Monday, February 12, 2007
02/2007: Geneva: 'eating out...'
Traditional Swiss cooking consists of dairy produce and meat. Most meals will include either cheese, milk, cream and butter or all of the above. Rostis are solid and filling and consist of grated fried potato with cheese and a variety of toppings. Like the French, the Swiss enjoy a large lunch and many restaurants will offer a 3-course fixed-price menu from around CHF20 to CHF50.
Warning to vegetarians: The Swiss don’t seem to count certain things as meat, so check your ‘vegetarian’ dish or soup for bits of bacon, ham or salami.
Traditional Swiss cooking consists of dairy produce and meat. Most meals will include either cheese, milk, cream and butter or all of the above. Rostis are solid and filling and consist of grated fried potato with cheese and a variety of toppings. Like the French, the Swiss enjoy a large lunch and many restaurants will offer a 3-course fixed-price menu from around CHF20 to CHF50.
Warning to vegetarians: The Swiss don’t seem to count certain things as meat, so check your ‘vegetarian’ dish or soup for bits of bacon, ham or salami.
02/2007: Geneva: 'shopping...'
Lots of opportunities for thrashing the credit card, with all the usual designer suspects present as well as the main high street chains including Marks and Spencer’s and the ubiquitous H&M. If the main thrust of your visit is shopping, make sure you don’t include a Sunday in your trip as all of the shops and supermarkets are closed. Good buys are Swiss Army knives, chocolate, cheese, watches and clocks.
Lots of opportunities for thrashing the credit card, with all the usual designer suspects present as well as the main high street chains including Marks and Spencer’s and the ubiquitous H&M. If the main thrust of your visit is shopping, make sure you don’t include a Sunday in your trip as all of the shops and supermarkets are closed. Good buys are Swiss Army knives, chocolate, cheese, watches and clocks.
02/2007: Geneva: 'useful facts and figures...'
1. No, it is NOT the capital of Switzerland. It is Switzerland’s 3rd largest city with a cosmopolitan population of over 430,000 – 43% of whom are from elsewhere.
2. Yes – it DOES have a red light district – a small but flourishing sex industry operates on a section of the Rue de Paquis with sex shops galore and plenty of girls who strut their stuff on the streets both day and night.
3. The official language is French, but English and German are widely spoken.
4. The airport straddles both the Swiss and French borders with passport control for both countries, depending on where you are visiting. If you hire a car from the French part, you have to return it to the French part, (and the same for the Swiss side) so make sure you drive into the airport on the correct road! (If you return it to the car park on the wrong side, you will be charged a hefty fee).
5. All trains leaving the airport go to Geneva central train station. The central train station is also a terminus for the French rail network; if you arrive on an intercity SNCF train you will have to pass through both French and Swiss customs and passport control.
6. Parking in the city is a nightmare; a good tip is to leave your car at the long term airport train station car park or the trade centre car park and take the train to the city centre, which is compact enough to navigate on foot or by the excellent tram service.
7. From January 2007 UNIRESO (the transport company) are giving all hotel guests in the city a free transport card for the duration of their stay. This entitles the holder to use buses, trams and boats within the Geneva city limits.
1. No, it is NOT the capital of Switzerland. It is Switzerland’s 3rd largest city with a cosmopolitan population of over 430,000 – 43% of whom are from elsewhere.
2. Yes – it DOES have a red light district – a small but flourishing sex industry operates on a section of the Rue de Paquis with sex shops galore and plenty of girls who strut their stuff on the streets both day and night.
3. The official language is French, but English and German are widely spoken.
4. The airport straddles both the Swiss and French borders with passport control for both countries, depending on where you are visiting. If you hire a car from the French part, you have to return it to the French part, (and the same for the Swiss side) so make sure you drive into the airport on the correct road! (If you return it to the car park on the wrong side, you will be charged a hefty fee).
5. All trains leaving the airport go to Geneva central train station. The central train station is also a terminus for the French rail network; if you arrive on an intercity SNCF train you will have to pass through both French and Swiss customs and passport control.
6. Parking in the city is a nightmare; a good tip is to leave your car at the long term airport train station car park or the trade centre car park and take the train to the city centre, which is compact enough to navigate on foot or by the excellent tram service.
7. From January 2007 UNIRESO (the transport company) are giving all hotel guests in the city a free transport card for the duration of their stay. This entitles the holder to use buses, trams and boats within the Geneva city limits.
02/2007: French wine: 'how much can you carry?...'
Spotted during a hotel review visit recently were these enormous bottles of local French plonk in sizes of 12 and 15 litres. Assuming you can lift one onto the table, they must be great for group meals in the chalet or hotel. Possibly a great forfeit for the best ski wipe-out of the day..down a bottle in one? I don't think so. €90 (just over £60) for 15 litres sounds good to me –just don’t drop one on your foot!
Spotted during a hotel review visit recently were these enormous bottles of local French plonk in sizes of 12 and 15 litres. Assuming you can lift one onto the table, they must be great for group meals in the chalet or hotel. Possibly a great forfeit for the best ski wipe-out of the day..down a bottle in one? I don't think so. €90 (just over £60) for 15 litres sounds good to me –just don’t drop one on your foot!
02/2007: Tignes: 'delightful little hotels....'
Generally and quite rightly known for its high altitude, snow-sure skiing, almost lunar landscape and rather bland, functional, purpose-built apartments on the pistes. What a delight it was to find some lovely, little, family-run hotels right in the heart of the action with lots of friendly, alpine charm on offer and yet still on the doorstep of the highest skiing in Europe! I know where this researcher will stay for the next visit to this great ski area. Check out the Tignes property reviews for more information and photos.
Generally and quite rightly known for its high altitude, snow-sure skiing, almost lunar landscape and rather bland, functional, purpose-built apartments on the pistes. What a delight it was to find some lovely, little, family-run hotels right in the heart of the action with lots of friendly, alpine charm on offer and yet still on the doorstep of the highest skiing in Europe! I know where this researcher will stay for the next visit to this great ski area. Check out the Tignes property reviews for more information and photos.
02/2007: Arc 1950: 'what a pleasant surprise....'
Having been faced with some particularly ugly and soulless, purpose-built ski resorts on my recent ski research trip, the Intrawest-developed resort at Les Arc 1950 in France was a real pleasure. It should have been no surprise, as it follows the same successful design format of another Intrawest centre in the Canadian resort of Mont Tremblant which I visited last winter. Some may say it’s rather Disney-esque but it manages to have a genuine, alpine village feel combined with superb, inter-connected and centrally-run facilities for all ages and offers mainly 4-star apartment properties. The skiing at 6000 feet is right on the doorstep linking into the famous Paradiski ski region of Les Arcs and La Plagne. Certain nearby resorts had better get their act together to compete with this quality and service!
Having been faced with some particularly ugly and soulless, purpose-built ski resorts on my recent ski research trip, the Intrawest-developed resort at Les Arc 1950 in France was a real pleasure. It should have been no surprise, as it follows the same successful design format of another Intrawest centre in the Canadian resort of Mont Tremblant which I visited last winter. Some may say it’s rather Disney-esque but it manages to have a genuine, alpine village feel combined with superb, inter-connected and centrally-run facilities for all ages and offers mainly 4-star apartment properties. The skiing at 6000 feet is right on the doorstep linking into the famous Paradiski ski region of Les Arcs and La Plagne. Certain nearby resorts had better get their act together to compete with this quality and service!
02/2007: Chamonix: 'head and shoulders above the rest...'
What a great mountain town Chamonix in France is! The compact and easily accessible central resort amenities have a fantastic choice of lively bars, restaurants, quality shopping and some really characterful, old ski hotels seemingly un-affected by the passage of time. Convenient transport links to Italy, the airport and, of course, the spectacular views of Mont Blanc. What more could you ask for? The only thing needed is easier access to the ski lifts. Although a few other French resorts offer this ‘real’ town feel they just don’t come close to this impressive and world-famous venue. Try it at any time of year. It’s even busier in Summer!
What a great mountain town Chamonix in France is! The compact and easily accessible central resort amenities have a fantastic choice of lively bars, restaurants, quality shopping and some really characterful, old ski hotels seemingly un-affected by the passage of time. Convenient transport links to Italy, the airport and, of course, the spectacular views of Mont Blanc. What more could you ask for? The only thing needed is easier access to the ski lifts. Although a few other French resorts offer this ‘real’ town feel they just don’t come close to this impressive and world-famous venue. Try it at any time of year. It’s even busier in Summer!
02/2007: Brides-les-Bains: 'reasonably-priced accommodation...'
The small Alpine town of Brides-les-Bains lies just 6km above the gateway town of Moutiers and a 20- to 25-minute drive from the more famous ski centres of Meribel and Courchevel in the Trois Vallees region. It is a quaint and traditional mountain village which claims to have one of the largest spa centres in France and has a peaceful, friendly feel. Skiers looking for a genuine French flavour should consider this resort with its good choice of reasonably-priced hotel and apartment accommodation. Although ski access takes longer – the central Olympe gondola takes about 25 minutes to reach the heart of Meribel – it passes through beautiful scenery and small villages on the way.
The small Alpine town of Brides-les-Bains lies just 6km above the gateway town of Moutiers and a 20- to 25-minute drive from the more famous ski centres of Meribel and Courchevel in the Trois Vallees region. It is a quaint and traditional mountain village which claims to have one of the largest spa centres in France and has a peaceful, friendly feel. Skiers looking for a genuine French flavour should consider this resort with its good choice of reasonably-priced hotel and apartment accommodation. Although ski access takes longer – the central Olympe gondola takes about 25 minutes to reach the heart of Meribel – it passes through beautiful scenery and small villages on the way.
