I was hoping I could somehow connect with owners who live in the French part of Switzerland to get some ideas for what we could do while in that area, but it doesn’t look like there is a message function between owners. We might consider dual membership if there was a sit open while we’re there -, but don’t see any other trips coming up that would make it worthwhile otherwise. Any tips are welcome.
You can’t connect with owners, unless you applying for a sit, however, owners CAN reach out to sitters if they choose. Posting in a facebook group for the particular area you want would be much easier for you to discover the area… or google/tripadvisor.
TripAdvisor has a great Forum with a wealth of information.
Seems odd to randomly message people for travel advice when so much is available online for free and is searchable. If you’re not already booked for a sit, I doubt most hosts would want to suddenly be receiving such requests randomly.
@Euuusi if I am understanding correctly you are a pet parent ?
If you already have dates booked for your trip you could suggest a meet up in the “Meet up “ section of the forum and you might connect to local pet parents that way and get some ideas when you meet up .
@Silversitters ‘ is a great suggestion, there’s also the travels with travels with Sam thread, you might try searching the thread or asking for advice about a specific area. You can also open a more specific thread. Some people do. I remember someone recently asking about best things to do in Madrid.
Although it’s true there’s a lot of travel information online, it’s also worth asking on this forum about the area of your interest. People here are extremely helpful and you may find someone knowledgeable about it and willing to share information.
If you’re interested in getting advice on this forum, you should edit the headline on this topic, including the name of the area you’re interested in the first few words so that it can attract people’s attention.
Thank you, yes of course, that would have been smart, duh! New to this though - can I actually edit my post or do I need to repost with the new title? Thank you @Newpetlover.
You can edit it if you like or start a new one. Your choice.
Hi @Euuusi
I’ve updated the title of the post for you, hope this helps!
As mentioned by @Newpetlover you could also search the thread they linked or ask for advice as @Sam_F is extremely well-travelled and might have been there herself!
When I was on a (very nice) sit just a dogwalk away from Lake Geneva, I often went to France for lunch: it is much cheaper and much less posh. And I visited Voltaire’s castle in Ferney-Voltaire.
sounds posh to me
Thank you for doing that, @Jenny! I couldn’t figure out HOW to edit it myself. What I was hoping for really was to connect with HO, even for recommendations where to stay, with easy access to public transportation…(it’s the conversation that I wanted, and I realize I wasn’t clear).
There are a lot of things to do in the area, it just depends on what you are into. I do suggest doing all of your grocery and other shopping in France, as it is significantly cheaper.
Hello @Euuusi
I have a few ideas as my hubby and I completed a house sit in the small town of Nyon, which is about 20 minutes to the North of Geneva on the shores of Lac Léman. During our stay we found the rail network to be excellent in availability and frequency. They also allow dogs on the train as we took the dog that we were looking after on several day trips on the train with us. Just to note, you would need to purchase the dog a ticket.
One very happy dog on a Swiss train!
I really like the towns on the West and North shoreline of Lac Léman. Obviously you have Geneva at the southern tip of the lake where you can hop on a cruise around the lake which will give you a different view of the Jet d’Eau, the famous water spout. A walk through the Old Town of Geneva is a must, which is dominated by St Peter’s Cathedral. You can stop for a coffee in one of the cafes in the Place Bourg-de-Four, the oldest square in Geneva. There are a multitude of day trips available starting from Geneva, including to places such as Chamonix and Mont Blanc, Glacier 3000 and Annecy.
Beautiful Annecy at sunset.
Lausanne is another beautiful town on the shores of Lac Léman that I really like, and is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French-speaking canton of Vaud. Here you will find the Olympic Museum which is well worth a visit and a walk along the shoreline is very relaxing.
One of our favourite town’s is the beautiful town of Montreux. It is here that Charlie Chaplin had a property and spent his latter years. There is a museum not far from Montreux, in Vevey, dedicated to Charlie Chaplin, his life and work.
Another famous resident of Montreux was Freddie Mercury, it was here in a recording studio, in 1978 that Queen recorded their album Jazz. The recording studio now offers a tour called the Studio Experience. It is located in the former Mountain Studios in the Casino Barrière de Montreux. Another fun day trip is to take the ferry across the lake to a destination on the other side. One that I particularly enjoyed was from Lausanne to Evian-les-Bains, home of the famous bottled water and amazing driftwood sculptures.
The Freddie Mercury statue In Montreux.
As @Bluebird already mentioned, food shopping is cheaper in France. I particularly like a French supermarket chain called Grand Frais which is similar to Waitrose in the UK, or Whole Foods in the US.
I hope that you find this information helpful.
We have been close to the border recently on a sit and agree with the suggestion of Annecy, really beautiful city.
Further, we drove from there to Switzerland for another sit and stopped in Gruyères, a really beautiful little village/castle on a hill. We went there specifically to visit the H. R. Giger museum, if you are into the Alien movies or horror art, this is such an interesting place to visit.
I lived in the French region of Switzerland 23 year’s ago. It was in the Canton of Vaud , the small village.of Gryon in the Alps . Lausanne the main city of the Canton, a beautiful city strategically situated above Lac Leman ( lake Geneva) also the Olympic headquarters. Switzerland’s wine region the Valais is also in the French region. I loved this part of Switzerland, a plethora of castles, ski resorts and small villages.
I think it also depends on the where, the French part of Switzerland is fairly large.
Besides Lac Leman, there are many sky resorts and cute little cities, besides the larger ones already mentioned.
Train travel is the way to do it.