Tour of Geneva Lake

19-05-2026

A planning guide for the full lake loop — for both one-day cyclosportive-style riders and multi-day, take-it-slow tourers.

How to organize it

Decide if you are tackling the loop as a one-day cyclosportive challenge or a multi-day, leisure tour.

⚠️ It is a 177km tour so, if you are not prepared properly, do it in several days. Most people do 3 stages.

To rent a bike for the tour, contact Geneva Cycling for equipment. And do not forget to book your accommodations, whether it is a camping or a hotel, it can be fully booked in the summer.

Remember that you will cross the Swiss-French border, so keep your passport or ID at hand, be aware of roaming charges, and prepare for currency differences (CHF vs. EUR), for help see What is the Greater Geneva Area?

The tour itself

The Tour du Lac Léman is a classic ride in the region. It offers a blend of Swiss and French culture with generally flat riding against breathtaking mountains in the background.

You will go through numerous cities but also through calm and relaxing moments with the smell of fresh water around you.

The highlights

Enjoy the Jet d'Eau and Old Town in Geneva, explore the medieval village of Yvoire, visit the lakeside cities of Lausanne, Evian-les-Bains and Montreux.

A good point is that due to the mass of water in the lake, it tempers the weather around it: It is mild in winter and fresher in Summer.

The resources: Switzerland Mobility, the ViaRhôna

Use SwitzerlandMobility, a website that locates the routes, such as the 46th that does the Tour of Geneva lake. It can also help you separate the stages you will do and help you find accommodations.

Cycliste.ch also offers variants and says the tour can be done in 6 hours !

In France, follow the ViaRhôna signs for the route from St-Gingolph to Geneva and in Switzerland, follow the red-brown signs.

You can use Komoot, Geovelo and other planification apps if you want to make changes to your itinerary.

The shortcuts: trains & ferries

Utilize the CGN ferry network to cross the lake or bypass segments. You can also leverage the extensive, bike-friendly Swiss (SBB) and French (SNCF) train networks to shorten your ride if needed. Be careful, extra fees may apply for bikes.

On the Swiss side, trains are frequent and run around the lake, but on the French side, they start in Evian-les-Bains and rejoin Geneva through Thonon-les-Bains and Annemasse. Which means that between St Gingolph and Evian-les-Bains, only buses run.