Les Pâquis Geneva – All our local tips

“I have tried all fast food restaurants of Rue de Berne, the best one is the Lebanese Al Amir” told me a colleague of La Placette 10 years ago.” Some years later, two good friends tell me exactly the same… It seems Al amir is the favorite night snack for the 1978 (my birth year) generation!

I trusted my friends and always went to this simple place whenever I had sudden night hunger… Why changing good habits? I always eat the chawerma chicken sandwich, delicious, especially after long nights of pints… The atmosphere of the place hasn’t changed much for years: Lebanese music channel on a TV that becomes bigger and bigger!!

Al Amir is located in the heart of the red light district of Geneva in the famous Rue de Berne.

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Al amir | Snacks | Chawerma sandwich € 8.00
Rue de Berne 22 | Les Pâquis | +41227319298
11:00 – 02:00 daily, Fri – Sat opens again at 04:00

Les Bains des Paquis is one of my favorite place in Geneva, located right on the lake!

Kids, adults, old people, whites, blacks, latinos, rastas, artists, bankers, elegant swans, ducks who charm you to have some bread… Everybody lives in a perfect harmony in the Bains des Paquis. Only the sparrows show no respect stealing food from every-one’s plate!

The cheese fondue is back!!! Enjoying a champagne fondue in the “cabane” of Bains des Paquis” is an unique experience! You will definitely like the warming atmosphere of the place unless you want to have a quite romantic dinner. Ask for the “Religieuse”, once you finish the cheese… A recommandation: come early to eat, the place is closing before 21:30.

Other beautiful moments at Les Bains des Paquis:

…A breakfast from 08:00 with a fresh juice and some Swiss specialities : bircher & Cenovis that you share with ducks and swans as the place is still not too crowded

…For lunch, a colourful meal of the day from CHF 12.00 only, for sure the best value of Geneva.

Bon appétit!

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Bains des Paquis | Bars, Relaxing, Festivals & events, Restaurants (Healthy)
Quai du Mont-Blanc 30 | Les Pâquis | +41227381616
08:00 – 21:30 daily

Café Art’s is closed to La Caravane passe in les Pâquis. It’s a very nice café: amazing vertical lightening, great interesting paintings (there are exhibitions from time to time), nice jazzy music… At the back of the room, you’ll find comfortable couches, near which a huge bookcase is located.

It’s not rare to see parents and their children sitting in “the reading room” while the father is reading his newspaper and children comic books chosen from many nearby. A lot of different objects are placed in the café, such as mirror, type-writing, old books, lamps that make this place so particular in the so chic Geneva. A wi-fi connection is available in the entire café.

As each self-respecting café, their cappuccino is awesome, their renversé is inimitable and their hot chocolate the same as when we were kids. At lunch, the basilica tortellinis is my favourite and the white beer so good. You can finish with a slice of cake, and that always helps when you spend a few hours there to work for college, or to read a good book!

It’s as if you’re no longer in Geneva, but rather in the famous Café St Germain in Paris!

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Café Art’s | Bars, Restaurants (French) | White beer CHF 6.00
Rue des Pâquis 17 | Les Pâquis | +41227380797
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 02:00, Sat & Sun 08:00 – 02:00

Switzerland is a special country in many ways. One of them is the archaic general trust you can feel by observing some objects.

Take the newspaper boxes for example. Until recently none of them had a lock. You could just take the daily paper without paying anything. The owner was just convinced it wasn’t necessary, and there wasn’t many thieves, people paid before taking a newspaper. Now you’ll see some new boxes on which you have to pay before being able to take the paper, but still, the huge majority of boxes is unlocked.

Well, Chez Quartier has quite the same trust policy. For breakfast, just enter and suit yourself, take croissants, chocolate filled croissants and whatever you want, order a fresh fruit juice, a coffee. When you are done with your breakfast, when the time has come to pay, just tell the waiter what you’ve taken; no bill, just trust.

One could say trust might not be enough to enjoy a breakfast; no need to worry, the food is good!

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Chez Quartier | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Croissant CHF 1.30
Rue Voltaire 24 | Les Pâquis
Tue – Sun 07:00 – 19:00

Don’t miss this incredible spot if you have the opportunity to spend a few days in the city!

There are only a few tables but you’ll have the opportunity to see everything that is on the menu right in front of you, since every cake, quiche, etc, are on a large buffet. There are so many different choices that you will obviously find something that will fit your taste.

Despite being absolutely tasteful, it is at the same time cheap for what it is. Everything is home-made, from the fruit cake to the lorraine quiche and the apple crumble (so delicious!). There are also several different cheeses, so you can totally mix the sugar and the salt.

It is a great place to enjoy an artisanal café (the one with nuts is particularly original) and read a book or newspaper with a a sweet music at the back of your head.

The place is very colorful, the waitress is very nice and you will definitely spend a great time in this spot where you will feel yourself like in your grandmother’s kitchen. When you leave, you can buy an home-made jam pot or a bottle of olive oil, so you can have a taste of this place back with you.

During the week-end, it is an amazing place to spend some time to eat a brunch there with your friends. ANd why not have a walk in the lovely neighborhood of Les Grottes right after?

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Fleurs de Marie | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Coffee CHF 3.00
8 rue de la Faucille | Les Pâquis | +410227334730
Mon 16:00 – 20:00, Tue 11:00 – 15:00, Wed 11:00 – 17:00, Thu – Fri 11:00 – 15:00 & 18:30 – 20:30, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 19:00

Personally, I need to have at least one good book in my backpack when travelling. If you are looking for second hand books, check out “Les Recyclables” (see the Recyclables article) but in case you want something brand new or are looking for a travelguide, I can recommend a bookshop called “Payot”.

They have several shops in town but it is the one at Rue Chantepoulet, close to the railway station, where you will find books in French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Russian! They also have a huge selection of travel guides and maps and in case you want to improve your French or need a translation, you will find a collection of excellent dictionaries!

It is a rather big shop with two levels and you can take your time and sit down to check out the books. The staff is multilingual and will assist you with your requests. Don’t hesitate to ask if you are looking for something specific. They can order near any book provided you can wait for a few days.

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International bookshop Payot | Shopping
Rue Chantepoulet 5 | Les Pâquis | +41227318950
Mon – Wed & Fri 09:30 – 19:00, Thu 09:30 – 20:00, Sat 09:30 – 18:00

You can never predict what you’ll live at l’Aiglon! One day, the bar is quite calm… The day after, you’ll see people dressed up, dancing on the tables or knees on the floor!

Most customers are 30 years or older, men for the most part. You might have your food with a crazy man or a prostitute at the table next to you as the bar is located in the heart of the red light district.

I like going to Aiglon at lunch time. You’ll the meal of the day for CHF 17.00 with appetizer and dessert!I have heard that the food is not so good at night but I have never tried. Bon app!

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L’Aiglon | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Restaurants (french) | meal of the day € 17
Rue Sismondi 16 | Les Pâquis | +41227329760
Open Mon – Sat, Dj from Thu – Sat 22:00 – 02:00

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Between the lake and the train station, in the middle of the Pâquis neighbourhood this little but so delicious Lebanese restaurant is located. It is one of my favourite restaurants in Geneva, because of its atmosphere and of course, its food.

If you’re up to an original meal that you may not eat at home, please go there. You’ll have the possibility to order typical Lebanon meals, either cold or hot. Depending of your mood, you can chose different meals or if you’re really willing to taste everything, and that’s what happened the first time most of the time, you can try the meal where you’ll find a little of each one in your plate.

You should definitely try the mint tea (and if you close your eyes, I promise you’ll find yourself on the Lebanon mountains!) or the red Lebanon wine: succulent!

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La Caravane passe | Restaurants (Lebanon) | Meal CHF 9.00
Rue Dr. Alfred Vincent 11 | Les Pâquis | +41227313431
Mon & Sat 18:00 – 00:00, Tue – Fri 11:30 – 14: 30 & 18:00 – 00:00

In the lively neighbourhood of “Les Pâquis”, not far from the lake, you will find this lovely bakery/tea-room with the quite unpronounceable name. Especially on cold days it is the perfect place to have a break and warm up over a cup of tea or coffee. If you are looking for a bite to eat, try their home made pastries, cakes and sandwiches or have a bowl of the daily soup that is served at lunchtime.

The “Vouivre” is well known among locals and its decoration is not only unique but also extremely kitsch: Huge mirrors with gilded frames on the wall, Venetian-style chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and heavy candle holders on the tables. The furniture seems to be from another epoch and food and drink is served in tableware that seems to come straight from your grand mother’s kitchen. Have a look at their opening times (from 07:07 to 18:33) – I have not had a chance to see how serious they are about it!

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La Vouivre | Coffee & tea | Sandwich/cake from CHF 7.00
Rue des Pâquis 21 | Les Pâquis | +41227318712
Mon – Fri 07:07 – 18:33, Sat 07:33 – 18:33, Sun 08:01 – 18:18

This Asian restaurant is a great place to spend a long evening.

Very discrete from the outside, it is in fact spacious, with two different open rooms, one very cosy, lounge-like, low tables and intimate atmosphere, the other more “restaurant”-like, white and modern decoration; you’ll find yourself in a very good mood as soon as seated.

I like the menu, even if an Asian friend likes to point out that the dishes don’t respect the original tastes. I usually go for some sushi – really cheap compared to other places in Geneva, but please spare the over-fished tuna – and the delicious teppan de canard (duck), my favorite.

If you’re not that hungry, you can go to the bar right next to Le Comptoir, le Lola, and have a drink – le Lola also offers sushi and some Japanese food. Good electro music is usually played.

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Le Comptoir | Restaurants (Asian) | Main dish CHF 25.00
Rue de Richemont 7-9 | Les Pâquis | +41227313237
Tue – Thu 18:30 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 18:30 – 02:00

You may have been to Rome once and have had the chance to enjoy the countless Pizzerie “Al taglio”. Well Geneva hasn’t got that incredible choice, but still, there’s a place I would recommend, as I go myself as often as I can.

It is located near the train station, on the ground floor of the popular shopping centre Manor. The ground floor is dedicated to food, with other world specialities, but my favourite is doubtless the focacceria area.

The prices are quite low, the choice huge: white (mere) focaccia, mozzarella focaccia, vegetable focaccia, bacon & mushroom focaccia; there are also various types of pizza slices, even sweet ones – like nutella flavoured pizza! – and many pizzette to chose.

On the last floor of the centre, there’s a self-service restaurant, with another huge choice of types of food, cheap prices, ideal for lunch – you eat well for less than 15 CHF, and above all, a great terrace with a rare view of Geneva. Very crowded, you might have to wait a bit for a table, but it’s worth it.

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Manor | Snacks, Restaurants (Italian) | White Focaccia kilo CHF 8.00
Rue Cornavin 6 | Les Pâquis
Mon – Wed 09:00- 19:00, Thu 09:00 – 21:00, Fri 09:00 – 19:30, Sat 08:30 – 18:00

From the outside, it seems to be a successful Japanese grocery, with tables and banks. But don’t be mistaken… there’s a kitchen right behind the cash desk.

How to proceed? Well, you take a tray, sticks, and then you’ll serve yourself in the fridge, pay, and either sit there or just go somewhere by the lake.

The choice is large, despite the lack of red tuna. In fact, it has been cleverly replaced by other types of tuna, and by other ingredients. They also sell different Japanese groceries and alcohol.

On this webpage, you can order your sushi’s online and get them later during the day.

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Mikado | Snacks, Restaurants (Sushi) | 12 Maki sushis CHF 10.80
Rue de l’Ancien-Port 9 | Les Pâquis | +41227324774
Tue – Fri 09:00 – 18:30, Sat 09:00 – 18:00

If you miss the Shakespeare language and the pints of beers, head to the oldest and biggest English pub of Switzerland: Pickwick! It just celebrated its 40 years anniversary!!

This pub is located on the northeast end of the Paquis area; you’ll find it easily as it is on the main road (rue de Lausanne).

This pub is still appreciated by local soccer fans that meet occasionally for a Champions league or an international game. This place is full of screens that allow you to watch various games in the same time: poor neck!

Apart from soccer, Mr. Pickwick is well known for hosting live music and serves English classic food.

I almost forgot the most important… You’ll find a range of 11 different draft beers!

Cheers!

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Pickwick | Bars, Restaurants (English) | 5dl draft beer € 8.20
Rue de Lausanne 80 | Les Pâquis | +41227316797
10:00 – 02:00 daily