Boat rental For a taste of freedom, you can rent boats by the hour or the day from a handful of quayside operators, including Les Corsaires (33 Quai Gustave-Ador; 022/735 43 00) and Marti Marine (31 Quai du Mont-Blanc; 022/732 88 21).

Books The best place for English-language media is Elm Books, 5 Rue Versonnex, near Rive. L’Inédite, 15 Rue St-Joseph in Carouge, has a quirky selection of English and French books by, for and about women. Bookworm is piled high with secondhand English books of all kinds. English-language newspapers are widely available from kiosks all over the city centre.

Car rental Avis, 44 Rue de Lausanne (022/731 90 00) and airport (022/929 03 30); Budget, 36 Rue de Zurich (022/900 24 00) and airport (022/798 22 53); Europcar, 37 Rue de Lausanne (022/732 52 52) and airport (022/798 11 10); Hertz, 60 Rue de Berne (022/731 12 00) and airport (022/798 22 02).

Changing money The best place to change cash or cheques or get an advance on a debit/credit card is the change bureau in the station (April–Oct daily 6.45am–9.30pm; Nov–March daily 6.45am–8pm). This is also the place to pick up money wired by Western Union.

Consulates Australia, 56 Rue Moillebeau (022/918 29 00); Canada, 1 Chemin du Pré-de-la-Bichette (022/919 92 00); New Zealand, 28a Chemin du Petit-Saconnex (022/734 95 30); UK, 37 Rue de Vermont (022/918 24 00); USA, 29 Route de Pré-Bois (022/798 16 15).

Email and Internet In the shopping area below the station, directly beneath the change bureau, is Café Video ROM (Mon–Thurs 11am–8.30pm, Fri & Sat 11am–10pm, Sun 1–8.30pm), with 5 PCs at Fr.5/hr. Charly’s, 7 Rue Fribourg (Mon–Sat 10am–10pm), has a room full of Macs at Fr.2/10min. Out of town, CERN offers free unlimited access.

Flights For all domestic and international flight enquiries from Geneva-Cointrin, call %157 15 00. Leopair, based at the airport (022/798 21 10), is one of nine firms offering sightseeing flights.

Laundry Lavseul, 29 Rue de Monthoux (daily 7am–midnight).

Libraries and cultural centres There are dozens of cultural organizations and libraries serving Geneva’s sizeable English-speaking expat communities – the tourist office has details, but the American Library, 3 Rue de Monthoux (Tues & Fri 12.30–5pm, Wed 2–7pm, Thurs 2–5pm, Sat 10am–4pm, Sun 11am–12.30pm; 022/732 80 97), is an excellent place to start, with stacks of books, community information and a well-used notice board.

Lost property If you lost something on a plane, call 022/799 33 35; if you lost it in a train station or on a train, call 022/715 22 13. The main CFF lost property office is on platform 1B of Gare Cornavin (Mon–Fri 6am–9pm, Sat & Sun 9am–7.45pm), and the city’s lost property office is at 7 Glacis-de-Rive (Mon–Fri 8am–4pm; 022/787 60 00).

Markets The best markets in the city are the venerable old fleamarket on the Plaine de Plainpalais (Wed & Sat 8am–5pm); the general market on Place de la Madeleine (Mon–Sat 10am–6pm); and crafts (Thurs 8am–7pm) and books (April–Oct Fri 8am–7pm), both on Place de la Fusterie. Plainpalais also has big fruit & veg markets (Tues, Fri & Sun).

Medical facilities The Cantonal Hospital, 24 Rue Micheli-du-Crest (022/372 33 11), has a 24-hour emergency room, as do the Permanances medical centres dotted around town (21 Rue Chantepoulet, 022/731 21 20; 1 Rue du Jura, 022/345 45 50; 17 Rue de Carouge, 022/329 56 56). For emergency dental treatment, call 022/791 04 30 (Old Town area) or 022/320 31 22 (station area). Call 022/748 49 50 if you need a doctor.

Post Geneva’s most convenient large post office is at 18 Rue du Mont-Blanc. You can collect mail sent to you at Poste Restante, Mont-Blanc, CH-1211 Geneva 1, from windows 3–7 with your passport.

Radio WRG (World Radio Geneva), on 88.4FM, is an English-language expat station, with MOR music, phone-ins and news. Family Radio 74, at 88.8FM, is, if anything, even more wishy-washy, with regular BBC/VOA news padded out with wholesome Christian programming, some in French.

Sport Two large outdoor swimming complexes have pools and access to the lake waters: Genève Plage is on the Rive Gauche at Port-Noir (daily: June–Aug 9am–8pm, May & Sept 9am–7pm; Fr.5; bus #2), with a heated pool and waterslide, basketball, volleyball, waterskiing and windsurfing; the Bains des Pâquis at 30 Quai du Mont-Blanc (daily: late-May–Aug 9am–8pm, May & Sept 10am–6pm; Fr.1), dating from the 1930s, is more popular but has fewer facilities. For details and to reserve places on the canoeing, rafting and kayaking trips on the Arve’s 7km of rapids, contact the tourist office; departures are from the Gare Routière (July & Aug daily 1.30 & 5pm; May, June & Sept on request; 022/784 02 05). On a more sedate note, the America pool hall, 3 Rue Fribourg (Sun–Thurs 10am–1am, Fri & Sat 10am–2am) has tables at Fr.16/hr.

Travel agents Discount flight agents SRR Voyages are at 3 Rue Vignier (Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–noon; 022/329 97 33). Plenty of travel agents crowd Rue du Mont-Blanc and Rue Chantepoulet.