There's a good chance I'll be in Geneva for a few days come the end of May or beginning June. I'm not 100% certain it's going to be happening, but a strong possibility nevertheless. The problem is, if I do end up going it's going to be confirmed at very short notice, hence the call to OTF Travel dept. I'll be there for a research project so am not sure how much time I'll have outside of my main purpose to wander the city and surrounding areas, still, suggestions welcomed. I'd particularly like to know about cheap-ish places to stay though, especially if there's anything close to the main libraries. Does anyone know if the League of Nations documents are all housed in a single building?

Pop this thread back up tuesday evening so I can try to help you out, when I'm back from...err...Geneva.

Do bare in mind though that early june is the start of Euro 2008, good luck to find a room...

I spent 9 days in Geneva in January, ate very well and enjoyed the sights, I will be glad to add to Croute's excellent recommendations. Some great shops, like the bookstore specializing in aviation.

I stayed at the Crystal Hotel ( http://www.fhotels.ch ), which was a superb value at 90 francs/day (internet special, off their site above), not bad for a *** hotel just off the train station. You'd better book your room right away if you're going to stay during the euro.

Also, Geneva has the most expensive car rental rates I have ever seen in my life (140SF/day for a small car), but one local agency just east of the train station had reasonable rates (half that amount). Once again, book ahead...

I had to read that a couple of times before I realised linus actually meant 3-star hotel, and hadn't decided to blank out a rude adjective.

I had entirely forgotten about Euro 2008 starting then, though I think if I go it'll be within the first week of June, prior to the start, which is just as well really.

My French is pretty non-existent other than a few non-related words and my German is poor. Am I going to be resorting to sign-language?

I went to Geneva a few years back, and unless everyone there has been practising English like mad for some reason since, I'd say a quick and dirty course in conversational French would be of definite advantage, yeah. Even the barmen in the "Irish" pub in the old town didn't speak much English other than "Guinness", and they pronounced that as though it were a French word.

Would it be a good idea to go and live in Geneva? I mean, if I can get the place, which I don't know yet, but if I do, should I go?

I was thinking something similar Lyra. In a similar vein we're checking out Marseille, Montpellier & Grenoble in a few weeks.

Geneva is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there, for several reasons. The most obvious is that it is quite overpriced, you are paying the premium of what has arguably been the world's strongest currency in the last decades.

Geneva also has some of the bad sides of New York and Washington DC combined, it's a city that seems culturally dominated by banks and high end global organizations. The cultural landscape that has allowed those industries to thrive is what makes the place a bit stifling. Friends who have lived there couldn't wait to get out.

On the plus side, it is fairly international for a small city, it is a skier's paradise and a pretty scenic place that's close to a lot of great other regions.

Ah well, I'm just back from there...It is indeed an expensive place but you also earn good money, the ratio salary/cost of living is rather good actually. Plus we got ourselves a 2 course meal, bottle of wine and coffee for 30£ yesterday evening. For two. Hardly Moscow innit...

The corporate culture is mainly one you find amongst the expat communities, if you hang around with the locals, you'll get more pissed off about their complacent, self-satisfied and generally "we are very happy with ourselves" attitude... There is plenty of culture around too, that's always one of the criticisms of my hometown which I find quite puzzling, the amount of cinemas, theatres, art galleries and the likes is enormous for such a small place and due to the nature of the place it is very wide-ranging.

What do you reckon it would be like being a student there?

If you can speak French, enjoy (high)culture and your idea of a perfect evening is sitting 3 hours eating in a "bistro de quartier" chatting away, you should like it. It's a nightmare to find accomodation though, there is a severe shortage of flats.

My sister lived there for three and a half years - albeit very much in the foreign technocrat community - and she found it pretty dull. As, I'm afraid, did I when I visited - though trips to the mountains and about are recommended. Too expensive too, and too much shuts too early. 1890's yer man for proper advice, though, and I do get the impression that locals' Geneva and expat Geneva hardly ever mingle at all.

The UN and Red Cross museum are worth a visit mind.

I haven't seen the Red Cross Museum, but I did most of the other museums in town, and they were pretty interesting too, but one can cover the lot in two weeks.

Geneva wouldn't be a bad spot for a young family with children and good high-paying jobs, especially if you like to take advantage of the outdoors, but I don't think of it as an ideal place to be a student.

Really? Arses. Yes I do speak French, well enough to get by at the start and would hope that the immersion would improve it further. Well I will have to see, I guess. I like the bistro thing and the high art thing. And the mountain thing and the being quite central to go to other places thing. Maybe there's a few rich blokes there who are also blind who could be taken advantage of.