Hello all,
We are booked at a (refundable) hotel in Lausanne for four nights in May. I chose Lausanne as our home base at Lake Geneva as that was what Rick Steves' book recommended. But it seems like as I scroll through posts on this forum, I keep seeing recommendations to stay in Montreux. This will be a home base, because we will be doing day trips to Gruyeres and Chateau de Chillon. But I really want to stay in a beautiful town where we can enjoy our surroundings when we're not on a day trip. Lausanne does look lovely, but the hotel I got, which WAS highly rated and in our price range (Hotel Mirabeau) will not have any beautiful views from the room, and it's by the train station, so not on the lake. (Whereas, in Montreux, I have found several hotels that have views and are in our price range.) I want to be able to stroll around town and just take in the ambience. This is a special trip as we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary. What say you?
Posted by
Bend, OR
1233 posts
We stayed in Evian last summer across the lake but Lausanne was where we took the transport to reach the train station to go to Gruyère. If you’re a chocolate lover, the Maison Cailler Chocolate House is close to Gruyère and has a wonderful tour. I would probably prefer Montreux, I thought it was a lovely town.
Posted by
El Dorado Hills, CA
73 posts
I have stayed in Lausanne, Vevey and Montreux. The last three times we have stayed in Montreux. It is a delightful and charming town. Very easy access to Gruyeres (cheese factory and walled town), Broc (chocolate factory), Lavaux area (vineyards terraced down to the lake) and Chillon Castle. The lake promenade is beautiful to take a lakefront stroll on it. If you are a Queen (the band) fan, don't miss the free Queen Studio Experience (their former Mountain Music Studio) located in the Montreux Casino.
I have stayed 3 times at the quirky Hotel Parc et Lac. We always get a room with a balcony and a view of Lake Leman. Hubby and I will get a bottle of wine, sit on our balcony and watch the sun set with the French Alps in the distance. Heaven! The Hotel Splendid also gets rave reviews, but the Hotel et Lac is a bit cheaper and fits our needs. Both are walking distance to the train station.
Posted by
Nashville, TN
739 posts
Lausanne feels like a city to me. It has a subway system & it’s very hilly, so it’s not a very walkable place. Between the two I wouldn’t hesitate, stay in Montreux with a view along the water. And I’d rethink your plan to do Gruyère and instead do some other things around the lake - the Lavaux vineyards are amazing (stone terraces built over 1000 years ago by monks that you can walk amongst with views of the lakes and mountains) with exploration in St.Saphorin ( which looks like a fake movie set village) — we walked from Chexbres to St Saphorin along the terraces, a boat ride to Yvoire, France is neat, explore places like Vevey, St-Prex, etc. And obviously definitely do Chateau de Chillon - walk the lake promenade to the castle, do the English audio tour in headphones of the castle and boat back.
Posted by
Chicago
3399 posts
I’m not a fan of Lausanne. The lakefront at Montreux is hard to beat. You can walk all the way to the castle and then take the boat back.
I’ve stayed at the grand swiss a couple of times, both with a lake view room. The breakfast is really good. Super convenient to the train station as it’s just across the street.
Posted by
Chicago
3399 posts
Another vote for St Saphorin over Gruyère.
Posted by
OP
Clarksville, TN, USA
962 posts
Montreux was the clear winner. I appreciate all your input! I was watching Jeopardy today from Tuesday, and TWO clues had Montreux in them. I thought that was also a strong sign! I have secured a very insane deal on a Jr Suite at the Grand Suisse Majestic, Carrie, through Sam's Club. So it's official.
Thanks to all the rest of you that suggested things to do while we're there. Now that I've secured lodging, I can dive in to planning our activities.
Posted by
293 posts
Another vote for the Grand Suisse Majestic. Pay more for a lake view room, we had a junior suite last October and it was beautiful.
LIke a previous poster mentioned, each evening involved a bottle of wine and a spectacular sunset.
Breakfast was excellent, and proximity to the station was perfect.
The only downside was the lack of air conditioning and those rooms get very, very hot in the afternoon with the setting sun. There was air conditioning but you couldn't control it and the hotel's view of a comfortable temperature was very different from mine.
Posted by
Chicago
3399 posts
I think you’ll really enjoy Montreux and the Grand Swiss. You’ll have all the gorgeous Spring flowers around the lake. I suggest getting out early for a nice walk to see the sunrise.
My trip reports might have some helpful info. :
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-in-switzerland-my-trip-report
My 2024 report has a link to some of my photos. They first 6 are Montreux and the next 2 are St. Saphorin.
Have a great trip!!
P.S. I don’t recall any issues with the room being too hot. I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that in May. And keeping the curtains closed during the day will help to keep the sun from heating up the room. I had to use that trick for my Lucerne hotel, which did not have AC.
Posted by
OP
Clarksville, TN, USA
962 posts
Thank you, Deb! I luckily got a refundable reservation because after I booked I realized I booked a Jr Suite but it didn't say "Lake View". So I'm going to cancel and rebook a lake view. I also read the negative reviews about the A/C not being very good and it does concern me. We like to sleep in a really cold room. But hopefully Carrie, you're right, and it will be cool enough outside anyway that we can open a window and cope. Thank you for the links and the advice about leaving curtains closed!
This sounds very spoiled, but I wasn't very excited about going to Lausanne. And now I'm SO excited for this portion of our trip. I've been watching YouTube videos and the town looks so beautiful.
Posted by
293 posts
Carrie, you are probably quite right about keeping the curtains closed.
The first day was the very worst. We didn't check in until 3pm or so, and the whole room was open and roasting and we simply could not cool it down.
The other days weren't as warm anyway, and we did leave the curtains closed. That, and the fan, worked a treat.
The second the spectacular sunset finished though, it was wonderful sitting out on the balcony.