UKC

I need to leave my van in Geneva for 2 weeks over Christmas. Can anyone suggest any particular streets without parking restrictions where I could leave it fairly safely and then get quite easily to the airport?

I've looked at airport parking and it's horribly expensive and seems massively unnecessary.

It's a small van and not horrible-looking so it isn't immediately going to look out of place on a nice street.

Really nobody done this sort of thing? :S

This is a concept that doesn't really exist in Switzerland and above all in Genève. For any long term on street or public parking you need a resident pass (macaron) or to pay - the enforcement is rather strict as:

(a) There are too many cars and not enough places to park them

(b) There are lots of people who drive in to work from the surrounding area (France) and are allergic to paying to park

(c) There are people who want to go to the airport by car but not pay to park

If you have French number plates then it might be possible to find somewhere around Gex or Ferney-Voltaire but even that is doubtful these days. 

Given the alternatives the 200 CHF for two weeks at the airport doesn't seem too horrendous. 

I can only suggest to look at other parking facilities which might have slightly cheaper long-term parking...maybe a multi-story car park somewhere where you pay when you leave.

Not sure where you are coming from but probably be cheaper to park at a train station and get the train in If you can

I was going to say a railway station, somewhere like Nyon or Morges might do the job though I don't know if overnight parking is allowed or not having never driven in CH.

I'm pretty sure there is parking in the vicinity of the huge UN, Red Cross and WHO Campus. I'm not certain if it's free or is it's pay, but probably a lot cheaper than the Airport. I went there last year, but my friend, who used to work there, was driving, so I don't know if she paid. Might be worth investigating?

Knowing Switzerland a bit, it sounds improbable me to me it will be free. Make sure you follow the rules too or the fine will HUGE! 

Actually I have always found parking pretty reasonable in normal areas hence my train station suggestion, on street in Lausanne for instance is about 1CHF per hour, I parked all day up the top of the lake when we rode round it for around 8CHF, parked in verbier for 2 weeks and it was 55CHF, Gruyere which is a tourist trap was free, Geneva is always going to be nuts though.