First night out from Geneva

[Mr_Ross_Duncan]

My wife and I are planning our second Camino, after completing the Portuguese last year we now plan to tackle the Via Gebennensis. Leaving from Geneva we plan to head to Condom or further depending on our timeframe (and legs).
Our question, where would be the first stop out of Geneva, we'd like to limit our walking days to 15-25klms but would prefer the first day or two to be shorter rather than longer while we regain our walking legs.
Our basic research suggests either Neydens, which is probably too short at 12klms or Col du Mont Sion at around 20klm, that sounds ideal but there appears to be only one hotel there and it's expensive and has no restaurant from what we can see.
Any tips on where to head to for our first day would be most appreciated.

 

[Kitsambler]

Our question, where would be the first stop out of Geneva,

You have a lovely adventure ahead! I faced the same quandry when I started from Geneva in 2017. So I stayed at a business hotel in Archamps; it's about 1 km off-route via some road-shoulder walking. As far as that, it is fairly flat going. Afterwards, you climb a ridge and are routed away from commercial services. The FFRG guides with topo maps are excellent for working out your route.

You may find my blog useful. Linked in my sig block or here https://kitsambler.wordpress.com

 

[kaixo]

where would be the first stop out of Geneva, we'd like to limit our walking days to 15-25klms but would prefer the first day or two to be shorter rather than longer while we regain our walking legs.

The town of Beaumont is16 km from Geneva. That's an easy first day. I stayed at the gite d'etape - La Fromagerie.
Certainly a premonition...the French love their cheese! While in France, I came to believe that cheese, just cheese, every possible kind of cheese, is one of the basic four food groups.
Anyway back to the gite in Beaumont. It was clean, sleeps around 8-10 people, it's in a separate house from the owner. Dinner (pasta and salad and cheese of course) was optional, it was an added cost. The gite owner (Anna from Norway) cooks the food in the main house then brings it in to the gite. The food was simple and good. After, we pilgrims cleaned up. It was a good way to get to know people.

 

[gittiharre]

The town of Beaumont is16 km from Geneva. That's an easy first day. I stayed at the gite d'etape - La Fromagerie.
Certainly a premonition...the French love their cheese! While in France, I came to believe that cheese, just cheese, every possible kind of cheese, is one of the basic four food groups.
Anyway back to the gite in Beaumont. It was clean, sleeps around 8-10 people, it's in a separate house from the owner. Dinner (pasta and salad and cheese of course) was optional, it was an added cost. The gite owner (Anna from Norway) cooks the food in the main house then brings it in to the gite. The food was simple and good. After, we pilgrims cleaned up. It was a good way to get to know people.

When did you stay at the Fromagerie in Beaumont? I stayed there in 2010 and it was lovely. I booked in in August 2016 rang twice to confirm and when i arrived having got horribly lost, still jetlagged and having sprained my foot, the place looked run down, rubbish, empty beer cans, cigarette butts all over the garden. I tripped on the rickety verandah step and the place was closed. No one there. The tripping broke my metatarsal. It was evening and there were no other options in the village. Finally a woman walking her dog called a family in neighbouring village who rakes in pilgrims. I was saved, but never found out what went wrong with Fromagerie. I would stay in Neydens and then stay in the tiny 3 bed gite further up for the next night...forgot name. They sell you a bit of food and you can cook I am told. Chaumont is really nice and there is a nice family based b and b. The restaurant there is lovely with beautiful terrace and pilgrims meals. It closes on Mondays.

 

[Richard P]

My first night out from Geneva I stayed in the gites/ accueil in Charly which in my journal I've marked as being 26 kms. out. It was basic, clean and warm and a donitivo.

 

[gittiharre]

When did you stay at the Fromagerie in Beaumont? I stayed there in 2010 and it was lovely. I booked in in August 2016 rang twice to confirm and when i arrived having got horribly lost, still jetlagged and having sprained my foot, the place looked run down, rubbish, empty beer cans, cigarette butts all over the garden. I tripped on the rickety verandah step and the place was closed. No one there. The tripping broke my metatarsal. It was evening and there were no other options in the village. Finally a woman walking her dog called a family in neighbouring village who rakes in pilgrims. I was saved, but never found out what went wrong with Fromagerie. I would stay in Neydens and then stay in the tiny 3 bed gite further up for the next night...forgot name. They sell you a bit of food and you can cook I am told. Chaumont is really nice and there is a nice family based b and b. The restaurant there is lovely with beautiful terrace and pilgrims meals. It closes on Mondays.

Charly is the little donativo got I forgot name of...

 

[Mr_Ross_Duncan]

You have a lovely adventure ahead! I faced the same quandry when I started from Geneva in 2017. So I stayed at a business hotel in Archamps; it's about 1 km off-route via some road-shoulder walking. As far as that, it is fairly flat going. Afterwards, you climb a ridge and are routed away from commercial services. The FFRG guides with topo maps are excellent for working out your route.
You may find my blog useful. Linked in my sig block or here https://kitsambler.wordpress.com

------
Hi Kitsambler, thank you so much for the tip on Archamps, it may well be the solution, although it isn't far from Geneva it sets us up nicely for the following stages. Plan A at this stage may be Geneva-Archamps-Charly-Chaumont-Desingy. Although there seems to be precious little accommodation in any of those places so plan B may well come into play yet
What plan B is I have yet to work out, possible thoughts are Geneva-Col Du Mont Sion-Chaumont.

 

[Mr_Ross_Duncan]

When did you stay at the Fromagerie in Beaumont? I stayed there in 2010 and it was lovely. I booked in in August 2016 rang twice to confirm and when i arrived having got horribly lost, still jetlagged and having sprained my foot, the place looked run down, rubbish, empty beer cans, cigarette butts all over the garden. I tripped on the rickety verandah step and the place was closed. No one there. The tripping broke my metatarsal. It was evening and there were no other options in the village. Finally a woman walking her dog called a family in neighbouring village who rakes in pilgrims. I was saved, but never found out what went wrong with Fromagerie. I would stay in Neydens and then stay in the tiny 3 bed gite further up for the next night...forgot name. They sell you a bit of food and you can cook I am told. Chaumont is really nice and there is a nice family based b and b. The restaurant there is lovely with beautiful terrace and pilgrims meals. It closes on Mondays.

Hi Gittiharre, thanks for sending me that information, very helpful and much appreciated. Beaumont seems like the ideal spot for the first night out of Geneva, but your story about the Fromagerie has put us off that idea and there seems to be nothing else, we may try for Geneva-Archamps-Charly-Chaumont, although I am having trouble finding anything listed for Chaumont, you mention a family B and B there so I will keep looking, and Charly seems to have a small gite in the town we can try and book ahead of time.
All the best
Ross

 

[Mr_Ross_Duncan]

The town of Beaumont is16 km from Geneva. That's an easy first day. I stayed at the gite d'etape - La Fromagerie.
Certainly a premonition...the French love their cheese! While in France, I came to believe that cheese, just cheese, every possible kind of cheese, is one of the basic four food groups.
Anyway back to the gite in Beaumont. It was clean, sleeps around 8-10 people, it's in a separate house from the owner. Dinner (pasta and salad and cheese of course) was optional, it was an added cost. The gite owner (Anna from Norway) cooks the food in the main house then brings it in to the gite. The food was simple and good. After, we pilgrims cleaned up. It was a good way to get to know people.

-----------------------------
Hi Kaixo, thanks for the tip off about the little gite in Beaumont.
The town seems to be the ideal location out of Geneva for a first night but we are a bit put off committing to Beaumont after the tale related by fellow walker Gittiharre who's experience was not encouraging.
There seems to be very little in the way of accommodation anywhere along the first few days walk as far as we can tell, we may have t end up staying in a business hotel in Archamps to get us underway, not ideal when we had visions of small family run gites and rustic restaurants in mind
After Archamps we may do Charly-Chaumont if we can find any accommodation there, it all seems surprisingly difficult at this early stage.

 

[Mr_Ross_Duncan]

My first night out from Geneva I stayed in the gites/ accueil in Charly which in my journal I've marked as being 26 kms. out. It was basic, clean and warm and a donitivo.

--------------------------
Thanks Richard, we will probably try for Charly for our second night stop, 26klms is too far for us on day one, we'd prefer to build up to that over a few days.
We were hoping to find a nice little gite or family run hotel somewhere around 15-18klms out of Geneva.
There is one place just outside Beaumont called La Loupiote but I think they only do weekly rates.
It's surprisingly difficult to find any accommodation listings between Geneva and Charly, we may have to stay in a business park hotel in Archamps first night, not what we want but with so little choice it seems that's what we will have to settle for.
After Charly we will head to Chaumont or Designy, we're trying to work out how far Charly-Designy is.
Thanks again.

 

[kaixo]

I walked in 2015 and used the yellow guide published by the Association Rhône-Alpes des Amis de Saint-Jacques. My 2014 guide states another location to stay in Beaumont - Accueil jacquaire with Phillippe et Catherine Lorenzato. Also several other locations to stay before Charly (Presilly, Cimetiere de Saint-Blaise, Copponex). But look...
There's a new 2018 version, yeah! Buy it here. Well worth the 10 € + shipping.

It contains all the info you need: maps, elevation charts, accommodations with phone numbers, and all the usual map icons for market, pharmacy, etc. Pay close attention to the accommodation lists which indicate in parentheses whether the gite-accueil-hebergement is off the chemin and how far off. The guide is in French and super easy to use even if you don't speak French.
Bon chemin

 

[gittiharre]

-----------------------------
Hi Kaixo, thanks for the tip off about the little gite in Beaumont.
The town seems to be the ideal location out of Geneva for a first night but we are a bit put off committing to Beaumont after the tale related by fellow walker Gittiharre who's experience was not encouraging.
There seems to be very little in the way of accommodation anywhere along the first few days walk as far as we can tell, we may have t end up staying in a business hotel in Archamps to get us underway, not ideal when we had visions of small family run gites and rustic restaurants in mind
After Archamps we may do Charly-Chaumont if we can find any accommodation there, it all seems surprisingly difficult at this early stage.

Chaumont Fam Mossiere 0033 4 50 32 27 97.

 

[gittiharre]

--------------------------
Thanks Richard, we will probably try for Charly for our second night stop, 26klms is too far for us on day one, we'd prefer to build up to that over a few days.
We were hoping to find a nice little gite or family run hotel somewhere around 15-18klms out of Geneva.
There is one place just outside Beaumont called La Loupiote but I think they only do weekly rates.
It's surprisingly difficult to find any accommodation listings between Geneva and Charly, we may have to stay in a business park hotel in Archamps first night, not what we want but with so little choice it seems that's what we will have to settle for.
After Charly we will head to Chaumont or Designy, we're trying to work out how far Charly-Designy is.
Thanks again.

Neydens first night. Then Charly.

 

[gittiharre]

I have walked Geneva route twice. Happy to send you my itinerary with distances and accommodations. Just send me a pm with your email address.
Also more on my blog www.gittiharre.blogspot.com

 

[Mr_Ross_Duncan]

.
There's a new 2018 version, yeah! Buy it here. Well worth the 10 € + shipping.
Bon chemin

--------------------------
Hi Kaixo,
Thanks for the tips there, we will certainly look at trying out some of those other accommodation options in our Plan A.
We hope to pick up a copy of the "Yellow" guide before setting off, we are however travelling in Vietnam and will not be in a position to get one until we arrive in Geneva, I believe there is a small shop selling them in central Geneva somewhere (fingers crossed).
Thanks for your time and suggestions.

 

[edandjoan]

Decisions, decisions...
We thought we would walk the RLS route, but now we are thinking of the Via Gebennensis. I have the 2015 yellow guide and hope if we decide on that route that it will be fine. A assume just calling ahead a day for accommodations should be fine in May. And I know there are some holidays that month.
Only draw back I see is "gittiharre" blogs talks about the lack of espresso. It seems like it may be a bit more peaceful than the RLS way.

 

[gittiharre]

Both beautiful routes The RLS is very different in rugged landscapes and habitations and villages shaped by their huguenot past. It is more of a walkers route rather than pilgrim route and there are more groups and people on organised walking tours. Geneva route is special, as it is the only route that offers Accueil Jacquaire which allows you to get an in depth feel of local life. I would walk both routes again. Booking a day ahead should be fine.

 

[DLJ]

My wife and I are planning our second Camino, after completing the Portuguese last year we now plan to tackle the Via Gebennensis. Leaving from Geneva we plan to head to Condom or further depending on our timeframe (and legs).
Our question, where would be the first stop out of Geneva, we'd like to limit our walking days to 15-25klms but would prefer the first day or two to be shorter rather than longer while we regain our walking legs.
Our basic research suggests either Neydens, which is probably too short at 12klms or Col du Mont Sion at around 20klm, that sounds ideal but there appears to be only one hotel there and it's expensive and has no restaurant from what we can see.
Any tips on where to head to for our first day would be most appreciated.

My wife and I stayed at the hotel in Col du Mont Sion, I don't remember the price, but don't think it was terribly expensive, and the innkeeper was very helpful, and made reservations for a homestay the next night. They do have a restaurant. The trail continues just across the road, uphill of course. Many of the nights after that were fantastic homestays.

 

[Richard P]

Ed and Joan, your mention of "some holidays" in France should be "is May just one long holiday for the French?" There do seem to be a lot that month. But, having said that there were still lots of cafes, restaurants open for a bite to eat. One thing you might want to look at is the water level in the Rhone (visually if you are there) otherwise on the internet, as I left Geneva at the beginning of May and in a number of places the path was underwater. Not a problem if there is a sign telling you that but can be a problem if you have walked 3 or 4 kms. and then have to backtrack. You also ask about getting the "Yellow Book" in Geneva ? Yes you can. If we were there right now I could walk you to the shop but unfortunately I don't remember the name except it's about three streets south of the river and to the left. And, I see from your blog you have lots of travelling in France all ready and you like your coffee - as do I. Something I never had difficulty in getting. Cafe normal forte.
bon chemin

 

[gittiharre]

Ed and Joan, your mention of "some holidays" in France should be "is May just one long holiday for the French?" There do seem to be a lot that month. But, having said that there were still lots of cafes, restaurants open for a bite to eat. One thing you might want to look at is the water level in the Rhone (visually if you are there) otherwise on the internet, as I left Geneva at the beginning of May and in a number of places the path was underwater. Not a problem if there is a sign telling you that but can be a problem if you have walked 3 or 4 kms. and then have to backtrack. You also ask about getting the "Yellow Book" in Geneva ? Yes you can. If we were there right now I could walk you to the shop but unfortunately I don't remember the name except it's about three streets south of the river and to the left. And, I see from your blog you have lots of travelling in France all ready and you like your coffee - as do I. Something I never had difficulty in getting. Cafe normal forte.
bon chemin

Coffee for the first 40 km out of Geneva is a challenge! Frangy is the first real place where you get some. After that it gets easier on the coffee front.

 

[Kitsambler]

Frangy is the first real place where you get some.

Frangy is also the first real place for picnic item resupply. So make sure you stock up in Geneva.