Switzerland Day 3: Interlaken/Golden Pass, Montreux (Lake Geneva)
The ride from Interlaken to Montreux is on one of Switzerland's most scenic railroad routes, serviced by the Golden Pass Express, which is “an exceptional journey from the Vaud Riviera to the majestic peaks of the Bernese Alps via the Pays-d'Enhaut.” Tips:
- These trains frequently are oversubscribed, so it is highly recommended that you reserve a seat in advance – which costs $20 per person, on top of the Swiss Travel Pass. But totally worth it.
- After substantial research, we decided to sit on the right side of the train… and regretted it. While that gives you a view of Lake Thune on your way out of Interlaken, the best views are on the other side of the train for the remaining 3 hours. So definitely reserve seats on the left side of the train (sitting facing forward).
- The train we took started at Interlaken East and stopped in Interlaken West, but check which station(s) it starts/stops at in advance.
- We couldn't find a coffee shop in/around Interlaken East station, but the Coop across the street has a restaurant with coffee (you can also pre-order and order coffee/pastries/wine/etc. on the train)
We chose to take the 9 am-ish train, which put us in Montreux around 12:30pm. We walked to the hotel (we stayed at Hotel Parc & Lac, which is right on Lake Geneva and had a balcony!), dropped our bags off, walked along the waterfront for a few minutes taking pictures, and then caught a tram to Chateau Chillon, which is also on the lake. We accidentally missed the stop (Veytaux Chillon) – which actually worked out, as we walked back towards the castle along the lake and got some good photos. The ticket to the castle is free with the Swiss Travel Pass.
.jpeg/:/rs=w:370,cg:true,m)
After a quick bit of wandering around in the castle, including climbing a lot of stairs, we then walked back towards Montreux to the Veytaux-Chillon train station (approximately 300 meters away from the castle) and caught the R3 train (hourly) to Rivaz, on the north side of the Montreux, to visit the Lavaux vineyards. There are a number of little vineyards/wineries in the region, although they tend to be closed most of the time, so check out their websites in advance! Unfortunately when we were there in early May, they were all closed, so we started off with a glass of wine at the Lavaux Vinorama – which has a good selection of local wines, but is also located right on a busy road so isn't really the best view. We then walked up a set of stairs right next to the Vinorama, past a waterfall, and through some of the vineyards, then wandered around in the area for an hour or two. While we were not successful in finding an open winery, we did find a fridge in which wine was sold (with a card reader) and so picked out a few bottles to fuel our afternoon stroll.
.jpeg/:/rs=w:370,cg:true,m)
We then headed back to Montreux on the R3, which runs hourly so look up the train times before getting too far into your exploration of the vineyards. I recommend getting off a stop early (Clarens) for a lovely walk along the lake back to the center of town.
We then headed to dinner at the Brasserie Globe (no functioning website), where we had stopped by earlier to make a reservation. Definitely a local hangout! We aren't seafood people, so the fondue looked good, and we also enjoyed the raclette. And then picked up a bottle of wine and hung out on our balcony for the rest of the evening :)
Copyright © 2024 Ted Takes Pictures - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy