isabel

I'm thinking of stopping for a few days in the Lake Geneva region next July (2013). It will be part of a month long trip, starting with two weeks in France, then about a week on the Italian Riviera. Then I think I can afford another week to ten days so was thinking of working my way back up towards Paris via Lake Geneva, Bern/Basel, then Strasbourg. I'm pretty open about all of this part.

I just want one base in this region, was thinking Lausanne. Things of interest are Château of Chillon, Rochers-de-Naye, some of the 'charming' villages on the French side of the lake, and probably a day trip to Zermatt. I'd really like to see the Matterhorn and it seems if I based somewhere for three or four days and did it as a day trip, rather than spending the night, then I could pick the best weather day.

So is Lausanne my best bet? Any other suggestions? How long - thinking 3, 4, or 5 days. Do you think all the places I mentioned are doable as day trips? Anything else?

PalenQ

Many folks prefer smaller and more romantic Montreux or Vevey over the much bigger feeling city of Lausanne - they are all just a few miles apart. If Lausanne I'd try to get a place on the lake itself.

Any of the three can be an excellent base - all have main-line train service and boat service - boats being a great way to explore the lake and even go over to Evian-les-Bains and other cute cities on the French side of Lac Leman and also to Chateau Chillon - as do trains or it is a lovely few-mile walk from Montreux on lakeside walking paths.

apart from Zermatt other farther away from lake day trips you could do would be to take the Chocolate Train or regular trains up to Gruyeres - one of the very best walled cities in Switzerland - very nice and not that far from Lausanne - the Chocolate train itself continues on from Gruyeres to Broc Factory train station for a Willy Wonkaesque tour of the Nestle Chocolate Factory.

You could also hop the Golden Pass train from Montreux to some charming town like Gstaad and back - one of the most scenic trains in Switzerland.

Anyway you may want to consider getting a Swiss Pass of some kind that would cover virtually all your transportation - city trams and buses, lake boats, trains - even to Zermatt and back in full and include free entry to 400+ Swiss museums and attractions (not sure Chillon is included but many places like that are).

For loads of great info on Swiss trains, lake boats, passes and other options like the Half-Fare Card I always spotlight these IMO fine fine sites - www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com.

swandav2000

hi isabel,

I concur that Lausanne may not be the best base for what you want to do. Chillon is just outside of Montreux, and the train to Rochers-de-Naye leaves from Montreux (as does the Golden Pass). In addition, Lausanne is a city that sprawls from the lake up to the hills, so you may find yourself walking back and forth (or taking the metro) as you commute for your daily excursions and/or want to spend time at the lake. I do think that either Vevey or Montreux would be a better base -- smaller towns, more likely your hotel will have a lake view. In addition, all of the hotels in Montreux and Vevey will give you a Riviera Card that makes all the busses free, and bus #201 runs from Vevey to and through Montreux to and past Chillon. Busses run every 10 minutes. So, it's really convenient.

I'd also like to suggest that you see some of the winegrowing villages of the Lavaux, the vineyards that cling to the lake between Lausanne and Vevey. My favorite is Lutry, which also has a signposted walking tour of its medieval buildings; I also don't think a visit to the area is really complete without walking through the vineyards. You could take a quick walk from Chexbres to Rivaz or St. Saphorin or a longer walk from Lutry to Rivaz.

Rather than taking a day-trip on the Golden Pass, I'd recommend you do the trip while enroute to Bern.

The only French town I've seen from Montreux is Yvoire, which is really lovely. You take the train to Nyon and then a boat/bus service to Yvoire.

Also like to add that the internationally famous Montreux Jazz Fest takes place for three weeks in July, so that may either draw or repulse you for Montreux.

Have fun as you plan!

s

swandav2000

ps, though Nestle owns the Chocolate factory at Broc (actually Broc-Fabrique is the train stop), it is called the Cailler Chocolate Factory.

www.cailler.ch


s

isabel

I had been considering Montreux as a base but now that you tell me about the festival it's a definite no. (But I really appreciate the heads up about the festival). I'm sure those festivals are great if you are going there specifically to take in the music but otherwise they ruin the atmosphere of the place. I'm going to be trying to work around the one in Avignon on this trip also (and last year Ghent was totally ruined for me because of the huge festival there). Oh well. At least I'm aware of it. I'll have to do some more research but it seems like Lausanne will be the most practical place to base, given the trips I want to take. Any suggestions of which areas of Lausanne might be better than others (or even specific hotels - the €100 range). I will look into Vevey.

If I do stay in Lausanne do you think it's reasonable to do both the Chateau and Rochers in one day?

swandav2000

Well, I'd stay in Vevey then. Vevey is linked to Montreux, as I said, by the free bus; the bus travel between the two takes about 30 minutes.

Vevey is a more residential place rather than a resort like Montreux. It has fewer hotels, but there are some nice ones. Its lakeside path has fewer flowers, but it's still gorgeous.

The madness of the Jazz Fest won't spill over to Vevey -- but maybe more hotels will be sold out. If that's the case, I would then opt for a hotel in the Lavaux vineyards (maybe Lutry). I just don't like cities.

You should be able to find a hotel in the 100 Euro range; that computes to 120 chf. You should be able to find a good single room at that rate (Switzerland is very expensive).

I suppose it would be possible to do Chillon and Rochers-de-Naye in one day. Make sure that you walk along the lakeside promenade to Chillon; that's one of the very best things about Montreux. The walk takes 45 minutes. So, you could take the train to Montreux and walk to Chillon, and that's about an hour. Then spend three hours in Chillon (I've heard that the minimum time is 2h). Then take the bus (#201) back to Montreux and take the train up to Rochers-de-Naye (takes an hour). Spend an hour or two up there, then come back to Montreux to catch the train or a lake ferry to Lausanne.

Have fun as you plan!

s

PalenQ

Chillon itself IME was small and does not take much time - yes try walking one way - a very sweet walk for sure but you'd still have time to do the Rochers-d-N if you just want to go up and down that is.

PalenQ

Most folks will infinitely love smallish Vevey much more than Lausanne but if you like a large city then Lausanne will be more your cup of tea.

Dukey1

It obvious;y depends on where you stay IN Lausanne. For your budget you may not find too much available in Ouchy which is the section directly ON the lake. However, many hotels in Lausanne will give you a pass for use on the Metro (the "string" as it is known locally) which you can easily use to get back and forth to the main rail station as well as to Ouchy from which the lake steamers depart.

suze

Vevey would be by far my first choice!! I'm crazy about that town. It's my favorite of the three anyway (Lausanne is way too big to get comfortable as a tourist, and Montreux is more expensive) plus it feels the most 'Swiss' to me.

For reasonably priced places to stay there look at:
Hotel Geneve
http://www.hotelgeneve.ch/
Hotel Les Negociants
http://www.hotelnegociants.ch/en/hotel/hotel.php
or even the hostel, Riviera Lodge

suze

suze

http://www.lausanne-guesthouse.ch/
If you're set on Lausanne this place always looked appealing to me.