M.S. Genève, Geneva, Switzerland

Later on my first day in Geneva, I crossed Pont du Mont-Blanc and explored the opposite shore of Lac Léman. That was when I was presented with the sight of the paddle steamer Genève, dating from 1896. These days, it is a floating restaurant in the ownership of Association pour le Bateau Genève. Decommissioning in 1973 saw it being sold for scrap until the current owners came to the rescue and bought it in 1974. Before that, its history included an Austrian empress, Elisabeth of Bavaria, losing consciousness on the vessel after being stabbed by a lone assailant. Sadly, she was to die at her hotel afterwards and, in 1928, the Genève was involved in a collision with another boat near Lausanne. Then, in 1934, its steam engines were replaced by diesel ones during a refit that would see it through to the end of its sailing life.