← Lausanne Marathon·1 night

Évian-les-Bains: A Lake Crossing to France

One night across the lake in a French spa town, reached by boat from Ouchy, with a flat waterfront and a return crossing the next day.

Duration1 night
TransitCGN lake boat, around 40 minutes from Ouchy
DepartsLausanne-Ouchy boat landing

After the Lausanne Marathon: Évian-les-Bains

The Route: Lausanne-Ouchy → Évian-les-Bains → Lausanne Logistics: A CGN lake boat across to France, then the same crossing back. Check the autumn timetable before you commit. Marathon Month: October Duration: 1 night

Lausanne-Ouchy ──(~40 mins CGN boat)──> Évian-les-Bains
                                              │
Lausanne-Ouchy ◄──(~40 mins CGN boat)─────────┘

The Lausanne Marathon finishes at Bellerive-Plage, a few hundred metres from the Ouchy landing stage, and from there the French shore is a boat ride away. The CGN, the lake's shipping company, runs the N1 line between Lausanne and Évian. Some of its boats are Belle Époque paddle steamers, which makes the crossing more than a transfer. The crossing takes roughly 40 minutes, though the exact time depends on the vessel and the day's route.

October in Évian: the summer timetable has ended by late October and boats run less often, so the sailing you want may not exist on a Monday. Check the current autumn schedule at cgn.ch and look at the first and last sailings on your dates before you book a hotel. The air is cooler and the promenade is quiet. This is France, so bring euros, a passport or ID card, and expect the border formalities to be light on a lake crossing but not absent.

Night One: Évian

Évian grew as a spa town in the nineteenth century, when the local spring water was bottled and sold. The water is still the town's main export, and it flows from public fountains in the streets. The Source Cachat, a fountain on the edge of the old centre, is where visitors fill their bottles for free. The waterfront promenade is flat, paved and lined with benches, and it connects the landing stage with the town's park and the Palais Lumière, a former thermal-baths building now used for exhibitions. Check opening hours and ticket prices on the venue's own site before you plan the afternoon.

The old town sits just above the lake, up a modest slope. The streets are short and the hill is gentle, but the climb comes after a boat ride on legs that are still sore. A slow loop of an hour covers it.

The Évian Resort runs a pair of large hotels on the hillside above the town, including the Hôtel Royal, and there are smaller hotels closer to the water. Check availability and prices directly, and ask about breakfast time. For dinner, ask for lake fish such as perch (filets de perche) or the Savoyard dishes, raclette and tartiflette, that appear on most autumn menus.

Getting Home

Take the morning boat back to Ouchy if the timetable allows, and connect to Lausanne station by the m2 metro. For Geneva Airport (GVA), take a train from Lausanne station, which has direct services. Check the timetable at sbb.ch and leave margin: the boat is the only fixed point in the day, and a missed sailing can cost you a connection.