If you are looking for a souvenir or gift that’s unique and is going to remind you of Geneva, here are 10 of the best shops to check out.
CERN gift shop
Shop
Let’s face it, you can’t buy CERN stuff anywhere else but in Geneva. Situated in the main CERN reception, it’s a pretty small shop but if you want to send out a Large Hadron Collider postcard, or pick up a coffee mug with an incalculable calculation on it, then this is definitely the place to hit up.
Looking to decorate your house with a nice cow bell? Or maybe you want to wake up to the chime of a cuckoo clock? Alptitude has got you covered and more. They’ve got so many Swiss branded products which are particularly heavy on the cows that it’ll make your head spin. Many of them are perhaps a little kitsch for most, but you’re sure to find at least one thing to remind you of Switzerland here.
Things don’t get much more Swiss than a Swiss army knife and Victorinox are the original and leading brand. The brand’s history goes back to 1884 when Karl Elsener first founded his cutlery business, quickly followed by the “Original Swiss Army Knife” brand. You’ll find Victorinox products scattered around the city in different stores, but the main outlet is to be found on Rue du Marché, one of Geneva’s most exclusive shopping districts.
Bakery, Pastry Shop, Pastries, Dessert, Fast Food, Street Food, Swiss
Du Rhône‘s chocolate shop has been tickling the taste buds of Geneva’s residents since 1875, when the first shop opened on 2 Rue du Rhone. Now they’ve have moved to the busy Rue de la Confédération, but haven’t sacrificed any of their taste. Their specialty mocha ganache pralines, known as “Pavé de Genève” make for the perfect edible souvenir.
Switzerland’s only pencil and fine-arts materials producer, Caran d’Ache is the perfect stop for artistic souvenirs. All of their products are designed and produced in Geneva, where the shop’s workshops have been located since 1915. Exquisitely designed ink pens and coloured pencils line the walls, which is found in the Place du Bourg-de-Four in Geneva’s old town.
Perhaps few other souvenirs will be as treasured as a Swiss wine. As one local joke goes, the Swiss winemakers don’t export much wine because they drink it all themselves. But it is true that the Swiss export less than 5% of their wine, so you are unlikely to find it elsewhere. Le Caveau du Bacchus has a great collection of Swiss wines to browse, many of them from the local Geneva region. They also offer tastings.
What better way is there to show off your worldliness than with a souvenir from the United Nations? While the bookshop, unsurprisingly you may say, mostly stocks books related to the UN and its work, it also has a selection of branded souvenirs for your memories or to please that budding peacekeeper in your family.
Everything Swiss gathers in the Edelweiss shop in Geneva’s train station. It’s more of an up-market souvenir shop with Swiss-made brands like Alpine Club, Swiss Military and Milky family lining their shelves. It’s ideally located and difficult to miss in Gare Cornavin so you can pop in on your way back to the airport.
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum’s Shop
At the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum’s shop, you can show your support for the humanitarian cause. Choices are limited in the museum’s small gift shop, but in this immensely interesting, yet sombre museum, it may well be a powerful reminder of whatever lesson you take away from its harrowing exhibitions.
Switzerland’s biggest jazz festival is held every summer on the other side of Lake Geneva, but that doesn’t stop you from picking up a souvenir at any time of the year in Geneva’s airport. CDs, DVDs, exclusive posters and other festival merchandise is on sale here. The Jazz Shop also doubles up as a café.
