I spent a very hot weekend in Geneva recently and found the perfect cure to the heat - Les bains des Paquis is a city beach on the shores of Lac Leman. Entry is two CHF for unlimited time. In addition to the pebble beach and the lake, there is a restaurant (which serves an excellent salade Greque), a hammam with massage services and a games area.

Sounds tacky? I thought it would be, but it wasn't! Swimming in the lake in the height of the summer with city views all around, the jet d'eau in the background and the snow-capped mountains in the distance is really something else.

It's on the same side of Lac Leman as the Cornavin station. Walk down to the Quai Mont Blanc and head left (towards the parc mon repos), the bains des Paquis are clear signposted and are accessed via a bridge.

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This house contains artifacts of daily life in Geneva from the Middle Ages through the late 1800s and gives a concise history of the city and its frosty relations with France and the rest of Switzerland (Geneva was an independant republic for many years). There is even the guillotine which Geneva was forced to install (by French Revolution law) in Place Neuve in March 1792. The attic contains a scale model of pre-1850s Geneva when walls still surrounded the city.

Skip the overpriced archeological remains under St Peter's Cathedral as this museum tells you more about Geneva's history and has free entry. Great for children.

Follow the signs to the museum from Cours St Pierre in the old city

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The Promenade des Bastions runs from the old city down to Place Neuve (the main square of Geneva) and goes past the Mur des Reformateurs - check out the chess boards with giant-sized chess pieces for the public to use for Sunday afternoon games.
There are also numerous cheap cafés.

The Promenade des Bastions is a 30 min walk from Cornavin train station and 20 mins from St Peters Cathedral in the old city

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The co-op on Rue du Commerce has sensibly-priced souvenirs for the tourist and of course the obligatory Swiss chocolate. It's also a great place to buy lunch.

Rue du Commerce - a 30 min walk from Cornavin train station

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If you go to Ile Rousseau to see the bird sanctuary or to have a drink at the café, wait until after 9am when the waiters of the café have gotten rid of the homeless people and tramps who inhabit the benches of Ile Rousseau.

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The Jet d'eau is the most famous landmark in Geneva and it's quite impressive as it shoots water to a height of 400ft.

It's better if you walk along the jetty which extends from the port to the fountain itself.

The Jet d'eau is on the Rive Gauche side of Lake Geneva - a 30 min walk from Cornavin train station

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If you want to see the UN building then I recommend that you hop onto Tram 13/15 from outside Cornavin train station heading for Nations - aim to get there before 8am as there is practically nobody there at this time and the hordes of tourists don't descend upon Place des Nations until 9.00am.

Don't miss the massive wooden chair - a monument to landmine victims.

Place des Nations
Trams 13 and 15 depart from a stand directly outside Cornavin train station
Tram fare is 3 CHF for a one hour ticket (this is perectly adequate if you only want to see the outside of the UN building and not do the whole tour)

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Les Paquis is one of the smartest parts of Geneva as it's right next to Lake Geneva and has some trendy (ie expensive) shops as well as some cheaper souvenir shops.

There are shady little squares and swish mansions and is a good part of the city to see on your way back to Cornavin train station.

Beware of pickpockets though!

Les Paquis is on the Rive Droite side of Lake Geneva and is west of Quai Wilson

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For a comprehensive tour of Geneva I recommend this route:

From Cornavin train station, go down Rue du Mont Blanc and cross the river Rhône via the Pont Mont Blanc, stopping to admire superb views of Lake Geneva, St Peter's Cathedral, Ile Rousseau and Pont des Bergues.

Once across Pont Mont Blanc, walk alongside the Rhône river via the embankment to see Port St Gervais and enter the shopping district of Geneva.

Walk along Rue de la Conféderation, Rue de la Croix d'or and Rue du Rhône.

Turn off Rue de la Conféderation at Place Madelaine and walk up into the old city to Place Bourg Four (good cheap cafés here) and climb Rue de l'Hôtel de Ville to look at the murals depicting the history of Geneva and the cannons.

Enter Cours St Pierre and visit St Peter's Cathedral. Then descend back to the shopping district and head to the Jardin Anglais to see the famous Jet d'eau and flower clock.

Walk alongside Lake Geneva (Rive Gauche) - for children there is a beach on this side of the lake.

Go through the Jardin Anglais, go across Pont Mont Blanc and walk alongside lake Geneva (Rive Droite) stopping to admire views of Mont Blanc across the lake and see the Brunswick monument.

Return to Cornavin train station via Les Paquis district (to the west of Quai Wilson). Go up Rue de Lausanne and follow signs to Cornavin train station.

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St Peter's Cathedral can be seen from everywhere in Geneva and is the symbol of the old city of Geneva.
Its interior is truly impressive and for 3 CHF you can climb the 157 steps up to the tower for stunning views (tip: if you can't or don't want to climb up to the tower than the same view can be seen on a poster just next to the entrance). The exterior of the cathedral is a curious mismatch of building styles too with a Romanized façade (columns).

Cours St Pierre - a 30 min walk from Cornavin train station
Free entry

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The combined streets of Rue de la Conféderation, Rue du Rhône and Rue de la Croix d'or are lined with some of the most expensive shops in Switzerland (the others being in Zurich) so if you have serious Swiss francs to burn than this area is the place to go, otherwise it's great just to look at those watches and clothes which you can't have. Even the brand name stores of H&M and C&A are not as cheap as you may think they are.

There are numerous undercover shopping malls just off each street too which are great places to escape from the summer heat.

The Rue de la Conféderation is a 20 min walk from Cornavin train station, just follow Rue du Mont Blanc, cross the Rhône river via the Pont Mont Blanc and turn into Rue de la Conféderation which becomes the Rue de la Croix d'or and then becomes the Rue du Rhône

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Lovely Singaporean restaurant next to a sex shop in the Paquis. Don't let it put you off, the food is superb and, for these parts, uncompromisingly spicy. A warm multilingual welcome awaits. It's not cheap but it's worth every franc.

14 rue de Neuchâtel
Phone: (022) 7313303

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The Kipling Hotel (part of the Manotel chain) is in the Paquis district of Geneva. An extremely helpful, friendly and multi-lingual staff, tastefully-appointed rooms and great location (a few blocks from Cornavin, the principal train station and literally down the street from the main EuropCar office) make The Kipling a real find. While it is not cheap, it is nowhere near the price of other Geneva hotels and the whole vibe is younger and more welcoming. Plus, as the name implies, it is a shrine to all things Rudyard-esque, but without being at all kitschy.

Rue de la Navigation 27, 1201 Geneve, 41 22 544 4040, www.manotel.com/kipling

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It is that rarity for Geneva: an inexpensive, unpretentious restaurant, popular with students, immigrants and UN employees. A plate of delicious lamb couscous is 15 Swiss francs and the wine list, while limited, is very reasonably priced. It is in the funky Paquis district. In the summer, there is a casual outside terrace for dining or just sipping the soothing mint tea. And there is even a no smoking section - also rare for Geneva.

In the Paquis district, at 11, rue du Dr. Alfred Vincent

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At the end of the #8 bus route (free using the travel card given you by the hotels), you walk about half a mile into France and then go up to the top of 1000m Mont Saleve by cable car.

Spectacular views and walks. People para-glide from here which is worth watching as well.

End of number 8 bus route from Geneva

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Stylish restaurant with a great roof terrace, perfect for warm evenings. Unusually good range of vegetarian food served by friendly staff in very pleasant surroundings.

21 rue de la Corraterie, Geneva, close to Place Neuve, the old town and the Reformation Wall. Phone 022 310 53 40 Website (in French): www.ubobba.ch

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Sensibly all trains to Geneva carry on to the airport. So at the airport you can hop on any train to take you to the town centre and it only takes 6 minutes. The train station is walkable to the lake or to many hotels, but there is also an interchange with trams. Looks like it would be super easy to go further afield as well.

Remember that all hotels give you a free Geneva public transport pass.

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Altho' it is expensive (around £100/night for the room) the hotel is actually pretty cheap for Geneva. This is because it is in a dodgy area (the Paquis), but only by Swiss standards - it felt remarkably safe to me by day or by night. Rooms are spacious, there is a fitness room (basic weights and CV) and it's down a quiet side street so you can sleep peacefully but it is literally a minute or two to the tram or to the lake. Plus reception are super friendly and helpful (and don't laugh at your French!). All hotels in Geneva give you a free travelcard and a good map so you are free to wander around on the airconditioned trams marvelling at a country where everything works!

Hotel Epsom
18, rue Richemont
CH-1202 Geneva
Tel.+41 22/ 544 66 66
www.manotel.com/epsom/

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A lido jutting out into the lake. Perfect when Geneva is hot and you are feeling envious of the ducks paddling around - you can join them. Entry is super cheap, there is a good cafe serving substantial salads and terrines and showers/ loos/ changing rooms. There are different sectioned off swimming areas, some deeper, some shallower (and with a pebbly beach for little ones). Super relaxing and quite fun to be bobbing around next to a family of ducks. It's open from early til 8pm and they also have a hammam and massage facilities (but think hammam is currently being refurbished and you definitely need to book for massages).

Quai du Mont-Blanc 30
1201 GENEVE

www.bains-des-paquis.ch/

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A friendly neighbourhood bar in the relaxed Carouge area. Run by a young team, nicely decorated, with an outdoor patio of comfy sofas shielded by a wall of willows. Nice wine list, tho' everyone seemed to be drinking rose. Some good bar snacks (assiettes of charcuterie/ cheese and chunks of good bread).

Rue Ancienne 1, 1227 Carouge

Well connected by trams (Marche or Ancienne stops on the 12 or 13 line)

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