Beau-Rivage

On 10 September 1898, Empress Elisabeth of Austria — "Sissi" — left the Beau-Rivage for a stroll along the quay and never returned: she was stabbed by an Italian anarchist before reaching her steamer. You can now stay in the Sissi Suite, decorated with objects that once belonged to the Empress, its terrace overlooking the avenue where she loved to walk. A few decades earlier, the Duke of Brunswick died here and left 20 million gold francs to the city of Geneva — enough to build its Grand Théâtre. Founded in 1865 by Jean-Jacques Mayer, the hotel is still owned by the fifth generation of the same family, making it Geneva's oldest privately held luxury hotel. 95 rooms, Michelin-starred Le Chat-Botté, and a guest book that reads like a diplomatic summit: the Dalai Lama, Richard Wagner, Catherine Deneuve.