Considering Vaud (?Vevey/Cully/Aigle) in late April
Mar 30th, 2017, 06:06 PM
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Considering Vaud (?Vevey/Cully/Aigle) in late April
The first tiny seeds of a POSSIBLE shortish trip at the end of April (yes, next month) are sown...
Have never explored this area (beyond Geneva 25 yrs ago-no desire to return there OR to see Lausanne).
Last chance for a possible 8-night trip, before starting a new job.
Thinking low-key walks through vineyards,a couple of wine-tastings,resting on a promenade bench along Lake Geneva and memorizing the mountains, walk to
Chateau Chillon, up to Rochers de Naye, Aigle castle/area hike?, visit the local street market, Tulip Festival in Morges.
AND would like to make it to Broc Fabrique (excursion sacrificed two years ago!)
IF I go, thinking of 5 nights in ?Vevey and 3 elsewhere.
Using train/bus/boat...no car.This is my ? 10th trip to Switzerland, so have already experienced the better-known sites in Sw.
Have never explored this area (beyond Geneva 25 yrs ago-no desire to return there OR to see Lausanne).
Last chance for a possible 8-night trip, before starting a new job.
Thinking low-key walks through vineyards,a couple of wine-tastings,resting on a promenade bench along Lake Geneva and memorizing the mountains, walk to
Chateau Chillon, up to Rochers de Naye, Aigle castle/area hike?, visit the local street market, Tulip Festival in Morges.
AND would like to make it to Broc Fabrique (excursion sacrificed two years ago!)
IF I go, thinking of 5 nights in ?Vevey and 3 elsewhere.
Using train/bus/boat...no car.This is my ? 10th trip to Switzerland, so have already experienced the better-known sites in Sw.
Mar 30th, 2017, 07:12 PM
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Have you looked at my trip report? As is my preference, I visited most of these places -- and a few nearby places -- with no down time. I found much to enjoy.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...any-thanks.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...any-thanks.cfm
Mar 30th, 2017, 08:04 PM
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Thank you kja! A lot of things have to align to make this trip happen, but I too love the planning.
So many YouTube videos of the Lavaux (and now, drone footage) have got me excited.
Your TR will certainly help!
So many YouTube videos of the Lavaux (and now, drone footage) have got me excited.
Your TR will certainly help!
Mar 30th, 2017, 08:33 PM
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Hi mokka4,
I think you know how often I get to Montreux and how much I love it! I hope I can help --
In April, the vineyards won't be very pretty, I think. I've been there in March, and they were pretty much brown sticks in brown mud! There is a bit of a chance they could be starting to green out, but I'm not sure of that . . . But of course the views out over the lake and the hills is always pretty.
Cully is really and truly small. The only area that I found attractive is a small patch of green at the lake right around the hotel/restaurant Au Major Davel. Other options for staying in the Lavaux are Rivaz (a woman who used to post here about 10 years ago enjoyed a stay there) or Lutry. Rivaz is another small vineyard community, but Lutry is a real, live town. Lutry has a very pretty lakeside promenade and a very interesting sign-posted (w/English descriptions) walk of its medieval buildings in its old town. I'm always tempted to stay there.
But really I'm not sure you'll need to move around like that. Lutry is less than 20 minutes from Vevey by frequent train, so you'll waste time switching hotels.
While I've never stayed in Aigle, I've been through it a few times. I wouldn't ever stay there . . . simply because it's not on the lake! However, from Aigle you can of course see the Aigle castle and wine museum, and go up to see Leysin.
I think actually I might be tempted to take those 3 nights and go inland -- Gruyeres, Gstaad, Chateau d'Oex, Rougemont, etc. These places are still in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, but the atmosphere is much different from the Lake Geneva area. Of course, it is more mountainous, and the hikes & bike rides are simply stunning (imho!!). I know of a few 3-hour walks between Gruyeres & Bulle and a few others that I have yet to take but are very intriguing. Here are links to those hikes that interest me:
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/chem...ese-trail.html
http://www.la-gruyere.ch/en/navpage-...FR-332057.html
Anyway, if you haven't already seen my much-posted list of "reviews" (w/photos) of things to do from the lake, here it is:
Montreux old town
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...reux_Vaud.html
Lavaux
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...reux_Vaud.html
Walks through the Lavaux vineyards
http://static.montreuxriviera.com/ra...679.1466572907
Promenade Fleuri
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...reux_Vaud.html
Morges
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...rges_Vaud.html
Gruyeres
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Fribourg.html
Saanen
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...wiss_Alps.html
Gstaad
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...wiss_Alps.html
Have fun as you plan!
s
I think you know how often I get to Montreux and how much I love it! I hope I can help --
In April, the vineyards won't be very pretty, I think. I've been there in March, and they were pretty much brown sticks in brown mud! There is a bit of a chance they could be starting to green out, but I'm not sure of that . . . But of course the views out over the lake and the hills is always pretty.
Cully is really and truly small. The only area that I found attractive is a small patch of green at the lake right around the hotel/restaurant Au Major Davel. Other options for staying in the Lavaux are Rivaz (a woman who used to post here about 10 years ago enjoyed a stay there) or Lutry. Rivaz is another small vineyard community, but Lutry is a real, live town. Lutry has a very pretty lakeside promenade and a very interesting sign-posted (w/English descriptions) walk of its medieval buildings in its old town. I'm always tempted to stay there.
But really I'm not sure you'll need to move around like that. Lutry is less than 20 minutes from Vevey by frequent train, so you'll waste time switching hotels.
While I've never stayed in Aigle, I've been through it a few times. I wouldn't ever stay there . . . simply because it's not on the lake! However, from Aigle you can of course see the Aigle castle and wine museum, and go up to see Leysin.
I think actually I might be tempted to take those 3 nights and go inland -- Gruyeres, Gstaad, Chateau d'Oex, Rougemont, etc. These places are still in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, but the atmosphere is much different from the Lake Geneva area. Of course, it is more mountainous, and the hikes & bike rides are simply stunning (imho!!). I know of a few 3-hour walks between Gruyeres & Bulle and a few others that I have yet to take but are very intriguing. Here are links to those hikes that interest me:
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/chem...ese-trail.html
http://www.la-gruyere.ch/en/navpage-...FR-332057.html
Anyway, if you haven't already seen my much-posted list of "reviews" (w/photos) of things to do from the lake, here it is:
Montreux old town
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...reux_Vaud.html
Lavaux
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...reux_Vaud.html
Walks through the Lavaux vineyards
http://static.montreuxriviera.com/ra...679.1466572907
Promenade Fleuri
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...reux_Vaud.html
Morges
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...rges_Vaud.html
Gruyeres
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Fribourg.html
Saanen
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...wiss_Alps.html
Gstaad
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...wiss_Alps.html
Have fun as you plan!
s
Mar 30th, 2017, 08:39 PM
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As noted in my trip report, I walked the Lavaux from Lutry to Cully on an unseasonably cold day -- frost on the ground and sleet and icy rain hitting my face with almost every step. And I loved it nonetheless!
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Mar 30th, 2017, 09:32 PM
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@ swandav: I'll do my best!
My visit to the Lavaux was on Saturday, 25 May 2013.
As noted upthread, the weather was inclement -- I'm told it was the coldest spell in the area in ages. I had started that morning in Geneva and moved on to Lausanne just long enough to leave my luggage in a locker before heading to Lutry. Fortunately, I was able to walk around charming Lutry before the rain and sleet began -- it was COLD, but I was prepared for that.
IIRC, the rain began just as I was climbing up to the main walkway, and it persisted, on and off, but mostly on, through the rest of my hike. At some parts, I felt just a sprinkling of cold drops in the air; at other times I was fully drenched in icy rain or sleet. Although I had a decent rain jacket (thank goodness!), I hadn't worn rain pants, and my good-for-almost-anything-but-drenching-rain pants were soaked through and though, so my legs were sopping wet and painfully cold. Fortunately, I had worn Gortex-lined hiking shoes and several layers of wool socks.
There was frost on the ground through most of the vineyards, although IIRC, the frost had washed away from the stretches I walked during the worst of the rain. I'm no expert on what grape vines should look like early in the season, but most had begun to show leaves, but without yet vining away from their trunks. Some flowers and flowering shrubs had already bloomed, and were beautifully limned in ice or frost, or provided stunning spouts for a drop of melted water to form and fall. I remember a few stunningly beautiful blooming things, frozen (as it were) in both my memory and -- unfortunately -- in the weather.
With precipitation falling off an on throughout my walk, you might imagine that the skies were gloriously dramatic, and OMG, they were! There were a few stretches when I could see nothing other than a foggy whiteness beyond the immediate path. There were other places from which I could see across Lake Geneva to the snowcaps to the south, and to the east, alternating patches of nearly black tilted columns of precipitation, and other areas where the light rays filtered brilliantly between clouds and highlighted this or that, in a stunning vista of alternating light and dark and light and dark extending off along the slopes and lake and various towns and wineries along the slopes...
How I wish I were able to better convert my visual images to words!
By the time I reached Cully, the rain stopped. (Of course.) I could have JUST made the next train back to Lausanne, but OMG, I was SOOooooo cold and wet -- surely there would be a place where I could get a warming beverage?!? If so, I never found it. I spent a half hour or so walking around Cully -- no regrets about seeing it, but not my wisest choice, as I then had to wait quite a while for the next train.
And except for that -- except for sitting, shivering, at that train stop (which, thankfully, had wind breaks) -- I am very, very glad that I took that walk. What glorious views! Had I known the weather I would face when I began, I don't know if I would have gone -- I'm so glad I did!
Hope that answers your question, swandav.
My visit to the Lavaux was on Saturday, 25 May 2013.
As noted upthread, the weather was inclement -- I'm told it was the coldest spell in the area in ages. I had started that morning in Geneva and moved on to Lausanne just long enough to leave my luggage in a locker before heading to Lutry. Fortunately, I was able to walk around charming Lutry before the rain and sleet began -- it was COLD, but I was prepared for that.
IIRC, the rain began just as I was climbing up to the main walkway, and it persisted, on and off, but mostly on, through the rest of my hike. At some parts, I felt just a sprinkling of cold drops in the air; at other times I was fully drenched in icy rain or sleet. Although I had a decent rain jacket (thank goodness!), I hadn't worn rain pants, and my good-for-almost-anything-but-drenching-rain pants were soaked through and though, so my legs were sopping wet and painfully cold. Fortunately, I had worn Gortex-lined hiking shoes and several layers of wool socks.
There was frost on the ground through most of the vineyards, although IIRC, the frost had washed away from the stretches I walked during the worst of the rain. I'm no expert on what grape vines should look like early in the season, but most had begun to show leaves, but without yet vining away from their trunks. Some flowers and flowering shrubs had already bloomed, and were beautifully limned in ice or frost, or provided stunning spouts for a drop of melted water to form and fall. I remember a few stunningly beautiful blooming things, frozen (as it were) in both my memory and -- unfortunately -- in the weather.
With precipitation falling off an on throughout my walk, you might imagine that the skies were gloriously dramatic, and OMG, they were! There were a few stretches when I could see nothing other than a foggy whiteness beyond the immediate path. There were other places from which I could see across Lake Geneva to the snowcaps to the south, and to the east, alternating patches of nearly black tilted columns of precipitation, and other areas where the light rays filtered brilliantly between clouds and highlighted this or that, in a stunning vista of alternating light and dark and light and dark extending off along the slopes and lake and various towns and wineries along the slopes...
How I wish I were able to better convert my visual images to words!
By the time I reached Cully, the rain stopped. (Of course.) I could have JUST made the next train back to Lausanne, but OMG, I was SOOooooo cold and wet -- surely there would be a place where I could get a warming beverage?!? If so, I never found it. I spent a half hour or so walking around Cully -- no regrets about seeing it, but not my wisest choice, as I then had to wait quite a while for the next train.
And except for that -- except for sitting, shivering, at that train stop (which, thankfully, had wind breaks) -- I am very, very glad that I took that walk. What glorious views! Had I known the weather I would face when I began, I don't know if I would have gone -- I'm so glad I did!
Hope that answers your question, swandav.
Mar 30th, 2017, 09:52 PM
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Yup!
This:
" ...but most had begun to show leaves, but without yet vining away from their trunks. Some flowers and flowering shrubs had already bloomed, and were beautifully limned in ice or frost, or provided stunning spouts for a drop of melted water to form and fall. I remember a few stunningly beautiful blooming things, frozen (as it were) in both my memory and -- unfortunately - in the weather."
Very different from what I saw. You were there in May, and I was there in March. Hopefully the op will see more of what you saw.
s
This:
" ...but most had begun to show leaves, but without yet vining away from their trunks. Some flowers and flowering shrubs had already bloomed, and were beautifully limned in ice or frost, or provided stunning spouts for a drop of melted water to form and fall. I remember a few stunningly beautiful blooming things, frozen (as it were) in both my memory and -- unfortunately - in the weather."
Very different from what I saw. You were there in May, and I was there in March. Hopefully the op will see more of what you saw.
s
Mar 31st, 2017, 04:45 AM
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Thank kja and swandav for your excellent help! Yes, swandav, before reading your enthusiastic reports of this area (year after year ), I had NO desire to see this region. Now, it beckons.
So Cully is out and Lutry is in...
No desire for Gstaad or Saanen (time constraints). Maybe a day trip to Aigle, not a homebase.
There will be more than enough to do to intensely get to know the area in my 'slow-travel' style.
Have been to Gruyeres, but may consider a jaunt to Moleson if not complicated.
Crossing my fingers!
), I had NO desire to see this region. Now, it beckons.So Cully is out and Lutry is in...
No desire for Gstaad or Saanen (time constraints). Maybe a day trip to Aigle, not a homebase.
There will be more than enough to do to intensely get to know the area in my 'slow-travel' style.
Have been to Gruyeres, but may consider a jaunt to Moleson if not complicated.
Crossing my fingers!
Mar 31st, 2017, 06:31 AM
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Hi again,
Ooooh, really hope you'll enjoy the area, and Lutry!
I've been meaning to post my photos of Lutry somewhere public, so I finally did it this afternoon. So if you'd like a preview of what you might see there, take a look:
https://swandav.shutterfly.com/632
Be careful about Moleson -- I mean about transportation. I followed one enthusiastic poster's suggestions to visit Moleson, and I neglected to check the transport times. Admittedly, I cut short my visit because I got bored, but I was stranded there for about 2h during a lunch-time lull in the bus schedule. I was already bored, so the 2h break didn't sit well. Just check the schedule and see what your options are.
You may also want to check out Bulle -- an overlooked town, as tourists flock to Gruyeres and Broc-Fabrique, etc. It doesn't have anything special, and that was its charm. Just your average everyday town in French Switzerland. Residents were inordinately kind to me, passing the time of day, etc; I had the feeling they didn't get many tourists and really wanted more!
Have fun!
s
Ooooh, really hope you'll enjoy the area, and Lutry!
I've been meaning to post my photos of Lutry somewhere public, so I finally did it this afternoon. So if you'd like a preview of what you might see there, take a look:
https://swandav.shutterfly.com/632
Be careful about Moleson -- I mean about transportation. I followed one enthusiastic poster's suggestions to visit Moleson, and I neglected to check the transport times. Admittedly, I cut short my visit because I got bored, but I was stranded there for about 2h during a lunch-time lull in the bus schedule. I was already bored, so the 2h break didn't sit well. Just check the schedule and see what your options are.
You may also want to check out Bulle -- an overlooked town, as tourists flock to Gruyeres and Broc-Fabrique, etc. It doesn't have anything special, and that was its charm. Just your average everyday town in French Switzerland. Residents were inordinately kind to me, passing the time of day, etc; I had the feeling they didn't get many tourists and really wanted more!
Have fun!
s
Mar 31st, 2017, 06:43 AM
#13
The last time we did the jaunt up to Rochers de Naye was on a day in fairly early April. It was cloudy and snowy but we did it nonetheless because we had enjoyed the absolutely spectacular views from the top in the past.
When we got up to the top we noticed a whole bunch of people were waiting for the train and they more or less rushed aboard as we got off. I think it must have been the weather.
The observation area was absolutely deserted as was that cafeteria with those stuffed animals on the walls staring intently ,(I am wondering if they were deceased marmots from the resident colony).
We ate, totally alone and walked around staring into the cloud cover and mist.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.
When we got up to the top we noticed a whole bunch of people were waiting for the train and they more or less rushed aboard as we got off. I think it must have been the weather.
The observation area was absolutely deserted as was that cafeteria with those stuffed animals on the walls staring intently ,(I am wondering if they were deceased marmots from the resident colony).
We ate, totally alone and walked around staring into the cloud cover and mist.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.
Mar 31st, 2017, 08:00 AM
#15
We spent a night in Vevey once, in the hotel in the market square which was great until about 4am when they started setting up the Saturday morning market. It was a great market but I'd still rather have had a full night's sleep.
Mar 31st, 2017, 09:21 AM
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Thumbs up on Lutry. I loved it there. The caveau de vignerons there opens in the afternoon, had a fantastic wine tasting there (with saucisson vaudoise and cheese).
Small towns a bit distance from the lake, but well worth seeing:
- Romainmotier
- Romont
If you're interested in seeing another lake - there are nice towns on Lac de Neuchatel (if you plan to stay two nights elsewhere, this would be an option):
- Yverdon
- Grandson
- Estayaver-le-Lac
Small towns a bit distance from the lake, but well worth seeing:
- Romainmotier
- Romont
If you're interested in seeing another lake - there are nice towns on Lac de Neuchatel (if you plan to stay two nights elsewhere, this would be an option):
- Yverdon
- Grandson
- Estayaver-le-Lac
Mar 31st, 2017, 12:06 PM
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Beautiful Lutry photos swandav...I can see how pretty it is. It REALLY looks like a twin to Zug (that's why we both like Zug so much!)
Looks like it warrants a good half day.
Ingo: Have been to Romont.
Yverdon or Estayaver look like another half day though..thanks!
Looks like it warrants a good half day.
Ingo: Have been to Romont.
Yverdon or Estayaver look like another half day though..thanks!
Mar 31st, 2017, 12:15 PM
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Oops! Missed that both Y and E are on Neuchatel Lake. Don't want to move there.
I am only 'considering' a second site to both be in a town familiar to me AND to make the final trip home via Zurich Flughafen shorter.
IF I do break bit up, considering Bern, Solothurn or Murten...but of course, rail times to the airport will figure strongly in the equation.
Then again, maybe 6/2 nights....
Praying this trip happens...can but wait now!
I am only 'considering' a second site to both be in a town familiar to me AND to make the final trip home via Zurich Flughafen shorter.
IF I do break bit up, considering Bern, Solothurn or Murten...but of course, rail times to the airport will figure strongly in the equation.
Then again, maybe 6/2 nights....
Praying this trip happens...can but wait now!
Apr 1st, 2017, 04:47 AM
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The cableway from Moleson Village to Plan Francey - Moleson runs fron May 25th until October 22nd.
But the hiking trail from Bulle to Plan Francey - Les Paccots FR is usually free of snow in early May already.
But the hiking trail from Bulle to Plan Francey - Les Paccots FR is usually free of snow in early May already.
