Along the Watercourse of the Versoix River on the French Border

(DAY3 of 3-day trip to Geneva Region...   photos of DAY1 and DAY2)

Saturday August 2, 2025 -- On this, the third day of our three-day trip to the westernmost part of the Lake Geneva (or better, Lac Léman) region, we were now headed home. (The main reason for this trip was to avoid the loud noises of private fireworks in our neighbourhood on August 1st). But as we were in the region anyway, and it would make the long ride home seem shorter, we did one more excursion near the lake. It was another riverside walk along the French/Swiss border, also mostly through forests, with pleasant weather, more sunshine than forecast, but not too hot.

We rode the train to Versoix north of Geneva, and took a bus to another border crossing called Sauverny. A quick foray into France and then back again to walk along the course of the Versoix River, ending back in the town of Versoix. (I chose this trail on our map because it is part of National Trail no.3: "Alpine Panorama Trail", of which we have done most sections in Northeast Switzerland, but very few here in the region of Lac Léman. But also, because it was supposed to be an overcast day, a walk through the forest along a river sounded good). It was only as we got there that we realized there is a themed trail called  "Au fil de la Versoix" ("Along the Watercourse of the Versoix River", which is basically what we ended up doing!). Furthermore, Versoix is a stop on the main railway line on the way home, so we didn't waste time with extra connections. After getting to the train station at 1:30 p.m., it was still a four-hour trip home, but we were home before 6 p.m.!

At 7:30 a.m. the final look out of our studio apartment which we rented for two nights, onto a pedestrian court in Annemasse in France. Before heading to the train station, we bought lemon muffins at the bakery on the bottom left of the photo.

A lovely painted mural on the side of an apartment building at the Annemasse train station. It's 8:12 right now, and we were planning to take the 8:35 train out of Annemasse. We ended up catching an earlier train, but had to wait about 20 minutes in Versoix for our bus connection to the French border at Sauverny. 

As we waited for 20 minutes in Versoix for our connecting bus to Sauverny, we realized that this town was right under the flight path of the Geneva airport! There must have been a plane flying overhead every three minutes! They were from all different airlines, and even two Easyjet flights in the time we waited here!

At 9:30 we got off the bus at the border station of Sauverny Douane. The Versoix River flows along the Swiss/French border here, but before starting on our walk (headed to the left along the river), we took a quick detour into France to have a look at that church there. The town of Sauverny is first mentioned in documents of 1164. 

This is the parish church of St.Maurice, built in 1848 at the site of a previous church. 

Inside of the St.Maurice church in Sauverny, France

Inside of the St.Maurice church in Sauverny, France

St.Maurice church in France, just near the border in Sauverny. 

Heading back to the Swiss border now to start our walk along the Versoix River. That building is the former customs buiding. Switzerland is just on the other side of that bridge!

An old photo of the customs building and the Sauverny church, taken from the Swiss side of the Versoix River. 

This was another 11-km walk, mostly along the Versoix River, from Sauverny at the border to the town of Versoix. An easy walk of just under three hours, part of it right along the border, on the Swiss side. 

Description of the themed trail "Au fil de la Versoix". We didn't exactly follow the suggested trail, but rather took a narrower trail right along the waterway. 

Following the Versoix river along the border with France. 

One small clearing before heading down to the riverside again. 

Always fun to cross these little bridges. 

The trail followed the course of the river for three kilometers, two of which were along the French border.

It was a very nice trail, and with more sunshine than we had expected. 

Interesting sections along the river. 

Thick, lush forest as we follow the Versoix River. 

We found a good place to sit near the river to have our sandwiches at 11 a.m. (On my map, this was near a side stream coming in from the French side, called "La Fontaine-de-Pissevache" !!!)

This trail is part of both National Trail no.3 "Alpine Panorama Trail" and Local Trail no.104: "Au fil de la Versoix". 

A short section through pastures on the way to the small hamlet of La Bâtie.

After La Bâtie was another long section along the river through a forest called "Bois des Vies", until we passed under the Autobahn (I am always impressed at these massive bridges). 

After crossing under the freeway bridge, we left the themed trail to continue following along the actual course of the river, instead of the side canal. There was large park here, where we stopped again for a snack at 12:15

A stretch through a residential area before returning to the river. 

Instead of going directly to the train station, we headed into the heart of Versoix-Bourg at lakeside. We took a shortcut through the garden terrace at the "Auberge du Lion d'Or". 

Looking up the main street in Versoix-Bourg

It was nicer to walk along the lakeshore! There were signs everywhere that there had been celebrations the day before. (Empty fire-cracker shells).

A look eastward across Lake Geneva. The strip of land is still in Switzerland, although the mountains behind that are in France. 

We were happy that the day turned out better than expected. 

More airplanes flying overhead on the flight path to the Geneva Airport. 

(The steamboat which we had traveled on two days earlier from St-Prex also stops here in Versoix, but we had gotten out one stop earlier in Coppet). 

Now back at the main road and heading back to the train station, we pass the "castle" in Versoix. In all, there wasn't really anything spectacular to see here. 

There was a pretty nice lakeside restaurant patio here, but we didn't want to stop for refreshments, as we were pretty well done for the day and wanted to head home. But I whipped in here to see the view of the lake for one last time. 

This was the view north along the lakeshore from the restaurant's patio. (There is another part of the city called Versoix-la-Ville, and this is the harbour there). 

Filling up our water bottles before heading up to the train station. We caught a fast train at 13:42 back to Geneva, and from there another fast train to Renens and Zurich, for a total trip home of four hours (the fastest connection). 

We got back to the Versoix train station about 15 minutes early for our train, so we could watch the planes fly overhead every three minutes or so... as the Geneva airport is very close to here. 

VIDEO:

As we had to wait 15 minutes at the train station, we were able to watch at least four airplanes fly overhead toward the Geneva Airport. They came about every three minutes, and fly fairly low at this point!

What our 11-km walk looks like on Google Satellite Maps. Most of the walk was along the Versoix river. The map shows the proximity of the Geneva Airport to Versoix, where an airplane flies overhead about every three minutes!

As the train heads along the north side of Lac Léman, we pass many vineyards, which is what the area is mainly about. At Renens near Lausanne, you switch to a fast train to Zurich. 

Location of the Versoix River within Switzerland. 

Far West of Geneva: Most Westerly Point of Switzerland, and Mont Salève

(DAY2 of 3-day trip to Geneva Region...   photos of DAY1 are HERE)

Friday August 1, 2025 -- After a relatively good night's sleep in our rented studio apartment in Annemasse, France, we set out early at about 7 a.m. for our planned day's activities. (7:20 train, but first a visit to the bakery in the pedestrian court below the apartment, and a 4-minute walk to the station).

The main plan for this day was to do the walk to the westernmost point of Switzerland: Borderstone Number 1. (We have so far been to the northernmost point, as well as the southernmost point. Unfortunately, the easternmost point is high in the mountains and we're not sure if we will ever make it!). To get to the "FAR WEST" of Geneva, we take a bus to the border at Chancy, walk along the Rhône River to the borderstone (there are actually 445 border stones in Canton Geneva alone!) and then continue on a winding trail along the Swiss/French border. This hike was about 10 kilometers (2½ hours), an easy walk mostly through forest.

As we were finished by about lunch time, we then took a bus back to Geneva and to the border town of Veyrier, from where the popular Mont Salève cable-car goes up to the view-point on Geneva's local mountain, which is actually in France. From there you get fantastic views over the city and the lake. Our original plan was to walk down the mountain from there, another 2½-hour hike with a tricky section, but we then changed plans, rode back down in the cable-car and walked along the valley bottom admiring the villages there. With both walks it ended up being 15 kilometers and four hours of walking! 

We got back to Annemasse by 6 p.m., bought groceries for Saturday, and had pizza at the trattoria in the pedestrian court across from our studio apartment. 

PART I: Trail no.102, "Far West du Canton de Genève"

We took the 7:20 train from Annemasse for the one-hour trip to Chancy on the French border (the westernmost village in Switzerland), but almost missed our bus at the transfer station of Lancy-Pont-Rouge, because we didn't read the map right! (There are bus stops in all directions around the station!). At Chancy we started at the village church, and walked along the Rhône River to the famous Border Stone Number 1 (about 4 km). From there mostly through cool forest to Avusy, to catch the bus there at 11:58 for the next approx. 1-hour trip. We did not complete the full suggested three-hour loop of the the "Far West Trail". Still, with the walk around Avusy, it was almost three hours anyway. 

At 7:00 in the morning, the pedestrian square below our apartment is empty! On the left is a bakery, and we stopped there first, to get snacks for the first excursion of the day. Then took the 7:20 train from Annemasse. 

We got to Chancy (by train and bus) at 8:15, and checked out the church first. This had an unusual interior setup: It turns out this is a Serbian Orthodox church. 

Heading toward the customs border, we pass this cute building, which is the town hall. 

A nice building on the main road. (The river trail here is closed due to a slide, so we had to walk along the main road). 

We are following the local trail no.102: "Far West du Canton de Genève" (Far West of Canton Geneva), and heading to the "Bois de Chancy" (Chancy Forest) where the Border Stone no.1 and most westerly point in Switzerland is located.  

The whole themed loop trail no.102 is given at 3 hours. We decided to end our hike in Avusy, which still was almost three hours, and about 10 kilometers of walking. 

The border between France and Switzerland runs down the middle of the Rhône River, and this bridge crosses the river to France.  

It was a comfortable and interesting narrow footpath along the Rhône River 

As it was still relatively early in the morning, it was still comfortably "cool" as we continued along the Rhône River toward the Chancy Forest.  (Temperatures of 27ºC were expected).

A little bay off the Rhône River 

After passing several borderstones marked 1.5, 1.4, 1.3, 1.2 and 1.1, we finally got to the famous Border Stone Number 1 at 9:20, exactly an hour after starting out in Chancy. 

On the left, Urs is standing on the Switzerland side of Borderstone Number 1. On the right, I am standing on the France side of the stone! This is the westernmost point of the country of Switzerland. 

This panel has lots of information about border stones in Switzerland. There are 6638 border stones all around Switzerland, and 445 of those are around the border of Canton Geneva. This borderstone exists since 1756, but since Geneva joined the Swiss Confederation in 1815, the stone became symbolic as cornerstone Number 1 in 1816, and all the other borderstones are numbered from there in both directions. 

Further along the trail at Border Stone Number 7, we left the normal trail to take a shortcut along the "Customs Border Stairway", which was an 80-meter climb containing 180 steps!

After the climb, we had to descend into the next valley called Vallon de Longet. 

Down here a 45-meter bridge crosses the Longet River. 

After following the border for almost four kilometers in the cool shade of the Chancy Forest, we headed north to the town of Avusy. After two large clearings of sunflowers (unfortunately already finished flowering!) we were glad of the long alley bordered with trees, because the day was getting very warm!

Vineyards around the village of Avusy.

Here at Champlong, trail no.102 continues toward "Moulin Roget" (and ultimately back to Chancy to close the loop), but we are ending here at Avusy. There is supposed to be a "castle" here which we didn't find (although we did pass a very large stone wall with a regular-looking house behind it...) 

We got to Avusy at 11:30 with plenty of time to walk around the village, which wasn't really all that special. We were hoping to find a bench in the shade at the little church, but there wasn't one, so we just walked around a bit more till boarding the 11:42 bus.

Had we had more time, we might have stopped here for refreshments.... 

Description of the "Far West Trail". 

What our 10-km walk in the westernmost corner of Switzerland looks like on Google Satellite Maps. 

Location of the westernmost point of Switzerland. 

PART II: Mont Salève, Geneva's Mountain

From Avusy in the "Far West" of Canton Geneva, we took three buses (just over an hour) to another Swiss border town called Veyrier, from where you have to walk across the border into France to the Mont Salève cable-car station. (Mont Salève is Geneva's local Mountain, but is located entirely in France!) A five-minute ride to the summit station, from where a view platform gives you a nice view over the city and the lake. Originally we wanted to do the descent, which would have been another 2½ hours. Then we thought of doing the 1-hour walk to the observation tower and back, but dark clouds kept coming and going, so we decided to return to the valley and do a one-hour walk there instead, via vineyards, lakes and quaint villages. It was definitely cooler on the mountain than below, but we enjoyed the walk. 

As the bus heads back to the city of Geneva, we can see Mont Salève to the south, where we are headed next. The day was supposed to be cloudless, but that wasn't the case. It WAS cooler up there, though!

At 1:15 p.m., we were crossing the border into France at Veyrier, with a view of the Mont Salève cable car. Here rain clouds moved in, and a we got a bit wet. 

The Salève cable-car holds 60 people, and runs about every 15 minutes. We only had to wait about five minutes to ride it. 

The cable car rides almost vertically 660 meters, passing over a large excavation site. 

This side of the mountain is almost vertical!

View to the west from the cable-car. 

Getting to the top at 1:45 p.m.... 

First we walked around inspecting the four-storey cable-car station and the look-out terraces. 

There were too many people below, so the next cable-car came up before the 15-minute mark. We were lucky to have just a short window of sunshine for this view. 

It was supposed to be a cloudless day, but we were still glad to get this view of Lake Geneva. On the far left you can just see the famous water fountain "Jet d'Eau". In the background is the entire Jura range. And at the bottom right is about where the city of Annemasse is, where we have rented a studio for two nights. 

A zoomed view of the Jet d'Eau in Geneva harbour. 

At the top is a large viewing platform. From here you should be able to see to the east into the mountains of the French Alps, but the view wasn't great in that direction. 

Here is a view down at the town of Veyrier, and after long deliberation, we decided to return to the town and walk to the lakes, instead of walking down the mountain from here. 

We had read that the little hamlet of Sierne was worth looking at, so that was our goal for the second walk of the day. It was definitely a pretty set of houses. We also ended up walking around the lake on the right. And caught the bus at the bridge at the top of the photo. The river here is called the Arve, and it empties into the Rhône River in the western par of the city.  

We had a light snack here in the sunshine, debating if we should walk down the mountain or do the one-hour walk to the observation tower further up and back, but dark clouds kept coming and going, and we didn't want to get caught up here if it rained. So we also had a coffee and headed back down to Veyrier.  

Heading back down to Veyrier at 3 p.m. 

Close-up look at the town of Veyrier from above. 

Passing the other cabin on the 6-minute trip down the mountain. 

Had we walked down the mountain, we would have come down the steep forested section on the right, via a trail called "Le Pas de l'Echelle". (I really would have liked to do that walk, but we were worried it would be slippery if it rained). The little building on the mountain is called the "Chateau de l'Eremitage", a castle, apparently. 

And now we are at the bottom again, all the dark clouds have disappeared and there is plenty of sunshine at the top.

PART III: "Sentier du Salève" from Veyrier to Sierne, and Pizza in Annemasse

We got back down to the base station of the Mont Salève cable-car at about 3:15 p.m., and walked back across the border into the town of Veyrier, and then followed the border (sometimes in Switzerland, sometimes in France) toward the hamlet of Sierne, taking a detour via the two lakes near the Arve River. It was an easier walk than descending the mountain on foot, although much warmer below. We caught the bus near the Sierne Bridge at about 5:15 p.m. for the 30-minute trip back to Annemasse. After a shower, we went and had a really nice pizza at the Italian Trattoria on the pedestrian square. 

At 3:30 p.m. we got into the main part of the village of Veyrier. It's nice and sunny now, and much warmer than up on the mountain. 

Details of the little church in Veyrier. 

There were some pretty intricate stained glass windows in the church. 

View down the main road of Veyrier from the front of the church. 

As this village is actually in Switzerland, and it is the 1st of August (Celebration of Confederation), the town is decorated with Swiss Flags. 

Interesting building. It's a restaurant, I guess. (It looks closed on this day). 

Our second walk of the day (15 kilometers in total) from the base station of the Salève cableway to Veyrier, back and forth across the Swiss/French border to the Arve River, then the hamlet of Sierne. 

Heading out on our walk now, we pass many vineyards. 

As we cross the border into France again, we pass this HUGE cemetery called the "Jewish Cemetery". It was created in 1920 and as it straddles the border between the two countries, it played an important part in the escape of Jews from Nazi-occupied France into Switzerland during the Second World War. (Source)

We took a detour around this lovely little lake, which is located on the French side of the border. In the background is Mont Salève.

A gust of wind bends the reeds. 

After following an overgrown path (which was not on our map), we had to cross a stream like this to get back to the regular trail!

Heading now to our last point of interest, i.e. the hamlet called Sierne. In the background: Mont Salève. 

This is the north end of the single road of houses in Sierne.

Every house on this road is unique and pretty!

These are 17th Century bourgeois buildings, and very pretty!

At the south end of the short road, we get another good look at Mont Salève. 

Heading back now to the north end of the hamlet to wait for the bus at the main road. 

What our second excursion of the day looks like on Google Satellite Map. We caught a bus near the Arve River bridge at Sierne.

Location of Mont Salève and Annemasse just south of the border of Canton Geneva. 

PART IV: The trip back to Annemasse from Sierne was less than 30 minutes. We got there at about 6 p.m. and bought the food we needed for the next day at the train station supermarket. After a quick shower, we headed out to the Italian Trattoria for pizza. 

Enjoying some really good pizza at about 7:30 p.m.!

Looking down the pedestrian court from the pizzeria. There were several restaurants here, including a McDonalds, a pub, a sushi restaurant, a donut shop, and this Italian restaurant. (Also a bakery where we bought pastries both mornings).  

Heading back to our apartment now at 8 p.m. It's the one with the balcony at the red arrow. 

As the sun has now gone down, I can still enjoy a bit of time on the little balcony of our rented suite (our last night here), with a view of the observatory tower and the cable-car station at the summit of Mont Salève!

A close-up view of the summit station of the Mont Salève cable-way. Because of its unique design, this structure is listed as a historic monument.