Geneva

 

The city of Geneva provides a very good coverage of Free WiFi network (http://www.ville-ge.ch/ds...). Just look for the "ville-de-geneve" network.

Parc des Bastions

In the Parc des Bastions there is free wi-fi internet access available. Just log on to the ville-de-geneve or Bastions network.

Parc des Bastions

The public library of the city is located inside the Parc des Bastions, and the same network listed above is available inside. Search for the reading room Salle de lecture, on the 1st floor. There is even electricity to plug your notebook. Opening hours of the room: M-F 9AM-10PM; Sa 9AM-5PM. To get there by bus take Bus 3, 5, 36, Tram 12, 17 stop at Place Neuve; Bus 1, 32, Tram 12, 13, 15, 17 stop at Plainpalais. (http://www.ville-ge.ch/bpu/).

 

For more hotspots, this site might help: Freespots (http://www.freespots.ch/)

Café de la Gare

see drink is a swisscom (http://www.swisscom.ch) hotspot. to use the service you need to either be a swisscom mobile customer see phone or buy access cards sold at any swisscom office, and at the montbrillant reception desk. the cards have timed values ranging from a half-hour to 1 month of continuous use.

 

Internet cafés have just begun to really take off in Geneva, and there are now several that stay open fairly late.

Internet Café Cornavin

Inside the cornavin train station near the west entrance. until 10pm every day. this convenient and friendly place offers printing, and laptop stations. if you do plan to use your laptop you need to be able to demonstrate that you have anti-virus software. 6chf per hour. specials for regulars and students.

Point6

12 rue jean violette, +41 22 800 26 00. primarily a gamer internet cafe, but becoming quite popular with casual internet users. scanning/photocopying/printing, diskettes/cd burning, faxing services available. manned by a young staff who as a result of being surrounded by snack machines and video games are very friendly. prices: free for first five minutes, then 5chf an hour.

Geneva is by and large a very safe place. Violent crime is almost unheard of, although it's important to keep an eye on your belongings in public, as petty theft is a fairly common occurrence. Do report any such activity to the police, you will probably find them much more interested and helpful than police in many other western cities, especially if you speak a little French.

Unfortunately there is a huge amount of vandalism in the city. On every street you can see bicycles with stolen seats, wheels, everything not locked. Many bicycles are vandalised and destroyed.

If you see people gambling on the streets usually along the main city centre bridges stay away! The modus operandi usually involves a guy playing the classic game of "hiding the ball". This involves covering the ball or small trinket with either a bottle cap or a match box and swirling it around with two other bottle caps asking people to guess the position of the ball. The game is set in a way that you can easily see the ball's position. This is done to lure the unsuspecting person into placing a wager. There are usually two main players and, between them, they will lose and win money back and forth to give the appearance that it is a fair game - do not be tricked! They are from the same gang. Once you get greedy and get lured in, you will surely lose your money! The person in control of the bottle caps will remove the ball from their position through sleight of hand and you will never see your money back. Besides the two or three other players involved, there are usually at least two lookouts - one on each side of 'stage'. Similar variations of this scam has been reported in places like Budapest as well.

phone

Local cellphone service is mainly provided by Swisscom (http://www.swisscom.ch), Orange (http://www.orange.ch), and Sunrise (http://www.sunrise.ch). In the second half of 2005, Yallo (http://www.yallo.ch), Migros (http://www.m-budget-mobile) and Coop (http://www.coop.ch/coopmobile/) have started their own mobile offers. Don't be surprised if you find your phone using a cell in neighboring France however. If you buy one in Switzerland you will have to either just accept the occasional roaming fee, or be prepared to set the phone manually.

If you are staying for a while you should consider getting a SIM card/and or a phone since it's much cheaper and easier than dealing with payphones. The best deal is with Sunrise SIM cards. These days you do have to register your name and an address to get a SIM card, as Swiss anonymous phone cards have been found on apprehended terror suspects who have never even been to Switzerland!

Payphones are still fairly common here, but very few of them accept coins, so be prepared to buy a prepaid card or to use a credit card no surcharge.

Swisscom has borrowed one neat idea from the French which you might find very useful: the minitel. Every phonebooth is equipped with one of these electronic directory devices. You just need to know the name in French of the type of business you are looking for to get a list, with the closest examples highlighted. A fee is charged for using this system.

cope

Please note that contrary to popular belief, the Swiss are beyond punctual when it comes to closing hours. So if a museum is supposed to close at 5PM, expect that at 4:45PM you will be asked to leave and if you point out that closing hours are still 15 minutes away you might get expelled. If you arrive after 4:30PM, you'll more than likely be denied entrance. The same applies to shops and pretty much every public activity with a schedule. In the same vein, especially relevant to jet lagged travelers, it is important to note that lunch hour at most restaurants end at 14:00 and last orders at 13:45 for the more strict ones with dinner service starting again at 18:00.