Our river cruise trip ends in Basal and we plan to pass through Switzerland on our way to France. Asking for recommendations on ways to spend 2 days in the western part of Switzerland. Perhaps 2 days in Lausanne or in that general vicinity (heading in that direction). Gruyères? General sightseeing, walking or simple hiking, or a boat ride on a lake is what we are interested in doing before taking the train to the Loire Valley.
Posted by
Minnesota
5 posts
We are also ending a river cruise in Basel (September ‘23)- considering spending a few days in Murren before heading home. Visited there a number of years ago on A Family Europe trip, it was stunning and am looking forward to returning.
Posted by
Ohio
2123 posts
Another vote for Murren! We did the reverse and spent a week in Murren before boarding a river cruise in Basel.
Posted by
Thun, Switzerland
484 posts
Lausanne is a good choice for the western part of Switzerland. Montreux is also very beautiful. Both of these cities have wonderful boardwalks along Lake Geneva with views of the mountains, including Mont Blanc. Multiple options for boat rides here. This area is considered the Swiss Rivera and is well known for its vineyards.
Gruyères has a nice castle and also the cheese dairy that you can visit. The town itself is very small and feels like it is there for tourism. At least you definitely know that you are in Switzerland when you are there. :)
In the vicinity is the Callier chocolate factory with lots of free samples available during the tour
https://cailler.ch/en/cailler-experiences
As with all of Switzerland, both of these areas have numerous wonderful hiking opportunities. Here is a good website/app for that:
https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland.html
Posted by
OP
20 posts
Thank you for your input.