After the Geneva Marathon: Lavaux

The Route: Geneva Cornavin → Lausanne → Cully → Geneva Cornavin Logistics: SBB trains along the north shore of the lake, with a change at Lausanne on most services. No car needed. Marathon Month: May Duration: Day trip

Geneva Cornavin ──(~35-45 mins fast train)──> Lausanne ──(~10 mins regional)──> Cully
                                                                                   │
Geneva Cornavin ◄──────────────(~1 hour, change at Lausanne)───────────────────────┘

The Geneva Marathon finishes on the Pont du Mont-Blanc on a Sunday morning or early afternoon, and the first full day afterwards belongs to the north shore of the lake. Lavaux is a strip of vineyard terraces roughly 30 kilometres long between Lausanne and Chillon, inscribed by UNESCO in 2007. The terraces drop steeply to the water, and the retaining walls that hold them up were built up by monks over several centuries, starting with the Benedictines and Cistercians in the Middle Ages.

May in Lavaux: the vines are in leaf but not in fruit. Budburst comes in April, flowering follows in June, and the harvest is in autumn, so a May visit is a green one, with the grey stone walls showing between new growth. Weather is changeable: the lake can hold a low cloud all morning and clear by two. Many cellars take visitors by appointment on weekdays, and a Monday can be quiet, so book a tasting a few days ahead and confirm the opening hours directly with the producer.

Trains leave Geneva Cornavin for Lausanne several times an hour, and a regional train covers the short run on to Cully in about ten minutes. Check journey times and fares at sbb.ch, and ask there about the Swiss Half Fare Card if you plan more than one rail day. Allow about an hour each way door to door.

The Flat Option and the Steep One

Cully is the sensible stop for sore legs. The station sits just above the village, and a short, level walk leads down to the lakeside quay, a paved strip with benches facing the Savoy Alps across the water. A coffee here and a slow stroll along the water costs nothing and tests nothing.

The terraces are another matter. The Lavaux footpaths climb between walls on stone steps and narrow lanes, and the gradient is steep enough to feel in calves two days after 42 kilometres. Villages above the lake such as Epesses, Riex and Rivaz are reached by uphill lanes from the stations or the quay. If you want to see the terraces, take the shortest climb from Cully up to the first vineyard row and turn round when it hurts. Descents are harder than ascents on stone steps, so go down slowly. A booked tasting of Chasselas, the white grape that dominates the region, at a cellar in the village is a better use of the afternoon than a long ridge walk.

Getting Back

Regional trains run back to Lausanne through the afternoon and evening, with connections on to Geneva Cornavin. Check the last convenient departure at sbb.ch before you settle into a long lunch, since the evening timetable thins out. If the weather closes in, a hot meal in Cully and an early train is a perfectly decent version of the day.