Milan to Geneva to Paris: Exploring Iconic Cities

Intro

My Italy trip had been an almost successful one, with just some minor weather related hiccups that did not really impact my overall experience. You can read more about this Easter/Passover trip in these posts:

• Explore Naples: A Complete Travel Guide
• Exploring Pompei: A Journey Through Ancient Roman History
• Discover Amalfi and Positano: Your Ultimate Travel Guide
• Exploring The Vatican and Rome’s Hidden Gems
• Exploring Cinque Terre (Part I): Monterosso al Mare and Riomaggiore
• Exploring Cinque Terre (Part II): Manarola, Corniglia and Vernazza

I had been going north by train, 716 km (444 miles), from Amalfi to Cinque Terre, exploring Naples, Pompei and Rome on the way as well. Everything seemed so unrealistic, like coming out from a postcard. I really loved this trip, despite some rain I had in some places. For now, that was the only thing that had me scratching my head during this adventure.

Now, I was coming from Monterosso al Mare in Cinque Terre, to a city I had already visited many years ago, Milano, for a quick night stop before heading into my next destination, a very snowy one.

Arriving to Milano, Italy

Milano was not in my original plan, since sincerely I did not find it too fascinating when I came many years ago. Regardless, spending the night, was a great way to connect Point A, Cinque Terre, with point B, my next destination: Zermatt, Switzerland. But what is up there in the Swiss Alps? Well, you will find out in the next blog post. In this one, we will focus in three little stops I made on the way back to New York: Milano, Geneva and Paris.

Not having touched a plane in more than a week was weird, since I had been to so many place, but that’s the beauty of Europe. Everything is so close and reachable by train.

I stayed in a hotel that was very close to Milano Centrale, the main station, since both my inbound and outbound trains were getting to this station. I only needed a place to crash for a few hours, and shower, so nothing fancy lol.

Exploring Milano

From there, I wanted to see the Duomo di Milano, the most famous church and the emblem of this city. This is a stunning Gothic cathedral in the heart of Milan, Italy, known for its intricate spires, marble façade, and forest of statues. As the largest church in Italy (excluding the Vatican), it took nearly six centuries to complete and features breathtaking stained glass, elaborate carvings, and rooftop terraces offering panoramic views of the city.

Of course it was already close by the time I arrived. But so beautiful nonetheless.

Right next to it, we can find the iconic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a grand 19th-century shopping arcade, famous for its glass dome, mosaic floors, and elegant architecture. It houses luxury boutiques, historic cafés, and restaurants, making it both a cultural and commercial landmark in the city.

The central glass dome is incredible.

After that, I took the Metro back to Milano Centrale, and walked around Il Mercato Centrale, located right on the station. It is a little confusing how to access it, so I would just recommend to fully exit the station towards Via Giovanni Battista Sammartini, and then get back in when you see the signs for the mercato.

I would 100% recommend this sort of food court, with more than 30 shops with many different types of foods. But I decided to go with pizza from La Pizza (lol), and it was amazing. Definitely, not as good as the one I had in Naples, or Rome, BUT still incredible. I was going to save some for later, but I HAD to eat it all.

On my way to Visp, Switzerland

Time to sleep for a few hours, and woke up, got ready, checked out, and went back to Milano Centrale, very early in the morning to go get my train to Visp in Switzerland.

I was saying goodbye to Italy after an amazing almost couple of weeks, and I had to savor some last pastries from this beautiful country.

Boarding the TreinItalia was easy but I was not ready and definitely not aware of what was coming.

There was almost no delay on my train to Visp in Switzerland, and the border check was kind of quick, they just made sure everyone had a passport. Crossing the mountain range, and seeing the snow at the other end of those tunnels was incredible. Seeing snow in the middle of April, reminded of a couple years ago, when I did a trip to Ushuaia in Argentina, and saw snowing for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere.

From here, my luck was almost over, as Zermatt, high in the mountains, for the first time in a while was banned from any land access (train or bus), from the other towns like Visp. This was due to landslides that had buried the roads and train tracks. They were not ready to get this amount of snow in April, for sure. Now I was stranded in Visp, but you will see this in more detail on the next blog.

From Visp to Geneva

When I finally got out of Visp, I was so excited to go to a bigger city, this time Geneva, to get on a plane to Paris, to then go to New York City. I know, a lot of stops, but I made it work. It was the cheapest, more convenient flight at the time, and I loved stopping in these two cities, as I visited Geneva a long time ago, and well, I had just been in Paris, but this city is always a good idea.

The train ride was quick, and made it to my hotel, close to the main station, as I would be getting to the airport the next day, not before exploring a little bit of this city.

Exploring Geneva, Switzerland

Kind of slept in today, needing this long rest after a few stressful days in the Swiss Alps. But hey, I was in Geneva, and I was about to go explore it. Of course, I had to stop by the Jet d’Eau de Genève, probably the most famous place in this city.

The view of the Alps and the clear water of the lake was amazing. It made fall in love with this country many years ago, when I was able to also check Bern, Lucerne, and Zurich, which by the way I will be visiting later this year, so also excited about that.

Crossed the Pont du Mont-Blanc to the other side, and continued walking towards the old town. The last time I visited Switzerland, I was coming from Barcelona, and the airline, Vueling, lost my carry-on (yep), so I had to buy everything new including suitcase and clothing and toiletries in Geneva, which was a shock for me, since everything was and still very expensive in this country. Like, I do not even know how I was able to do that. Anyways, a couple of weeks later, when I was already in Berlin, they found my suitcase, and gave it to me, and now I was carrying 2 suitcases all over Europe lol. I sued them later using AirHelp, and got $500 back. A win is a win.

This country is just too beautiful.

Everything is so well preserved.

But this city is very hilly, so I would recommend wearing the most comfortable shoes.

I got to the Old town and to Place du Bourg-de-Four, where there were a lot of tourists, and all the restaurants were busy, surprisingly, because I had not seen many people. Regardless, I chose to eat here, and went to Crêperie du Bourg-de-Four where I got a delicious crepe.

The flags were out on this sunny day.

I continued exploring the old town, and saw this Cathédrale Saint-Pierre Genève, definitely a majestic building.

It was very beautiful inside, and of course, I had to use some of the holy water lol.

Time to finish this loop, and continue walking towards my hotel, where I would get my suitcase and be on my way to say bye to Switzerland.

The streets in the rest of the city were empty, but I just loved all the views all over the place.

On the way to Paris, France

Went to the hotel, grabbed my suitcase, and got a train from the station to the airport (not too far), and got on my EasyJet flight to Paris, France.

It is amazing how Geneva is located in this flat land, encircled by the Alps and Jura Mountains, a very peculiar topography.

The flight was relatively quick…

… and I was awake by the view of the Eiffel Tower and the Parisian skyline. I was amazed. Surprised, seeing this from the plane.

Exploring Paris

I arrive to the ORY airport, and took the new train all the way to Gare de l’Est, where I had stayed in my last year’s adventures. But this time, I would stay in ibis Paris Gare de l’Est TGV. No more lack of air conditioning ever for me.

I slept in once again, and the next day, I went to the Eiffel Tower. I had to right?

Well, I did not exactly go there, but I saw it from Trocadero, which had been closed or sort of blocked off the last couple of times I had been to Paris due to the Olympics. But this time, everything had been cleared off, and the magnificent esplanade was back. I had to get more savory crepes as well lol.

I explored a little bit of the city, without documenting much, but then got myself taking the tram, which I do not remember taking in Paris, and I believe this line is new. Correct me if I am wrong. But it was cool taking it.

Back to New York

After all these little one-night kinda stops, I was ready to go back to New York City. Italy was amazing, incredible, and Switzerland had its stressful days, but very beautiful and dreamy nonetheless. Paris was always welcoming, and here I was back in ORY International Airport, boarding a FrenchBee direct flight to Newark in New Jersey.

After a few hours, and forcing myself to sleep, I was back in New York city, I missed home so much, but I still have one more chapter from this trip. What happened in Switzerland that got me so stressed out? You will find out in the next blog post.