Field Manual
Your spoiler-free briefing for Geneva: what to bring, how things work, and who to call.
Well call me.
Just in case:
🚑 Medical emergency / Ambulance — 144
🚒 Fire & rescue — 118
👮 Police — 117
☠️ Poisoning — 145
🆘 European/international emergency number — 112
And, of course:
🌌 The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything : 42
Not currently recognised by the Geneva emergency services, but arguably more useful in the long term.
Whatever happens: DON’T PANIC. (And bring a towel ;))))))
PRICES – A brief psychological preparation
Geneva is expensive. The kind of expensive where you order two coffees, look at the bill, and briefly reconsider several of your life choices and if it would be better immediately to switch to beer .
A few approximate prices, just so the first encounter is less traumatic:
Coffee: CHF 4–6 (more is possible)
Cappuccino: CHF 5–7
Beer: CHF 6–9
Glass of wine: CHF 6–10
Sandwich / takeaway lunch: CHF 8–15 (really!)
Plat du jour at lunch: CHF 18–25
Restaurant main course: CHF 30–50
Fondue: roughly CHF 25–35 per person
Public transport ticket: CHF 3 for 60 minutes in Geneva
The good news is that Geneva can also be enjoyed without continuously transferring money to it.
Migros , Denner and Coop are your friends. These supermarkets have sandwiches, salads, ready-made meals, wine, cheese and everything required for an improvised picnic by the lake. Migros does not sell C2H5OH.
Tap water is perfectly safe to drink, and Geneva has public fountains everywhere. Unless a fountain specifically says “eau non potable”, the water is drinkable. Bring a bottle and refill it.
If your accommodation gives you the Geneva Transport Card, your public transport is free during your stay: buses, trams, local trains and the little yellow Mouettes boats.
Cards are accepted almost everywhere. You could be asked to Twint sometimes, check what is Twint before you come!
And there are many excellent things here that remain stubbornly free, so don’t panic. Geneva is survivable.
Just never convert the price of your drink back into your home currency while you are drinking it ;))) Of course, at the party and brunch all is offered ;))
Geneva Basics: Weather, Stuff, Sanity
Think spring turning to early summer: green Geneva, possible rain, evenings still cool., but it could be anything, we are in the Anthropocene!
Pack layers, a light jacket, comfy walking shoes, and something slightly cinematic -colorful-sci-fi-Bowiesque for the party.
Swiss plugs are type J; cards work almost everywhere.
About
Multiverse FAQ: Rebel Logistics
Answers to the questions you might Google at 02:00:
visas (check, most likely not but again…. Zeitgeist bites),
money (CHF, Swiss Francs; here is a useful converter site: https://www.xe.com/fr/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=CHF&To=EUR),
plugs (here below),
roaming (be careful, but if you are covered in the EU, usually CH is in the package (but check!),
tap water (just next to Evian, probably the best tap water anywhere),
what “if my flight is late” (text me),
and
whether you really need travel insurance. (short version: probably yes).
Electricity: Switzerland Had to Be Different
Switzerland uses Type J plugs and 230 V / 50 Hz electricity.
The important part: the Swiss socket looks almost like the familiar European one, but isn’t quite. Standard two-pin Europlugs (Type C) phone chargers and many small devices usually fit perfectly.
But the larger European Schuko plugs (Type E/F), common on laptops, hairdryers and other appliances, do not fit Swiss sockets.
So if your charger has a big round European plug, bring a Switzerland Type J adapter.
Visitors from anywhere actually need a Swiss adapter.
Adapters are easy to find at Geneva Airport, train stations and electronics shops, but unsurprisingly they become more expensive precisely when you desperately need one.
Voltage: 230 V / 50 Hz. Most modern phone and laptop chargers accept 100–240 V automatically; check the tiny writing on your charger if in doubt.
In short: two thin European pins = probably fine. Anything more ambitious = bring an adapter
Interbrain (attempted) synchronization
For urgent questions, message the host WhatsApp group or email; I’ll share details with confirmed guests. Also, if there are people who want to organize between themselves to come together, stay, etc., please don’t be shy about it!
