← Lausanne Marathon·2 nights

Vevey and Montreux: The Riviera in Late October

Two nights on the Vaud Riviera, with a flat shoreline path between Vevey and Montreux, a castle on the water and a games museum, all by train from Lausanne.

Duration2 nights
TransitSBB train east along the lake, around 20 minutes from Lausanne
DepartsLausanne station

After the Lausanne Marathon: Vevey and Montreux

The Route: Lausanne → Vevey → Montreux → Geneva Airport Logistics: SBB trains east along the lake, a few minutes between each stop, then a train back through Lausanne to Geneva Airport. Marathon Month: October Duration: 2 nights

Lausanne ──(~20 mins train)──> Vevey ──(~8 mins train)──> Montreux
                                                              │
Geneva Airport (GVA) ◄──(~1h15 via Lausanne, SBB)─────────────┘

The Lausanne Marathon turns around at Corseaux, on the edge of Vevey, so the two towns are the next two bays of the shore the runners have just covered. You can reach both without a car. The trains from Lausanne to Vevey run several times an hour. Check journey times and fares at sbb.ch.

October in Vevey and Montreux: the summer crowds have gone and the lake promenades are quiet. Mornings are cool, and the afternoons are often bright. The Alps across the water usually have fresh snow on the summits by late October, and the plane trees along the quay are turning. Some seasonal attractions on the hills above the shore close in autumn, so check opening dates before building a day around them. Montreux's famous music festivals are summer events.

Night One: Vevey

Vevey is a working town with a lakefront that rewards a slow walk. The recovery asset is the quay: a level, paved promenade runs along the water with benches at regular intervals, and a giant steel fork stands in the lake just offshore, planted in 1995 outside the Alimentarium food museum. The Place du Marché behind it is where the weekly market sets up, so check the days if breakfast on a market morning appeals.

Charlie Chaplin lived above Vevey at the Manoir de Ban from 1953 until his death in 1977, and Chaplin's World occupies the estate at Corsier-sur-Vevey. Check opening hours and prices at chaplinsworld.com, and book if you want a particular slot. The Musée Jenisch holds the town's art collection, and the Château de La Tour-de-Peilz, a short way east, houses the Swiss Museum of Games. Check each venue's autumn hours before you go.

The Grand Hôtel du Lac stands on the waterfront, and the Hôtel des Trois Couronnes is along the quay. Check rates and cancellation terms directly. For dinner, ask for perch fillets, the lake's signature fish, or a cheese fondue.

Night Two: Montreux

The train takes about eight minutes. The Montreux lakefront is longer and more formal than Vevey's, with flower beds and a bronze statue of Freddie Mercury, unveiled in 1996. A flat walk of about 3 kilometres follows the shore from Montreux to Chillon Castle, a medieval fortress of the Counts of Savoy on a rock a few metres from the bank. Lord Byron visited in 1816 and wrote The Prisoner of Chillon about François Bonivard, held in its dungeons. Inside there are stairs and uneven stone floors, so take them slowly. Check chillon.ch for autumn hours and prices.

The Fairmont Le Montreux Palace is a grand hotel on the front, and the Eden Palace au Lac is close by. Compare current rates. For dinner, look for a lakeside table and ask what is in season.

Getting to Geneva Airport (GVA)

Trains from Montreux to Geneva Airport usually change at Lausanne and take about an hour and a quarter. Buy a through ticket to Genève-Aéroport, and check the timetable at sbb.ch the day before. The airport station sits beneath the terminal.