Geneva City Guide - Getting Around

Geneva's superb bus and tram network is operated by Transports Publics Genevois (TPG) (tel: 0900 022 021, in Switzerland only; website: www.tpg.ch). Although timetables may differ, depending on which line is taken, services in general operate between 0500 and 2430.

It is illegal to board a bus or tram without a pre-purchased or validated ticket. Coin-operated vending machines (where tickets can also be validated) are situated at all bus and tramway stops. These provide a variety of tickets including the Tout Gèneve ticket, which allows unlimited travel for one hour, or cheaper Saut de Puce tickets for three-stop trips or one lake crossing (maximum 15 minutes) on a Mouette boat. Multiple tickets are also available.

Every visitor will receive a Geneva Transport Card upon check-in at their hotel, valid for the entire duration of their stay, covering buses, tramways, boats and trains in Geneva, together with a voucher booklet offering price reductions for restaurants, excursions and shops. You can buy a one-day unireso pass for buses, trams, trains and Mouette boats at CFF stations, TPG sales offices and tourist information offices.

Taxis can be ordered by phone, hailed in the street or found in one of the 60 authorised taxi ranks around the city. Taxi drivers are required by law to be able to speak English, although this does not apply to minicab drivers. Taxi-Phone Centrale SA Genève, Geneva's central taxi service (tel: (022) 331 4133; website: www.taxi-phone.ch), provides a 24-hour daily service.

The fare is shown on the meter, which includes a tip and VAT (rates rise at night and on Sundays and holidays). A tip and VAT are included in the price; however, it is customary for customers to round up the fare to the nearest Franc.

The roads in Geneva are good and rarely congested. There are extra low speed limits on narrow sections of road, such as in the Old Town. White markings with a meter signify pay to park for a limited period of time, white markings without a meter signify free parking for unlimited time, while blue indicate free parking for a limited time (usually 90 minutes) with a parking disk (see below) and red, 15 minutes. Parking discs can be obtained from police stations. Once in possession of this disk, parking is free of charge in designated zones. Three main car parks are situated under the Mont-Blanc bridge (under the lake) and at Place de Cornavin and Rue Henri Dunant.

Cars can be hired at the airport, railway station and hotels. A national driving licence and credit card are required. Drivers must be aged 21 years or older. (There is a supplement for drivers under 25). Providers include Avis (tel: (022) 731 9000; website: www.avis.ch), Budget (tel: (022) 717 8675; website: www.budget.com) and Hertz (tel: (022) 717 8080; website: www.hertz.ch).

You can hire bikes from Rentabike at Cornavin railway station (tel: (051) 225 1482; website: www.rent-a-bike.ch), Hot-Point, Rue des Pâquis 22 (tel: (022) 738 3696; website: www.hotpoint.ch), and GenèveRoule, Place de Montbrilliant 17 (tel: (022) 740 1343; website: www.geneveroule.ch).