spent a long time taking photos like these!

Inside the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire

 
 
 

Shadows spill from a collection of old coins.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Thinker.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Looking up inside Cornavin train station.

 
 

Take-off over Switzerland.

 
 

Tiny ice crystals on the outside of my flight window.

 
 

A strange colour effect. I think this was caused by a combination of the polarising filter and extreme light bouncing off the water.

 

Back in the UK - flying back in over the RIver Thames.

So that was our trip to Geneva. I hope you enjoyed my photos and thank you for taking the time to look at this blog - I really appreciate it!

Please let me know what you think (feedback is welcomed!) and subscribe below if you want to see my upcoming photos from our day-trip to the Aiguille du Midi peak in Chamonix. I'm looking forward to sharing those with you!