Too much for two days in Lausanne?

This sounds doable. We did your Day 1 and that went well. Day 2 could be possible also. We just enjoyed walking around the grounds of the Olympic Museum and did not tour it. You could just do that and then travel to Gruyeres if you feel you are short on time. We liked the Port D'Ouchy area of Lausanne and the promenade by Lake Geneva as well as the Old Town area of Lausanne just to walk and enjoy.

This seems very reasonable
Day 1 - Travel to Montreux and tour Chateau de Chillon then explore the Lavaux wine region on the way back to Lausanne.

On my first day, I had to travel from Avenches by train, stop by the hotel to store luggage, then take the bus to Chillon to tour. After returning by bus, I checked in and still had lots of time to wander around the city, including walking along the path by the lake and the grounds of the Olympic museum. You should have plenty of time to tour Chillon, then explore some of the Lavaux region, especially if you get an early start.

Day 2 - Tour the Olympic Museum then travel to Gruyeres w/ dinner there then back to Lausanne.

My second day was a “take it easy” day, and I still had time to tour the Olympic Museum without rushing as well as browse through the city’s farmers’ market and walk along the lakefront. So you should have time to enjoy the museum, then enjoy an unhurried trip to Gruyeres for dinner.

All the best,

Raymond

Excellent information! Thank you both for your responses!

Hi, Claire,

Perhaps you are aware of that already, however I feel like pointing out that Charlie Chaplin's estate in Vevey is also worth visiting. In Lavaux, I'd stop at St Saphorin, one of the region's most picturesque villages. I'd call it Lavaux in a nutshell.

I'd take a bit of time to visit Lausanne's old town area too, there are some amazing stories about the catedral, one quarter that's still owned by the same private family who helped built and so on.

Please feel free to pm me any time if you need more informations. I live in Vevey and know Geneva, Lausanne, Vevey and Montreux like the back of my hand.

Have a great Swiss vacation!
Ana

Thank you, Ana, for this great information! I had read that the Chaplin estate was well worth it so we will take another look at that!

Our plan is to go to the Chateau then take the train from Montreux to St. Saphorin and explore there, likely walking to Rivaz/Vinorama and possibly continuing on to Epesses and maybe Cully depending on weather. I had wanted to then take the boat from Cully back to Lausanne but it appears that the boat no longer stops in Cully? Then dinner in Old Town.

Do you have any restaurant recommendations in the Old Town of Lausanne? There are five of us (two adults, 19yr old & two 15yr olds) and we enjoy most foods.

Thank you again for the helpful advice!

FWIW, I was highly disappointed in the wine-tasting center(Vinorama) in St. Saphorin. It was a dull walk along a busy highway to get to it (after boat arrival).
Time would be better spent elsewhere IMHO.

Thank you wynoka54, I appreciate the honest feedback!

I’m a big fan of St. Saphorin and was there a few weeks ago. I’ve been there twice on day trips from Montreux. I took the train and did not walk along any highway. I walked the charming streets and up in the vineyards. I don’t drink, so I can’t speak to any wine-tasting.

The cully boat dock is still closed due to construction.

Hi Claire,

I am happy I could have been of help. I enjoyed a lot Chaplin's World and go back there with such a pleasure every time.

St Saphorin is my absolute favourite village in Lavaux wine region, it embeds perfectly the spirit / culture / traditions/ architecture of the region. I am happy you chose it and you can easily walk to Rivaz or Epesses (2 other quaint medieval villages) if you want to explore more. If not, take the train back to Vevey and look for a CGN boat cruise that ends in Lausanne.

Or maybe plan to start from Lausanne in the morning, on a CGN boat and go to Chillon Castle. Visit the castle, take the train / bus to Vevey to visit Chaplin's World and after that take the train from Vevey to St Saphorin. When you're done there you can pop on a train back to Lausanne from any of the villages I've mentioned above.

Regarding Lausanne, I have a few places I like to eat lunch or dinner
- https://www.vieilouchy.ch/
- https://lepinocchio.ch/
- https://www.chateaudouchy.ch/en/restaurants-bars/57-grill/
- https://www.cafedugruetli.ch/
- https://www.brasseriedemontbenon.ch/

If you need anything else, send me a pm. I don't get notification for replies to my posts, but I do get email notifications about pm.

Thank you very much Carrie and Ana!

You're welcome. Enjoy your trip!