It's what you see that resembles the Table Mountain when you're at the Vieille Ville. You get more than just the world's longest bench. You get a view of Mt. Saleve too.
But don't fret. It's not that far.
It's actually just about 20 minutes by bus from Geneva's city center on a few of TPG's buses (8,34, 41, 44). From the last stop, which is Veyrier Douane, you need to walk about 15-20 minutes through the village until you reach the customs border. Landmarks include a little square with a few cafes and a church. The way is marked with arrows towards "Telepherique du Saleve." It's bit of a maze crossing a railway and a parking lot but with good weather, the walk would be a leisurely one, with the cable car wires always in sight like the star in Bethlehem.
The cable car departs every ten minutes and gives one of the most spectacular views of Geneva and the rest of the Lac Leman. It's highest point stands at 1379 meters at Grand Piton. Although rebuilt in 1983, the current cable car has been in place since 1932. Between 1892 and 1935, it also used to be served by the first electric rack railway in the world. It's a quick and comfortable ride up to the Saleve that you have to be alert enough to soak up the view lest you miss your chance.
Once at the top, you can head up to the viewing deck for unobstructed views, have a picnic at the edge of the mountain, admire the view from a number of benches under the shade of a tree, or get a table at the al fresco area of the fancy restaurant.
We got there mid-afternoon and the restaurant's kitchen was already closed so they sent us at a kiosk behind that sold everything from ice cream to madeleines, sandwiches and an array of drinks. When in Europe, expect that even a humble kiosk can offer wine, beer, coffee, juice and soda. So we got a panini and a croque monsieur from the kiosk and juice and rose from the restaurant. All in all just 20 EUR, tip included! The waitress was so congenial that she even gave us some olives while admiring the view.
From there you can see Lac Leman curve to the right as the rest of Switzerland disappears into the horizon. They say on a good day, you can see Mt. Blanc and even Lake Annecy. As for us, we were entertained enough to see the Jet d'eau, the Palais des Nations, and other Geneva landmarks, including the airport strip. You can even see the river zig zag away from Geneva.
Some folks drive up to Saleve or hike up (takes about 5 hours) but we took the cable car again (just 11.30 EUR for a return adult ticket), which was thankfully much closer to the stop where bus #8 was waiting to take us to Geneva. So if you want to wander in the little village, do so before going up to Saleve. As the bus rolled off, before we knew it, we were in Rive and shortly at Cornavin.
Although Mt. Saleve is great for outdoor sports summer or winter, a quick visit would only take about 2-3 hours of your time. It's so close to town that I wouldn't mind going back for a breather. I bet it's just as breathtaking in winter.
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