We are planning to take a day trip to Chateau de Chillon from Lausanne. What is the exact name of the train station at Chillion closest to the castle? Is it better to travel on the train or take a boat ride ? Our schedule is flexible. We plan to stay in Lausanne and take a day trip to Chillon and another day trip to Montreaux . (Is "Montreaux "the name of the train station?) Should we allow a full day at each place?
Thank you for recommendations.
Doreen
You can take a train to Montreux and then do the pleasant walk to Chillon or take a bus. I don't recall if there is a boat service directly to Chillon, but you could definitely take one to Montreux instead of a train. GoogleMaps it and you can see for yourself.
I think I would do both Montreux and Chillon in one day trip rather than 2 separate days. The Chateau de Chillon is only a 10 minute walk or about a $20 taxi from Montreux and should take about 2 hours to tour the castle. Then you could spend the rest of the time in Montreux. It's only about a 20 minute train ride between Montreux and Lausanne or a 1-1/2 hour boat ride. Take the train one way and boat the other.
Nancy beat me to it. You can combine Chateau de Chillon and Montreux in one day - that's what I did. Note that if you're looking at online schedules, there's no "a" in Montreux.
If you have Rick Steves Switzerland, he has all the options for getting from Lausanne to Chateau de Chillon. Basically, you can take a train to Montreux then a bus or long walk; a train to Veytaux-Chillon then a short walk; or a boat from Montreux or Lausanne.
If I remember correctly we took a very short boat ride (covered by Swiss Pass) from Montreux to the castle...very pleasant.
Doreen,
My suggestion would be to travel in one direction by boat, as it provides a beautiful look at the picturesque towns and vineyards from the water, and make the return trip by train. The Belle Epoque steam paddlewheeler La Suisse is an elegant way to make that trip, and you'll be dropped at a dock right next to the Chateau. Depending on where you're staying in Lausanne, you'll need to get to Ouchy using the Metro (Funicular) and the waterfront to connect with the boats. From the Metro station, cross the street and head towards the boats and you'll find the ticket office. If you anticipate being at the Chateau over lunch time, you might want to pack a lunch as there are no food services at the Chateau except for some vending machines. The food services on the boat are limited to a small cafeteria at the front with packaged sandwiches and that sort of thing, and an elegant dining room at the back which is dreadfully expensive.
If you want to carry on to Montreux after your tour of the Chateau, walk about 200 meters to the Bus station at Veytaux, château de Chillon for the short ride to Montreux. When you've finished with your visit there, take the train back to Lausanne (only about a 25 minute ride).
We went by train from Lausanne to Montreaux, walked down the hill to the waterfront, looked around the pretty promenade, saw the Freddie Mercury statue and visited a little farmer's market. (That's about it for Montreaux!) Then we took a beautiful 2 mile level walk along the lake to Château de Chillon. It was a delightful day!
As noted there's not a whole lot to see in Montreux, if you're staying at a local hotel they give you a bus pass so we just hopped on the first bus we saw heading towards the castle and got off when we saw it. The train station, whose name I do not know, is right there too. You could ask the conductor or just look out the window until you see the castle (trust me, you won't miss it). Plan for several hours at the castle, there's a ton of walking and climbing. And as also noted, there are plenty of souvenir opportunities but nowhere to eat.
From Lausanne, I recommend taking the train to the Historic Lavaux Vineyards (10 min away)
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1243, which is on the way to Montreux and Chateau Chillon. The walk is beautiful, views breathtaking. You can walk to Vevey, (about seven miles), or shorten the vineyard walk by catching the train at one of the towns along the way and continue to Montreux. Exit the train in Montreux and walk directly down the stairs to Montreux city center. Lake Geneva will be directly in front of you. Take a left and walk 20 minutes along the beautiful waterfront directly to Chateau Chillon. At Chateau Chillon, the train is there to return you to Lausanne, but I recommend taking the boat back to Lausanne as it's a beautiful and relaxing journey. Montreux offers many options for dining. You can do all of the above in one full day.
