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One-month trip with mostly-fixed home base in Bourg-en-Lavaux

Posted by (Seattle, WA) on

I'm house-swapping for the month of September with someone who has an apartment in Bourg-en-Lavaux (on Lake Geneva between Lausanne and Montreux). It will be ~2ish weeks of vacation followed by ~2ish weeks of working remotely.

Looking for advice on how you would structure a trip like this - I'd like to minimize additional lodging costs, since we have a free place to stay (and Switzerland is $$$) - where is worth doing an overnight to vs. daytripping? We're planning to have car access for the whole month, as well as probably the 15-day Swiss Rail Pass for the 2-week vacation portion.

Priorities:

  • Hiking (definitely want to do at least one multiday with an overnight in one of the mountain huts)
  • Beautiful views
  • Seeing one of the Desalpe / Alpabzug festivals
  • Scenic train rides
Posted by
6910 posts

What an amazing place to have a 'free' house! The Lavaux area is truly stunning, one of my favorite landscapes anywhere.
It is also quite well positioned for day trips, as you will have quick access both to the Geneva-Valais railway and the Lausanne-Bern railway.
So, you can conceivably plan day trips as far afield as Luzern, Chamonix, Zermatt, Glacier 3000, Bettmeralp, Geneva...
And do fully explore the lake Geneva area, especially between Lausanne and Montreux: Chillon Castle, Vevey, Rochers de Naye...

One area that would deserve an overnight stay (or longer) is the Berner Oberland: the area above Interlaken is a bit far for a day trip, and you should take the scenic Golden Pass railway there or back.
Eastern Switzerland (Appenzell) and Graubünden are just too far.

EDIT: I see that you'd have a car? Then you absolutely can head to the Berner Oberland for the day, it is just over 2 hours away. Chamonix would also be more convenient with a car, and Annecy becomes a possibility.

For multiday hikes, no idea, sorry.

Posted by
27156 posts

You'll be just east of Lausanne and not all that far from the French border. I'd consider trips to places like Lyon and Dijon/Beaune where you'd be able to spend less on lodging and food. From a quick look it appears those cities would both be 2 to 3 hours away by either car or train. I assume there are also some lovely smaller French cities in that area, possibly faster to reach from where you'll be.

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