We are thinking of a few days in Murten with the idea being to enjoy the old part of Murten, the take some boat trips on the lake, and visiting some wineries nearby. One thought is boat across the lake to Vully to rent a bike and visit wineries before returning the bikes and taking the boat back (is train back an option?) Have any of you good people done all are part of this? Any advice, suggestions? Thanks!
Posted by
Paris
7767 posts
Murten/Morat is very cute but very small. The old town = 3 streets. I typically see this more as a half-day trip from Bern.
But the region is very pretty and has quite a bit to offer.
The vineyards across the small lake are beautiful indeed (I'd rent the bike in Morat as there's no real town where you could do so across the lake and I'm pretty sure the boats take them - for a fee) - with a train station in Sugiez to avoid riding all the way around.
There's Roman stuff in Avenches, with a museum (never been), and the old town there is pretty as well (a hair larger than Morat).
I don't care much for Fribourg (Bern is nicer IMO), but it's on the way to Gruyères and Broc (with the chocolate factory!).
And you could certainly take the boat (slow, not sure it runs all the time) or the train to Neuchâtel, which is worth a visit - cute hillside old town with an old castle.
Posted by
Switzerland
390 posts
Having just moved to a town near Murten last fall, I am slowly exploring the area with my e-bike - have cycled Mt Vully a few times now. It was stunning in the fall with all the vineyards a golden yellow. It looked pretty much like this image on the Switzerland tourism website:
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/experiences/mont-vully/
There is also a viewpoint from which you get quite a spectacular panorama of the alps when the weather is clear.
Cycling routes can be found on Switzerland Mobility. https://schweizmobil.ch/en/summer, you will see that there are a plethora of options in the Murten region.
I agree, renting a bike in Murten (check out Rent A Bike) makes the most sense. You can easily take bikes on the train (train floor is level with platform, easy to get on and space for bikes). Train to Sugiez is only about 5 minutes. You can also cycle Murten - Sugiez along a dirt/gravel path through the woods, so no traffic to deal with (roughly 3km).
That dirt path is part of the larger circular route around Lake Murten found here: https://schweizmobil.ch/en/cycling-in-switzerland/route-480 I did this last fall and it was very nice. It just depends on what kind of a ride you are looking for.
You can also cycle to Avanches, or take the train. I went to the museum there last year, it was free and quite interesting.
If you enjoy cycling, then I would say that this is a fantastic area for it! There are a lot of really cute little towns as well as the three lakes and many of the cycling paths I have tried out so far go through the farmland and are thus without traffic (other than the odd tractor). You will see that a lot of them double as rollerblading routes as quite a few of these farm roads have paved surfaces.
There is also lots to see by train, and vineyards on the other two lakes in the region as well.
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/experiences/summer-autumn/oenotourism/wine-region-three-lakes/
I am happy to answer any other questions you might have, my knowledge of the area is slowly growing, especially now that the spring weather has arrived!