Visiting Chateau de Chillon on transfer day from Lauterbrunnen to Zermatt

Is it worth it? or like everything else, a personal choice.

That about says it. Its your vacation. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, then it doesn't cost anything except your time. Otherwise, a rather expensive detour. Never been in it, just blew by on the train. You can also get there on a lake boat from Montreux.

It’s a beautifully situated castle right on the lake, as you probably know. Very picturesque. The inside is very neat and I loved it. Only you can decide if it’s worth the time it will take out of your itinerary.

As you've realized the detour to Chillon castle would add about 3 hours of train travel to your day.

Have you considered the castles in Spiez and Thun? I've never been there but they are practically on your way.

Chillon Castle is extraordinary inside, in a medieval way, and I was amazed by it. Thun Castle doesn't compare--it's rather plain inside, except for hosting museum displays in there. And as Sam said, admission's free if you have a Swiss Travel Pass (or a Swiss Travel Flex Pass, or a museum pass). So if impressive castles are your thing, then it's worth it and memorable.

You could play it by ear -- if the weather in Lauterbrunnen is clear on your transfer day, stay longer in that area if you don't want to leave it, but if it's fogged in or rainy with no mountain view, head to Chillon Castle.

On the other hand, if it is a nice day, you could head to Montreux on the scenic route via Zweisimmen.

Good point, Sam, that Zweisimmen route is very lovely. I think northwestern mentioned in an earlier post, that her husband likes to take pictures. So the Zweisimmen route (aka Golden Pass route) would beckon with different views than they had in the heart of the Berner Oberland.

Lauterbrunnen to Montreux is under 3 hours for most connections; or 3:09 for the longer ones. So you have an hour more than you thought.

The scenic route--via Zwiesimmen (aka Golden Pass route)--is 3 hours 41 minutes. (The 3 hr route (the default) goes via Bern.)

Yes, we are taking the golden pass route for sure for photography purposes, jury is still out on the named train vs local. We will also have the swiss travel pass, did the math of most of what we will do and its over 100 franks per person cheaper so this will not cost anything but time. We will have been in Lauterbrunnen for 6 nights and the Thun castles are on our rain to do list. We eliminated Montreux from our trip and added a night to Lauterbrunnen and a night in Bologna for the Lamborghini factory tour. I am still trying to squeeze in the Chateau. If not we stretch our legs and pick up the next train to Zermatt. I just wondered if the chateau was worth it and how long it will take to get there and back from the train station.

Thank you LindaL for the comparison of the castles Chillon and Thun.

You can see the bus schedule at www. sbb.ch/en. Just put in Montreux as the start and Chateau de Chillon as the end point, and reverse on return. Buses every 10 minutes and and it is a 9 minute journey. Also shows a 5 minute walk from Montreux station to "Escaliers de la Gare" where the bus stops. I guess that means "station stairway".

In all fairness, I should add what a delight it was to attend a concert in Thun Castle once. The castle regularly hosts classical music concerts at night, inside their main hall (Knights' Hall), preceded by a cocktail hour in the museum section. You can reserve and purchase your ticket through the Thun Tourist Office (Thun-Thunersee Tourismus).
Contact info at: https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/thun.html
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