Day Trip to Lavaux, Vaud Region
[cmtoc_table_of_contents]
It has been a while before i wrote my Day Five of the Switzerland Trip to Lavaux, please read the previous stories here: Switzerland Travel Stories
Unlike other areas that I visited till now, Vaud had a slightly different weather which is a bit hotter than the regions close to Alps.
Vaud region is known for Lavaux which is on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list. This region is also having close proximity to Geneva.
The Canton of Vaud has its capital as Lausanne and is well connected from all parts of Switzerland and Bern.
Interesting Fact: Lausanne is officially designated as the “Olympics Capital”
Vaud Region has Lake Genève on the Switzerland side and Lac Léman on the French side is overlooked by the Swiss Alps which gives you great experiences and picturesque postcards.
The Canton of Vaud is the second largest producer of white wine from the vast terraces near Lake Geneva spread over 800 hectares.
How to get there
As I have shared, Lausanne is well connected and in most cases, you need to change at Bern and take the SBB train towards Genève-Aéroport and the total distance from my base location of Switzerland is around 02:17 hours.
What to do
- Vineyard Walks – In the Vaud region, you could spend countless time walking your way through the vast terrace vineyards in the region overlooking the Alps and Lake Geneva
- Wine Tasting – You could visit the Vineyards and the more than welcoming wine growers would welcome you and there are good wine tasting destinations as well that you could visit in case you are a wine lover
- Lavaux Vinorama is a must visit Wine tasting destination that you should have on the list
- Lake Geneva – Laze around the Lake Geneva (a crescent shaped lake) overlooking the Alps
- Chaplin’s World – If you are someone who loves Charlie Chaplin, this is a must visit place which is a museum honoring in the Corsier-sur-Vevey area close to Vevey station
- Castles in Vaud Region – Castles talking of the rich heritage and culture spread in the Vaud region is a must visit should you like to explore the culture
- Chillon Castle – A must visit castle in the eastern end of the Lake Geneva close to Montreux
My Travel Experiences
Having started my journey from Basel, i took the IC train to Bern and changed connection towards Genève Airport and the total journey was around 02:10 hours (varies on the connecting time at Bern) with lot of comfort that the Swiss Travel System provides and also the extra support that my Swiss Travel Pass helped me with during changing connections with no need to run to buy tickets.
While reaching Lausanne, I was mesmerized with the beauty of the region along with the railway line that leads to the main station.
Having reached Lausanne, i waited for the connection taking me to Rivaz station (where the trek starts as planned a day before and thanks to Amrita Das whose blog caught my eye as I was planning a destination away from the mountains).
Having a small bite that i carried with myself, i set foot at the railway platform of Rivaz and started exploring the map and the path that I could download and thanks to Airtel International Package, i had 4G connection all through the Switzerland trip.
Before starting the walk, explored the station a bit to familiarize the location.
Now starting with the walk through the vineyards, this was not the actual season and I could see the plants being treated / getting ready for the next season.
I did not waste time in starting my Vineyard trail and choose the Rivaz to Cully Gare route (embedded for your reference).
Walking Trails
Path One
Path Two
Wine Tasting
Having started my walk from Rivaz, my first stop was Lavaux Vinorama the first stop for Wine tasting. I am not much of a wine lover so limited myself to a few sips of the wonderful wine Switzerland had to offer.
Interesting Fact: Do not forget to ask the friendly people at Vinorama to play the Wine making video which will take you through the entire process and effort taken by wine growers
After the wine tasting, I moved on the walking trail this time taking the path beside the Vinorama to the top of the hill to just be mesmerized again of the beauty Switzerland / Lavaux had to offer.
The total trail took around 03:00 hours to complete with breaks to enjoy the beautiful landscapes.
Reaching back to Cully Gare, walking through the wonderful streets with vineyards on either side, old buildings in the region, neatly laid roads, I reached Cully from where I was to take the train back to Lausanne.
A well spent day with walking trail in this beautiful side of the country, i will let the pictures do the talking now.
Few points to consider
- Walk in designated paths, walk to the extreme left if the road does not have a designated path
- When in doubt, check with the locals who would be more than happy to guide you
- Have lot of water / carry a water bottle as you would be walking long distances
- Do not forget carrying your camera and SD card
Please follow my travel journeys on social media:
Do follow me on Social media and share back my stories with you: Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest
Until my next blog-post, this is Srikanth signing off.
Like it? Pin It below!
2 responses to “Day Five: Day Trip to Lavaux, Vaud Region”
Hi Srikanth, glad that my blog post on Lavaux could help. Minor correction: my last name is spelled with a single S.
Thanks Amrita, corrected it 👍🏻