Geneva. Ten minutes from the desk to the aircraft, and the Alps a morning's drive away.
Four kilometres from the terminal to the lake. Two hours from the terminal to Verbier. For a certain kind of client it is the most efficient city in Europe, and in February it is the busiest.
- 20+years in private travel
- Ownedchauffeur fleet in London and Manchester, a trusted global network beyond
- 24/7operations desk, one contact
- 3services on one itinerary: car, jet and yacht
In partnership with Harrods Aviation · Signature Aviation · SW Global
The essentials
Geneva at a glance
- From LondonAbout 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 35 by private aircraftDirect from Luton, Farnborough, Biggin Hill or Northolt. See London to Geneva.
- The airportGeneva (GVA / LSGG)Four kilometres north west of the centre. Ten to twenty minutes by road outside the peaks, and a separate terminal for business aviation.
- Cars in GenevaArranged, not oursOur own fleet is in London and Manchester, with a trusted global network everywhere else. Here we use operators we know, briefed the same way and reached through the same contact.
- The busy seasonJanuary to MarchSki weekends, and the Davos week in January, take every car and every slot in the region.
The city
A private banking district you can walk across
Geneva's working centre is small and precise. The banks and family offices sit on and around the rue du Rhone, the rue de la Corraterie, the Place de la Fusterie and the Cours de Rive on the left bank, with the hotels facing them across the water along the Quai du Mont-Blanc and the Quai des Bergues. North west of the centre, the Place des Nations quarter holds the United Nations, the WTO and the other institutions. The residential addresses people actually live at, Cologny and Vandoeuvres, are ten to twenty minutes out on the right bank.
That compactness is the point. A day here can hold four meetings and a flight home, which is exactly why it is worth having a car and a chauffeur who knows where to wait. The Pont du Mont-Blanc is the one reliable bottleneck, parking in the centre is scarce and strictly enforced, and Swiss motorways require a vignette, which is the operator's problem rather than yours.
The airport
Ten minutes from the desk to the aircraft
Geneva Airport sits on the edge of the city with a single long runway that takes everything from light jets to ultra long range aircraft. Business aviation uses its own terminal away from the scheduled piers, and the drive into the banking district is genuinely ten to twenty minutes outside the peaks.
One local detail is worth knowing. The airport has a French sector, a small part of the terminal that sits on French territory under a long-standing agreement, reached by road through the Ferney-Voltaire border. If you are landing in Geneva and heading straight into Haute-Savoie, an arrival through the French sector can avoid crossing into Switzerland at all. Whether it helps depends on your flight and your destination, and we will tell you plainly when it does and when it does not.
In ski season the peak Saturdays are the exception. Slots are tight, the ground is busy for hours at a stretch and every road out of the city fills at the same time. Arriving on a Friday or a Sunday is routinely faster, and the difference is measured in hours rather than minutes.
Onward from Geneva
Into the Alps by road
| To | Typical drive | In winter traffic |
|---|---|---|
| Chamonix | 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 | 2 hours or more |
| Megeve | 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 45 | 2 hours or more |
| Verbier | 1 hour 50 to 2 hours 15 | Up to about 3 hours |
| Courchevel | 2 hours 15 to 3 hours | 3 hours 30 or more |
| Meribel | 2 hours 15 to 3 hours | 3 hours 30 or more |
| Val d'Isere | 3 to 4 hours | Longer again on a Saturday |
| Gstaad | 2 to 2 hours 30 | Up to about 3 hours |
| Zermatt | About 3 hours to Tasch | The village is car-free: a 12-minute train covers the last stretch |
Realistic ranges, not promises. Saturdays in the ski season are the worst day of the week on every one of these roads.
What people book
Why our clients come here
- Same-day banking trips: aircraft out, three or four meetings, aircraft home
- A car at your disposal for a day between the rue du Rhone, Cologny and the Place des Nations
- Winter arrivals with the whole family, luggage and skis, continuing straight into the Alps
- Alpine airfields when the weather allows: Sion, Samedan for St Moritz, Chambery for the Tarentaise
- Helicopter transfers from the airport into the resorts when the roads are at their worst
- The Davos week in January, which is closer to Zurich but felt everywhere in Switzerland
- Quiet, unremarked transfers to and from Swiss clinics
Three ways up the mountain
Getting to the snow
By road
Most journeys
Simple, predictable outside peak Saturdays, and the only option that carries everything you brought.
By alpine airfield
Weather permitting
Sion, Samedan or Chambery cut an hour or more off the drive when conditions and aircraft allow.
By helicopter
When it is worth it
Arranged, not ours. Fast, weather-dependent, and genuinely useful on a Saturday in February.
Nearby
Related pages
Routes and resorts
Who we look after
Start planning
Tell us about the trip
Dates, how many people, and where you are going after Geneva. If it is the mountains, tell us which resort and we will tell you whether to drive, fly or wait for a different day.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Geneva
Are these your own cars?
Our own cars and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else. In Geneva we arrange cars through operators we have used for years, to the same brief, through the same contact.
How far is the airport from the centre?
About four kilometres, which is ten to twenty minutes by road outside the peaks. It is one of the shortest airport runs of any major European city.
Is a Saturday arrival in ski season really that bad?
Yes. Slots tighten, the terminal is at capacity and every road out of the city is full. Where you have the choice, fly on a Friday or a Sunday.
Can you arrange a helicopter to the resort?
Yes, arranged through operators we know, and subject to weather. See helicopter charter.
Do you cover Davos?
Yes, though Zurich is the closer airport for it. See World Economic Forum, Davos.
We deal with problems before you know they exist