eschule

I will be travelling (in mid-September) from Bern to Vevey and spending one night in Vevey. I am hoping to make the most of that one day (maybe pushing it).

I am considering leaving bern early and spending the morning and having lunch in gruyeres and then continuing on to vevey arriving early afternoon. I was thinking of taking the "Train of the Vines" from Vevey to Chexbres for the rest of the afternoon (if time permitted) to explore the lavaux. I was hoping someone could elaborate on this trip/train and walks/towns/places to see and things to do in lavaux. Is this a recommended activity for an afternoon in this area or does it require a full day (and thus don't bother). Also how far is it to walk back to Vevey along the lake, or do you take a return train?

also, since I will have a car would it be better just to drive straight to chexbres from gruyeres (instead of taking the train) and wander from there before going back to vevey for dinner?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

swandav2000

Hi eschule,

I'll help all I can! And what a lovely way to begin my day -- planning a trip to the Lavaux!

I recommend you take the train to Chexbres, not your car. That way, you can take the ferry back to Vevey. The length of time you spend there will vary, of course, depending on how far you want to walk!

Anyway, here are the particulars. The train from Vevey to Chexbres-village takes about seven minutes with 0 changes, and there is a train at 10.02, 11.02, 12.15, 13.00, 14.02, and 15.02 (etc). You can check the schedule for your exact day at www.rail.ch. The cost will be under 10 chf, I believe.

At Chexbres, there are no signposts in town, but not to worry: just head downhill! The little town is quaint and sweet, so you may want to wander through its streets a bit, depending on your schedule. So, when you're ready to move on, just go downhill and soon you'll be in the middle of the vineyards. You'll then find a trail and signs for "Rivaz." The walk to Rivaz will take about 15-20 minutes. In Rivaz, you can go east to St Saphorin or just meander around the town. Here's a map of this area: http://www.lavaux.ch/sentier2.htm.

Ingo's favorite cave in the Lavaux is in the town of Lutry, which is more of a hike from Chexbres. Here's a map of the entire Lavaux: http://www.lavaux.ch/sentierglobal.htm

So you see that you can spend an hour or two in Chexbres & Rivaz or a whole day in Chexbres, Lutry, Rivaz, etc.

Anyway, if you're hungry when you get to Rivaz, stop at the Auberge de Rivaz just across from the train station & dock. Sit outside and enjoy some local wine.

I suggest you take the ferry back to Vevey, and in summer the return from Rivaz will be at 18.44 (arriving Vevey at 18.59). Check www.cgn.ch to verify the schedule in Sept.

If you're athletic or energetic, you could take the train to Lausanne and rent a bike at the train station. Ride through Lutry, Cully, and Rivaz on the vineyard trails (lots of hills though!). Stop at Rivaz for a snack, then hop on the ferry to return your bike to Vevey (one-way rental ok for these stations). The cost to take the bike on the ferry is **about** 5 chf.

I walked from Rivaz to Vevey once and hated it -- it took me about two hours, and I got very, very tired of looking at the train tracks . . . I wouldn't recommend it. If you want more flexibility for your return trip than the ferry offers, there is a frequent local train running along the lake, hitting Rivaz and St Saphorin -- check schedules at www.rail.ch.

Let me know if I can help further!

s

swandav2000

ps,

Thought I'd post these distances I calculated for my planned cycles down the Lavaux:

Lutry-Cully 2.6 miles
Cully-Rivaz 3.2 miles
Rivaz-Chexbres 0.7 mil
Chexbres-Vevey 3.5 miles

Hope this helps!

s

jmw44

S'! You're famous!

eschule, all I can add is that I love the vineyard walks and the Auberge du Rivaz. Grapevines over its small stone terrace. While you're exploring, do try to fit in a brief look at little St. Saphorin just nearby. It's very tiny, but very well conserved. And you'll notice that the trains from either Rivaz, or St. Saphorin, or even Lutry, run pretty often and you're only a few minutes away from Vevey. (I agree with S', your best choices to return to Vevey are boat, train, bike or vineyard walk. The highway along the lake comes in last place. By the way, the village of Rivaz is high on the hillside and the Auberge is at the edge of the lake, you can't see one from the other.

If I were going to do your day, I'd follow S's walk to Rivaz, then train to Lutry, then boat all the way back to Vevey. Here's my question, which the map will probably answer: S' can eschule drop down from the Chexbres-Rivaz vine path to St. Saphorin, then go back up to the path and continue to Rivaz? I walked from St. Saphorin to upper Rivaz via the path, but I can't recall if it meets the one from Chexbres.

You will be so enchanted with the lavaux that you'll want to return to spend a week. Do you have any idea how many daytrips are possible from one of those little towns? It's incredible!!!! Lake villages, one more beautiful than the last, mountain places like Gruyeres (well hills, actually) and Chateau d'Oex, an absolutely dandy castle--Chillon. I'm so envious of your trip. I'll be back in the classroom. J.

suze

Well, I'm no expert but I *love* Vevey. If your timing by any chance is a Saturday AM, go to the open air farmers market in the town square. Don't miss drinking some of the lovely white produced in/by St Saphorin, or any of the local wines. They are excellent. My friend who lives in the area jokes people never hear of Swiss wines because the locals drink it all up. Enjoy your trip.

swandav2000

Hi folks,

jw, yup, you can wander from Chexbres to St Saphorin and then west to Rivaz. As you know, there are dozens of small paths all over those hills, so just choose one leading east as you depart Chexbres.

I wanted to let you know that you can get more distance figures at www.mappy.com. Just go to the "itinerary" portion and input your departure & destination, then choose "pedestrian" from the drop-down menu. You can also choose to get the distances in miles or km through the "options" button.

I also wanted to suggest you make a point to get to La Tour de Peilz, a charming little town that's a suburb of Vevey. In Vevey, just go to the lake, turn left, and walk a few blocks. This lakeside promenade is lined with stately trees and an unending line of comfortable benches. At La Tour, you'll find a tower (hmmm. . . ), a harbor, and a small park with kids throwing frisbees or playing soccer or picnicing, etc. It's really charming. To me, the essence of Switzerland is in these small corners of her towns. There is a four-star hotel right there on the promenade that's on my short-list of possible hotels for my next trip.

Anyway, hope this helps. Let me know if you'd like more info.

s

jmw44

"the essence of Switzerland is in these small corners of her towns" S', you are so right!

eschule

WOW. I continue to be amazed by the knowledge certain people have for certain areas and the advice offered.

It sounded so good that I was starting to wonder if I should stay at a hotel in lavaux instead of in Vevey (mistake?). I came across a few places that looked nice and were more affordable than the comparable options presented in vevey.

Has anyone stayed at the following places/towns and do you prefer one over the other. Looking mainly for nice setting with restaurants nearby.

Hotel Major Duvel (Cully)
Hotel Prealpina (Chexbres)
Hotel Le Rivage (Lutry)

Other suggestions? Thanks again.

suze

Vevey is a jewel because it has easy train access, then is walkable on foot, lots of restaurants, shops, etc. the beautiful promonade along the lake, not really a tourist stop (except for the Charlie Chaplin statue on bus tours!) but a nice place to spend some time.

eschule

ttt

jmw44

Hi, the Major Duvel in Cully (pronounced "Coo-eee&quot is the only place of the three I can recommend. I have not stayed there, but someone at this forum has and liked it very much, -- I have taken the lakeboat from Rivaz (I'm a two-star traveler) to the Major Duvel for a wonderful supper with lakeview. It seems like a graceful old hotel. Very lovely and sedate and lazy looking. You'll love it. It used to be one of Karen Brown's picks; you might check her website to see if its there or in her Switzerland Inn book. Cully is a beautiful tiny lake village. Good train connections, but if you could arrive by boat, you would be enchanted -- the Major Duvel is just there near the harbor beyond a lovely little park. Wish I were there. J.

Are you sure you can't stay longer in the lavaux? J.

eschule

I have done some reshifting and can now spend more time in the area (though still limited). I will be coming from Zermatt though (after 3 days) and will target arriving in Vevey around 11am on "Day 4". Plan to stay 2 nights based in Vevey or somewhere nearby and catch plane out from Geneva-Paris late afternoon on "Day 6". Thus, I'll have a little over 48 hours to enjoy Lake Geneva (unless I leave really Zermatt really early).

Is it possible to make a half-day excursion to Gruyere during my brief time? Does that require a car to do it most efficiently?

I figure I'll spend a good portion of one day taking the train to Chexbres and the walks described (probably Day 5), as well as walking throughout Vevey. Those are the activities I have targeted.

Thanks again to all who have responded....and will hopefully continue to do so!!!

swandav2000

Hi eschule,

I checked www.rail.ch (recommend you do so too!) to get the train schedules. The trip from Vevey will be a little more than an hour, leaving Vevey at 12.18 and arriving at 13.34. There are various combinations you can take: a bus & train or three trains. Check it out.

s

jmw44

Hi. I think we used the Vevey-Montreux-Montbovon-Gruyeres option and it worked like a charm. (The one that leaves Vevey at 8:53 and reaches Gruyeres at 10:16. Notice that the Vevey-Montreux is only five minutes. (Just time to buy one of those buns with the chocolate chips in them.) You could pair your Gruyeres day with a visit to Chillon as you return via Montreux (maybe). S', do you think that's possible? How late in the afternoon is Chillon open to visitors. Wow, wouldn't it be great to be able to do Gruyeres with that morning train, and then in the evening return to Vevey via boat from the castle? I'm dreaming, but if anyone can say it's so, S' can. Later y'all, J.

swandav2000

Hi All,

jw, please note that eschule will only get to Vevey at about 11 am, and then go to Gruyeres (I assume after checking into hotel, etc). So with the one hour going and one hour coming, then assuming two hours in Gruyeres, it's cutting it pretty close to get to Chillon as well. Chillon's website (well you KNEW they'd have one . . . ) at www.chillon.ch shows they close at 6 pm in September. But maybe eschule could stop somewhere along the lakeside in Montreux and have dinner while watching the castle light up for the night. Then take a ferry to Vevey for the night.

Anyway, I'm going back to the chillon.ch site to see if they have a livecam . . . !!

eschule, let us know if you need more info.

s

eschule

Sometimes I think I should be paying for this information. The rail schedules were very helpful.

On Lake Geneva Day 1 (assuming aprrox. 11 am arrival), I think the plan should be to eat lunch in Vevey, wander a bit, and possibly take the Train of the Vines and wander through Lavaux.

I think I can probably go to Gruyeres and back to Montreux on my 2nd day. (great suggestion by the way).

Wake up Day 3 and perhaps spend morning in Vevey (which is a Saturday) before training to Paris. (based on logistics I have decided to use the Train between all cities and thus no reason to go to Geneva at all and just train from Vevey to PAris some point on the 3rd day).

swandav2000

Hi eschule,

Yes, jw does have GREAT ideas!

I checked the ferry website at www.cgn.ch, and they show the summer schedule is good until 20 Sep; you can also download (pdf) the fall schedule starting 21 Sep. Usually the difference is in frequency of trips. You can get the ferry data at www.rail.ch too, but you have to select "option" then UN-select everything except "boats." Too much hassle.

So if you can, you ought to take the ferry as often as you can -- around the Lavaux as well as from Chillon back to Vevey/Cully/Lutry. It'll be more expensive than the train, but it's cool to sit on the deck with a beer (or Lavaux wine) and watch the coast glide by.

Usually when I get to Montreux, my first act is to take a ferry and then a long walk back (or vice versa). To me, it just means that I'm there! So I like to know the ferry schedule to know which ferry I can catch.

So, anyway, I think you'll have a blast!

s

jmw44

It does indeed sound like a good first taste of the lavaux, and you will be back, I promise. S', do you think the vineyards will still be green (or whatever) in mid-September? Or maybe the harvest in progress. At one thread, I think Ingo said the vineyards were bare at the end of September. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, eschule. By the way, have you done an image search for "lavaux" at either Google or Alta Vista? The photographs should increase your anticipation. --or image search separately for the village names. It will make you crazy. J.

kappa

jmw, one like this? I'm sure there are better ones but this is what I found quickly from Montreux-Vevey T.office's site. (no.89, Lavaux en autumn). This could be mid-autumn (October)or at ealiest late September.

http://www.montreuxtourism.ch/index....=1&start=5

jmw44

kava, Are the browns the harvested fields and the greens not yet harvested? I'm showing my ignorance. By the way, I'm just guessing here, but if the structure along the shoreside is the chateau Glerolles, then the nearer building just at the shore would be the Auberge du Rivaz. What do you think, S? I should be writing lesson plans. Well maybe after I finish my third cup of coffee. . . J.