Tag Archives: Switzerland

Geneva Cointrin – not your usual airport

Genève Cointrin (IATA: GVA) as the airport, situated in the French part of Switzerland, is called in the local language, is quite an odd one. Don’t get me wrong it is actually quite a convenient airport as it is small and therefore rather accessible. But from both, an architectural and a usability point of view, it’s not exactly your standard airport.

Switzerland’s second largest international airport after Zurich is comprised of a mix of buildings from various decades. It looks a bit like an unthoughtfully assembled mosaic. Besides, the airport has a French and a Swiss side – so beware of from what “country” you are departing or arriving from. The good news is that if you are coming from France, you do not have to go through customs if you remain on the French side. The following review, however, is based on the Swiss part of the airport.

My first advice is, not to go through passport control until it is absolutely necessary (but of course allow ample time for security checks). The reason is that there are hardly any shops after passport control other than your usual, boring duty free and watch stores. The suggestions below are therefore based on the “outside”, public area of the airport:

Your best option is to go to the railway centre (also called “centre commerce”). There you can check out various stores and restaurants. You will find it right next to the main terminal building. My top picks there are:

  1. Migros – a grocery store and a Swiss institution. They normally don’t have branded products, but trust me, their quality of produce is excellent. Here you can find anything from chocolates, Swiss specialties like cheese or dried meet to a delicious airline sandwich alternative to take on the plane.
  2. Check out the “Manor” shop with a decent range of contemporary Swiss souvenirs for you to bring home.
  3. And finally, if you sadly experienced bad weather on your skiing holidays, go to the centre’s solarium and freshen up your tan.

In case you are just looking for a quick bite before you board your economy flight, go to an area called “Les jardins de Genève”. You will find it on the 1st floor of the main terminal building. There you will find a Starbucks, Upper Crust, Burger King, a Sushi place (Bento), an Italian eatery (Le Sud) a bar and an outdoor area for when the weather is nice (mind you, smoking is not permitted there).

My final suggestion is a restaurant called “Swiss Chalet” which you will find in the arrivals area. The nicely decorated place offers typical Swiss meals like cheese Fondue, Raclette, Rösti and other delicacies. Oh and by the way, Geneva is only about 8 minutes away by train with trains leaving frequently, so if you have a lot of time, check out Switzerland’s second biggest city.

[Picture from Flickrsome rights reserved]

Airport Facts and Ratings

Airport Name Geneva International Airport
Website http://www.gva.ch
IATA Code GVA
Design LateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award Point
Shopping LateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award Point
Toilets LateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award Point
Overall LateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award Point
Chanel No 5 Eau de Parfum, 100ml at the Duty Free Shop CHF 116.00 (£71.10)
Bottle of Veuve Cliquot at the Duty Free Shop CHF 57.90 (£35.50)

 

 

Zurich prepares for Schengen

Switzerland officially joined the Schengen zone on the 12th December of last year even though my home country is (still) not part of the EU. The original Schengen agreement was signed in 1985 and it provided for the removal of systematic border controls between the participating countries.

With the Swiss joining the club now, this means you will no longer see systematic passport controls between it and the other member countries. This is straight forward with Switzerland’s neighbouring countries as they are all members themselves, but it’s a bit more complex for an airport as flights, obviously, will leave to both, member and non-member countries. Zurich airport will therefore undergo a change to accommodate for the new system. On their website they write

The most noticeable changes for passengers is that they will no longer have to pass through passport control within the Schengen area, and some transit passengers at Zurich Airport will even be able to transfer to their onward flight without having to undergo another security check.

These changes are becoming effective on 29th March 2009. More information can be found on the airport’s website. I’m scheduled to go back there in May and will report on the changes. Let’s hope Zurich remains as reliable as it was and that my favourite “Luxemburgerli” are available in both zones.

 

[Picture from Flickrsome rights reserved]

Reliable Zurich

Well, I think you saw it coming, didn’t you? Of course, there was no delay at Zurich airport on my Swiss flight back to London last night. But don’t be disappointed just yet! As Zurich is kind of home turf to me, I’m still able to give you the lowdown about this airport:

After the major rehaul of the entire airport in 2003, Switzerland’s main hub is now back on the radar of decent airports. Particulary nice is the so called “Airside Centre”, the main area for shopping, restaurants and the starting point to all gates. It offers an attractive high roof and a nice wooden floor. However, the main problem with the airport overall is that other than at most airports, the security checks in Zurich are located close to the actual gates, so after the main shopping area, and not after the passport checks, which means you need to plan ahead and be very contious of your remaining time. Also, if you depart from the E gates you need to take the shuttle train to the midfield terminal which adds another 10 to 15 minutes to your journey. This terminal contains some shops as well but the selection is far smaller than in tha Airside Centre.

But without further adu, here are my top 5 things you can do while waiting at Zurich airport (if that ever happens…):

  1. Choose your favourite “Luxemburgerli” flavour from the Lindt & Sprüngli shop
  2. Hop on the “Gates E”-train and experience the Heidi and alpine scene animations from Swiss Tourism (there’s a different one each way)
  3. Count how many times the friendly Swiss greet you with a “Grüezi
  4. Press your nose against the Rolex glass cabinets in the Swiss watch store and dream of your lottery win on Saturday
  5. Try to find someone who actually can speak the 4th official Swiss language Romansh

Facts
Airport name: Zurich Airport / Zurich Kloten
Short code: ZRH
Website: http://www.zurich-airport.com
Design factor: 4/5
Shopping factor: 3/5
Toilets factor: 2/5
Overall factor: 3/5