Geneva City Guide - Getting There By Rail

Schweizerische Bundesbahn, Chemins de Fer Fédéraux Suisses (SBB-CFF) (tel: (051) 220 1111; website: www.cff.ch) is the national railway system, covering most of the country. However, in some alpine areas, the railway is still operated by whichever private company initially provided the service in that area - this should, however, only affect travellers who are far from the many tourist areas. Rail travel in Switzerland is comfortable, free of hassles, punctual and almost always scenic.

The main railway station is Gare de Cornavin, Place de Cornavin. Facilities include bureau de change, left luggage, newsagent and post office. Further information is available from national rail enquiries (tel: 0900 300 300, in Switzerland only).

Rail services: The Swiss rail network provides rapid connections within Switzerland and Europe, with hourly links from Lausanne, Berne, Basel and Zurich to Geneva. From Paris, it takes three hours and 30 minutes by TGV. Overnight trains Pablo Casals and Catalan-Talgo connect Geneva with Barcelona (journey time - 8 hours 40 minutes), and there are InterCity and EuroCity trains to Italian cities including Milan (journey time - 4 hours 15 minutes).