AS I strolled out of Cornavin station into the bright sunshine of a Geneva afternoon, I realised that it was little over two hours since my easyJet flight had left Bournemouth Airport.

Not bad, arriving in the centre of the beautiful Swiss city in roughly the time it takes on the train to Waterloo.

The smooth rail journey in from the airport takes just six minutes – and it’s a free trip courtesy of the local tourism authority.

A nice touch, I thought.

As is the complimentary travel card for the buses, tram system and some of the boats on the lake, if you are registered in a hotel.

Your transportation is sorted right from the start, which is rather appropriate as Geneva is a crossroads of European communication as well as historically, an international centre of trade and ideas.

Geneva is nestled between two mountain ranges where the River Rhone leaves Lake Geneva, the largest lake in Europe. Mont Blanc sits majestically in the distance.

Many visitors just use Geneva as the hop on and off point for the numerous ski resorts in the region like Val D’Isere and Chamonix and it’s true, you can be on the piste in less than an hour. France is just a few miles away and Italy within easy reach.

So tourism officials are understandably frustrated that the average overnight stay in the city is just 1.7 - 2.2 nights. They want you to stay longer.

And when you realise what Geneva has to offer, you can understand their irritation.

Lac Leman, with its spectacular fountain, the jet d’eau, is at the heart of Geneva. But the countryside with its lovely villages and vineyards is just a 10-minute drive from the centre. There are 1,500 hectares of vineyards and some 400 wine growers.

In fact, locally produced wine (around 13.5 million litres) is one of Geneva’s best kept secrets and take it from me, it is very, very passable.

You can spend at least a day walking, hiking or biking around the green fields and slopes around the city.

Geneva itself has plenty of green space within the city boundaries – more parkland per capita than any city in the world, according to our splendid guide Marilynn Geiger, a New Yorker who made her home in Switzerland three decades ago. The ‘City of Parks’ has lovely squares, public gardens, fountains sculptures and monuments – all of which play a key role in Geneva’s wellbeing.

The best of views (stunning) of lake and city together is from Byron Terrace on Cologny Hill.

Here you’ll find a rather surprising link with Bournemouth. It was here, at Byron’s villa, that Mary Shelley came up with the idea for Frankenstein while guests at a party dinner were amusing each other with scary stories. Shelley’s body lies in St Peter’s churchyard in Bournemouth.

Geneva has been a draw for the influential and famous for centuries, their presence woven into the fabric of its history. Jean Calvin, the leading light of the Reformation, founded an academy. Rosseau drew inspiration from the city. Montesquieu and Voltaire published works here while Liszt taught at the Conservatory of Music and Dostoevsky wrote in Geneva.

In more recent times, Audrey Hepburn could be spotted at the local market, Roger Moore dropped in from Gstaad and Taylor and Burton were frequent visitors. George Clooney is a regular here filming coffee adverts.

Another aspect of Geneva is its role as home to international humanitarian and environmental organisations, among them the United Nations, World Health Organisation and the Red Cross. A stroll around the international zone is fascinating and a visit to the Place des Nations a must.

A third of Geneva’s 445,000 inhabitants are citizens of other countries, 157 of them.

So by its very nature, Geneva is a hugely hospitable city and you’ll a warm welcome in the hotels and the many excellent restaurants.

The cuisine is superb (though a little on the expensive side) and if there’s one dish you must try it’s the delicious filets de perche from the lake, perhaps washed down with that excellent wine. There are not too many food miles in that meal.

And after a busy day sightseeing and browsing the many designer stores and chocolate shops, why not try a ‘croisiere fondue’ – a delightful two-hour evening cruise on the lake with an excellent fondue dinner.

Getting there

Andy Martin flew with easyJet from Bournemouth (daily flights in the winter season -see easyjet.com) and stayed at the Hotel Jade, one of six hotels operated by Manotel in Geneva.

The Jade has an Asian theme inspired by the principles of Feng Shui and is designed for the most soothing of stays. (jade@manotel.com or manotel.com). For more on Geneva see geneve-tourism. The CGN dinner cruise costs around CHF50 for meal, drinks and two-hour evening trip.