Handpicked experience · Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland
An hour on the water at the end of Lake Geneva, where the city's famous fountain turns out to have started life as a piece of industrial plumbing.
Enjoy a comfortable tour of Lake Geneva.
Overlook the city on board
The famous landmark of Geneva - Jet d'Eau.
The Jet d'Eau seen from the water, at the distance photographs want
The Jardin Anglais and the lakeside villas along the shoreline
A multilingual audio guide to download and listen to on board
Local crew on board offering brief commentary and practical help
A compact hour that slots into a half day in the city
Lake Geneva is the largest lake in western Europe, a long crescent shared between Switzerland and France, and the city sits at the narrow western tip where the water drains back into the Rhône. This is a short circuit of that harbour, taking in the waterfront from the one angle the city was designed to be seen from.
The boat leaves the quays and runs out into the bay, turning so the shoreline opens up on both sides: the old town rising behind the left bank, the grand nineteenth-century hotel frontage along the right, the bathing pier reaching out into the water, and the far mountains beyond. On a clear day Mont Blanc shows itself to the south-east, which is why the bridge across the harbour carries its name. Then the boat comes back in.
The best thing about it. In the 1880s Geneva ran a hydraulic power network that drove the machines in the watchmaking workshops, and when the craftsmen shut off at the end of the day the pressure had nowhere to go. Engineers fitted a relief valve at the pumping station, and the excess shot up as a jet of water above the river. The city liked it enough to move it into the harbour and keep it for its own sake. It now throws water 140 metres up at about 200 kilometres an hour, roughly 500 litres a second, and each drop is airborne for around sixteen seconds.
Worth knowing, since it is the reason most people board. The fountain is shut down for maintenance in the depths of winter, usually for several weeks, and it is also turned off at short notice whenever the wind is too strong or there is a risk of freezing. Nobody can promise it on a given afternoon. The circuit is still pleasant without it, but adjust your expectations rather than your booking.
The Rhône arrives at the far end of the lake grey with glacial silt, ground rock carried down from the Alps. Across sixty-odd kilometres of still water that sediment settles out, so what leaves at Geneva is startlingly clear and blue. You are looking at the clean end of a very long filter.
The local wind, a cold north-easterly that funnels straight down the length of the lake. It builds chop quickly on an open boat and in winter it glazes the quayside railings in ice. If it is blowing, sit inside and take the deck in short bursts.
Be realistic about the scale. This is a loop of the bay, not a crossing to Lausanne or Yvoire, and it stays within sight of the city throughout. Taken as a way to see the waterfront properly and get a fact or two about it, it works well. Taken as a day on the lake, it will disappoint.
Open it to pick a date and work out the price.
What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.
The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.
Usually, but not always. It closes for several weeks of winter maintenance and is switched off at short notice in strong wind or freezing conditions. No operator can guarantee it for a particular sailing.
About 140 metres, at roughly 200 kilometres an hour and 500 litres a second. Each drop of water spends around sixteen seconds in the air before it comes back down.
No. It circuits the bay at the Geneva end and stays within sight of the city. Crossings to Lausanne, Montreux or Yvoire are separate and much longer services.
The Rhône enters the lake grey with glacial silt, and the sediment settles out over sixty kilometres of still water. Geneva sits at the clean end.
Less so. The Bise, the cold north-easterly, makes the open deck uncomfortable and cuts visibility of the mountains. The interior seating stays fine, but much of the appeal is the view.
On a clear day, to the south-east. It is often hidden in haze, particularly in summer, so treat it as a bonus rather than a fixture.