Coffee & tea

If you feel like a touch of the exotic but can’t afford a last-minute ticket to Marrakech, Restaurant Nomades is the place to come. From the moment you enter this intimate, dimly-lit forest of Moroccan lamps, richly coloured carpets, divans, carved wooden chairs and wall mosaics, you will be transported to another continent.

The menu completes the illusion, offering an extensive array of couscous and tagine dishes, as well as assortments of Lebanese delicacies, pastillas and of course, the bit I can never resist, sweet pastries for dessert. The menu even includes Moroccan and Lebanese wine to accompany your virtual trip in style.

I find it comforting to come here on a cold winter evening, when that skin-rippingly cold wind known as the “bise” is howling outside, to catch up on the gossip with a few friends, often after starting with a drink at Nomades’ sister establishment, Saveurs et Couleurs Café, which is situated just a few steps up the road. It’s also a good address in summer as the restaurant has a terrace on the quiet rue des Grottes where you can enjoy the sun and people-watch. It’s usually possible to get a table without having to book, and credit cards are accepted.

Pleasantly untidy and absolutely cheerful, a constant hum of chatter fills Saveurs et couleurs cafe. For the eponymous “saveurs”, try the tasty evening menu or one of the tempting home-made cakes. If it’s “couleurs” you need, just sit down and look around!

I don’t think I have ever come here when it was not almost full – even on a Sunday – and it’s easy to understand why. In winter, the café offers a cosy welcome; yellow walls, coloured lights bestrewing the windows and ornate Moroccan lamps, as well as a warm greeting from the waiter, who will remember you if you come here more than once. In summer, the relatively large terrace is second to none, a perfect place to lounge and people-watch for a few hours after work.

The café is situated at the heart of les Grottes, a mini-village in the centre of Geneva, which not only lends it a very particular charm but also means that the terrace is quiet, as few cars pass through this part of Geneva. In just a three-minute walk from the station, you can completely remove yourself from the fumes and noise of rush hour.

I have come here with a range of companions and it is a great place both for small and large groups – although you will need to arrive early to grab the seats. It’s also one of the rare bars in Geneva where it’s comfortable to bring small children.

Pâquis boasts a number of worthwhile lunch spots, with many eateries offering thoughtfully prepared and (relatively) good-value plats du jour; each restaurant normally features just one such daily special. Café des Arts is a prime example, and well worth a visit (check the Café des Arts article); wander round the corner, meanwhile, and you’ll soon stumble across Les Cinq Portes, which offers similarly tasty treats.

I enjoy coming here in search of down-to-earth but reliable food and a quiet chat: the layout is airy and leaves room between tables for privacy, the service hovers gently in the background, affording all the required breathing space, and the food is consistently tasty and well presented without venturing into the fussy. When I come here I tend to let the chef make the decision for me, but if the daily special doesn’t grab your attention, the salads are interesting too-in a good way. There is a large terrace in warmer months.

There are many cafés selling books and bookshops serving coffee in Geneva, particularly in the Plainpalais area, but I find that this specimen, perhaps less widely talked about than some of its counterparts and more focused on the books than the coffee, is a particularly intriguing place to while away some time.

Don’t come with a specific title in mind, for exhaustive is not the most adequate description here; the collection is random in both its nature and its distribution. At my last assessment, a six-volume edition of Guy de Maupassant’s short stories shared a shelf with a biography of Nicolas Sarkozy, and a mushroom encyclopaedia rubbed spines with a eulogy to 15th- and 16th-century Swiss art.

But if you’re the sort of person who enjoys a few minutes of esoterica every once in a while, you’ll love it. The new, second-hand and antique tomes on sale here cover a variety of subjects, but the section markers are for guidance only; the real name of the game is gentle, open-minded browsing followed by a hassle-free rest in one of the shop’s comfy chairs. The cheerful owner will be pleased to stick the kettle on while you dive into your selection or use the free wifi.

I first visited this bar for a quick drink with friends between work and the airport, and it has since become my venue of choice when time is of the essence: situated as it is directly behind the station, it is certainly one of the best options if you are changing trains in Geneva or want to relax just before you set off for your next destination, and by far outstrips some of the more visible but less enticing establishments which the station area has to offer.

When the weather allows, early-evening visitors enjoy the outdoor terrace, often spreading out along the path which leads to the bar itself-testament to the favour which this seemingly makeshift watering hole has curried among Geneva’s more adventurous after-work crowd. The empanadas, available with a number of different fillings, meaty and otherwise, will transport you to the Southern Cone and keep you chatting happily until dinnertime, while the interesting range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic thirst-quenchers is a welcome boon at the end of long week.

Keep an eye on your watch, but fear not: in two and a half minutes (suitcase time not included), you’ll be on the platform.