Rochers de Naye, Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva (or Lac Leman in French) has three major cities to visit: Geneva, Lausanne and Montreux. Consider a Lake Geneva-Alps (Leman-Alpes) Regional Pass during your stay. The pass covers train, boat, bus and cable car but not museums. If you have a Swiss Half Fare Card, it will probably work out better for you then the regional pass, since both passes discount boats and gondolas the same amount.
Lake Geneva – City of Geneva
Start your tour of Geneva by visiting the Basilica Notre-Dame next to the main train station. Then take a short walk to Lake Geneva. Catch sight of the Lake Geneva Water Fountain Jet d’Eau, which can be viewed from the Brunswick Monument. See the English Gardens, the National Monument and the Flower Clock. Take a ride on the Swiss Wheel or catch a ferry here too. You can also walk out to the fountain and get wet from the spray. Continue on to Parc la Grange.
Next take a stroll through the Old Town. Pass the Temple De La Madeleine to St Pierre Cathedral at Place du Bourg-de-Four. Have a coffee at La Clemence. Continue on to the Ancient Arsenal of canons, the Reformation Wall & Promenade de la Treille and the Grand Théâtre de Genève. Alternately head to the Museum of Art and History.
Finish off your visit to the City of Geneva with a short train ride to Genève-Sécheron where you will find the gigantic Broken Chair Monument, the Alley of Flags leading to the United Nations Palace, the UN Museum of Nations and the Ariana Museum.
Lake Geneva – Montreux
Montreux is a great home base for an extended visit to the Lake Geneva area. Stay at one of the well known hotels along the Promenade, such as Grand Hotel Suisse Majestic directly opposite main train station in Montreux. Its balconies overlook Lake Geneva and the French Alps. The lakefront Promenade below the hotel extends 6 miles from Vevey northwest of town to the Castle of Chillon to the southeast. You will find several other similar options too, including the Hotel Fairmont Le Montreux Palace.
Montreux Jazz Festival & Christmas Markets
Enjoy the Montreux Jazz Festival in July or the Christmas Markets here in the holiday season. The Montreux Christmas Market is well known and its claim to fame is Santa’s sleigh pulled on a guy wire over the market with a live Santa on board. Northwest along the promenade see the Jardins du Montreux Palace with its sculptures of famous jazz artists. Near the Montreux Main Station, see the Freddie Mercury statue and the nearby free Queen Studio Experience in the Casino Barrière Montreux where the band used to record their music. Take a short train or boat ride to the Chateau de Chillon which sits in the waters of Lake Geneva or walk 40 minutes one way southeast along the Promenade to reach the castle.
Montreux Cog Train to Rochers de Naye
Take the one hour cogwheel train ride from Montreux Main Station to Rochers-de-Naye. Pass the Caux Palace conference center on the way up. Enjoy the views of the Alps and Lake Geneva from the top. Visit the La Rambertia” alpine garden at the top. Your train ride is covered by the Lake Geneva-Alps Regional Pass. You can also take a short train or boat ride to Territet and then ride the funicular up to Glion, where you can intercept the Rochers de Naye cog train.
Geneva Water Fountain Jet
Other Things to do in Montreux
- Train or cruise to Vevey between Montreux and Lausanne. Then visit the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, ride the Funicular to Mont Pèlerin or the Star Train to Les Pléiades.
- Train from the Montreux Main Station to Les Avants and then ride the funicular to Sonloup.
- Take a day trip to Champery and ride the gondolas there.
- Take the GoldenPass rail trip from Montreux to Gstaad or Zweisimmen, which is covered on the Lake Geneva-Alps Regional Pass. You can also continue from on the GoldenPass route to Spiez, Interlaken and Lucerne.
Glacier 3000 Day Trip from Montreux
Take a circle tour from Montreux by starting with a train ride to Les Diablerets & then the #180 bus to Col-du-Pillon. This part of the journey should take about 1.5 hours. Then ride the gondola up to the Glacier 3000 Peak Walk. Afterward take bus #180 for 30 minutes to Gstaad where you can wander the luxury shops of this high end village. Finish off your day with a ride on the Golden Pass line for 1.75 hours back to Montreux.
Swiss Vapeur Parc from Montreux
Take a cruise from Montreux to Bouveret for 45 minutes each way. At Bouveret it’s a short walk to the Swiss Vapeur Parc. This is a miniature steam train park with lots of different trains and multiple circuits to enjoy. The Swiss Vapeur Parc is fun for all ages!
Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, Swiss Family Fun
Lake Geneva – Lavaux Vineyard Terraces
The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces are an UNESCO World Heritage Site hugging the shores of Lake Geneva between Lausanne to Montreux. Some of the most popular spots to start a tour of the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces are St-Staphorin, Chexbres, Chardonne, Rivaz, Vevey, Corseau, Epesse or Lutry. At these small villages you can enjoy searching out the paved walkways through the vineyard terraces.
Here’s one possible self guided tour: Take an S7 train on a 10 minute ride from Vevey to Chexbres. Have lunch at Le Deck. Then walk down through the vineyards for just over half an hour to reach Rivaz or St-Saphorin for a self-guided tour of one of these quaint villages too. At Rivaz you can catch a boat or a train back to Vevey. From St-Saphorin you can also catch the train back to Vevey.
If you aren’t up to the adventure of finding your way along the many terrace walkways, take the Lavaux Panoramic and ride along the pathways with an organized tour.
Montreux Day Trip to Gruyeres
Take a day trip to Gruyeres on a two hour train ride from Montreux. Beside the train station, visit the La Maison du Gruyère cheese factory. Learn how their world famous cheese is made and have a cheese fondue. Next take the 20 hike up to the town operated Gruyeres Castle. The tiny hill top village has one main pedestrian walk way with the castle at the far end. Walk along the ramparts that once protected the town. Also hike the Les Grands Chemins trail around the outside of the village. In front of the Gruyeres Castle, visit the HR Giger Museum or its adjoining bar to see alien sculptures by the artist who won an Academy Award for the movie Alien. Don’t bring the kids to see the aliens due to sexual content. Unexpectedly, Gruyeres has a very nice Tibet Museum in front of the Castle too.
If you still have energy left, take a 15 minute bus ride south from Gruyeres to Moléson-sur-Gruyeres to catch the funicular to Plan-Francey. Then take the cable car up to Le Moléson. Alternately take a 15 minute bus ride north to Broc and visit the chocolate factory at Maison Calliar. The train and bus rides are all covered by a Lake Geneva-Alps Regional Pass. You can also book a 7 hour tour from Montreux to the cheese and chocolate factories.
Lake Geneva – Lausanne
Lausanne is located by boat or rail in between Geneva and Montreux on Lake Geneva. The city is the capital of the Canton of Vaud. Near the boat dock along the promenade, see the famous Château d’Ouchy, the Olympic Park, the Olympic Museum and Denantou Park with its Pavillon Thaïlandais and Haldimand Tower ruins. Finish off your Lausanne lakefront visit with a stroll on the promenade or a lake cruise.
Continue your visit to Lausanne by walking north from the train station to the the Saint-Francois Church. Then walk west past the Palace of Justice and the Casino de Montbenon across the street. Next head up to the Tour de l’Ale medieval tower. Now cross back to Palace de la Palud square and walk up the covered Escalier de Marche staircase to reach the impressive Cathedral of Lausanne. It’s a short walk from there to visit the museums in the Palais de Rumine and the Chateaux Saint-Marie government building. You can also add on a half hour walk from the Cathedral of Lausanne to reach the Sauvabelin spiral tower, which is free to climb.
Grandes Jorasses, Chamonix-Mont Blanc Massif
Day Trip to Chamonix from Montreux
Take a two hour one way day trip to Chamonix from Montreux. Swiss Rail only covers trains as far as Vallorcine, France but you can buy Mont Blanc Unlimited Pass, which includes rail from Vallorcine to Chamonix as well as most of the gondola rides on your day trip. From Chamonix, first take the two gondolas up to the Aiguille du Midi which takes 20 minutes. From there you can add on the Panoramic Mont-Blanc gondola to Helbronner Point, but it isn’t included in the Mont Blanc Unlimited Pass. The Panoramic Mont-Blanc runs 3 gondolas in tandem with each cabin holding 4 people. You can’t pre-book tickets for this add on, but it’s well worth the additional cost. Buy the tickets in Chamonix or at the Aiguille du Midi.
At Helbronner Point you can have lunch and then descend the new Skyway Monte Bianco to Italy. Your Mont Blanc Unlimited Pass covers the Skyway Monte Bianco gondolas as long as you have at least a 2 day pass. This makes the 2 day pass worthwhile even though you are only using it for one day on a day trip to Chamonix from Montreux. Plan your return by gondola to Chamonix carefully. You must leave Italy by 15:00, Helbronner Point by 15:30 and the Aiguille du Midi by 17:30. You can also opt for a one way route by taking a 40 minute bus trip back from Italy to Chamonix.
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