Starting location in Geneva?

[Rossco]

Can anyone tell me where the starting location is on Geneva? Thanks for any information.

 

[Davey Boyd]

I started and got my first stamp at the Cathedral Notre Dame.

Davey

 

[edandjoan]

We ended at St. Pierre's Cathedral a couple of years ago and got our last stamp there, so I would think it would be a starting point heading west to France. When we return we will begin again at the Cathedral.

 

[Kitsambler]

I too stopped one year and started the next at the Protestant Cathedral of St Pierre. It lies directly on the Via Jacobi route, so signage is helpful. The sales clerk has the credential stamp, but I did not see blank credentials on offer. It's about a 1 km walk from the main train station, across the lake and through a lovely restaurant area.

 

[Richard P]

I started in front of the UN with the rows of country flags flapping behind me, then got my stamp at the visitor info centre as I could find no one in the cathedral near the train station for a stamp.
Bon chemin

 

[Northern Laurie]

If you want to start 30km before Geneva, there are a number of villages between Nyon and Geneva, and several small churches are unlocked with stamps in a little alcove I was visiting family the week before I started the Camino del Norte - and discovered to my delight the stamp while attending a wedding!
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Te...d4d244d89d933e95!8m2!3d46.3558493!4d6.2063098

 

[jungleboy]

I started in front of the UN with the rows of country flags flapping behind me, then got my stamp at the visitor info centre as I could find no one in the cathedral near the train station for a stamp.

That's 'just' a church (Notre-Dame), not a cathedral, of which there is only one per diocese. The cathedral of Geneva, as @Kitsambler, said, is St. Pierre and is on the other side of the river in the old city.

 

[Kitsambler]

That's 'just' a church

There is no special benefit to a cathedral stamp. Find a place to get stamped, where ever it is you are starting: church, cathedral, tourism office, hotel, restaurant, even a hardware store -- it matters not!

 

[kaixo]

I started at the Geneva airport.
I walked the 9km to the old city where I stayed the first night at Home Saint-Pierre. I got my first stamp there having brought a Pilgrim Passport with me. About Home Saint-Pierre...it was okay. Girls in a bunk room, bathroom in the basement. Kitchen if you want to cook but the kitchen was in the same room where you sleep (definitely not my preference).
Home Saint-Pierre is directly across from the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre. Very convenient and got another stamp in my passport. Followed the signage out of town.

 

[futurefjp]

I started at the Geneva airport.
I walked the 9km to the old city where I stayed the first night at Home Saint-Pierre. I got my first stamp there having brought a Pilgrim Passport with me. About Home Saint-Pierre...it was okay. Girls in a bunk room, bathroom in the basement. Kitchen if you want to cook but the kitchen was in the same room where you sleep (definitely not my preference).
Home Saint-Pierre is directly across from the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre. Very convenient and got another stamp in my passport. Followed the signage out of town.

Did you book ahead ... Was it expensive?

 

[Kitsambler]

Did you book ahead ... Was it expensive?

For your March departure date, I would contact them ahead, not so much for fear of a full house but rather to make sure they are open. And it will certainly be less expensive than almost any other lodging in Geneva (I'm assuming they have a youth Hostel somewhere).

 

[jungleboy]

And it will certainly be less expensive than almost any other lodging in Geneva (I'm assuming they have a youth Hostel somewhere).

They do, Hostel Genève in the Pâquis. As you might expect, Swiss hostel prices are outrageous (CHF38 for a dorm bed, CHF100 for a private room), but I suppose in line with the general cost of living.

 

[kaixo]

Yes, I booked Home Saint-Pierre in advance. In the Summer of 2015 the cost was 33€; very convenient location.

 

[futurefjp]

Yes, I booked Home Saint-Pierre in advance. In the Summer of 2015 the cost was 33€; very convenient location.

Isn't there a Donativo in Geneva? I do think €33 a lot ...

 

[Kitsambler]

I do think €33 a lot ...

Remember Switzerland is priced in CHF rather than EUR.
And the gites in France (demi-pension) will easily run you EUR33.

 

[futurefjp]

Remember Switzerland is priced in CHF rather than EUR.
And the gites in France (demi-pension) will easily run you EUR33.

I only can afford Gite Communal really. I've a small budget and a leaky tent.

 

[JabbaPapa]

The only starting points as such on a Camino would be either your front door, or the altar of your Catholic Parish -- apart from those possibilities, you really can start wherever you like.

But if you wanted to at least emulate that in Geneva, then either from the airport or bus/train station or your hotel/hostel front door from a church in Geneva, maybe the Basilica ( https://www.eglisecatholique-ge.ch/messes-paroisses/paroisses/paroisse-de-notre-dame/ ) or from the English-speaking church there ( https://www.eglisecatholique-ge.ch/messes-paroisses/paroisses/communaute-anglophone/ ) ?

 

[Davey Boyd]

That's 'just' a church (Notre-Dame), not a cathedral, of which there is only one per diocese. The cathedral of Geneva, as @Kitsambler, said, is St. Pierre and is on the other side of the river in the old city.

True, I got a stamp in both when I started from Geneva in 2015. I stayed at the Geneva Hostel which was fine. Was E25 then.

Davey