Route 1: Section 6 – cycling the Lavaux, Montreux to Morges, Switzerland

Highlights: Lausanne, Lavaux vineyards & villages, Vevey, Montreux

Route 1-Section 6 (Montreux 390m-Morges 374m)

Stats from SwitzerlandMobility.ch: 42 km (1 km unpaved). Height difference is Mon-Mor: 400m, Mor-Mon: 400m. Their site has the full profile.

Although depart and finish points are at similar altitudes, there are some steep climbs in the 10km traversing the Lavaux region.

Overview: This section has many places to visit along Lac Leman. One could break-up the trip and spend a night in Lausanne and another in Vevey, and take the opportunity to explore several landmarks. This section is also shared with other national bike routes: #5-s7 (between St Sulpice & Lausanne), #99-s1 (between Lausanne & Chexbres), and #9-s1 (between Corsier & Montreux), so there is a chance that one passes again through these places while touring the region. The only unpleasant feature of this trip is the traffic. Leaving Morges, one continues on the busy road to Lausanne and beyond, until Lutry. In Lutry, the trail detours into the Lavaux vineyards with spectacular views of Lac Leman and the Alps, in a serene and peaceful environment. From Vevey, one is once again on the busy road until Montreux.

February 2017: doable in 1 day, but I completed it in multiple steps through the years and, therefore, my photos reflect different seasons.

Situated about 8 km after Morges is the tiny and pristine lake village of ST. SULPICE, just across from the world renowned campus of the polytechnic school EPFL.

The next stop is LAUSANNE. Here, the route coasts the lake, passing by the Ouchy quarter and port and the Olympic Museum.

9336DF00-B9FB-487A-B449-3014FAD15A91 — Ouchy Port in Lausanne

Those daring to climb the steep hills of Lausanne can take a detour and visit the old part of Lausanne, especially the Cathedral, which is said to be the most beautiful Gothic cathedral in Switzerland. It was built in several steps from 1170 to 1215. Its original colorful decorations were covered during the Reformation period, but some of them have been restored in the 20th century.

After Lausanne, the busy road continues, without interruption, through the lake towns of Pully and Lutry. Here, I enjoyed detouring into the “bourg” of old LUTRY, with its tiny shops and restaurants. It is a perfect place for a snack stop or a drink in one of the cafes along the lake. But don’t fill up your stomach just yet because the hard part of the tour is about to start. In fact, just after exiting Lutry, the route begins its climb into the LAVAUX vineyard terraces for a few kilometers. These terraces are also very popular walking trails during the weekends. I bet that that anybody biking this area will stop at least once to admire one of the most beautiful scenery, constantly changing according to the weather and seasons. The LAVAUX is part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites and some of its vineyards were planted by monks in the 12th century. This part is also dotted with tiny wine-growing medieval villages where one can taste the local wine in the many “cellars”, open usually on weekends (evenings). The villages spring into full action during the autumn grape-harvest. There are only a couple of them not crossed by the bike route but worth seeing: Cully and St-Saphorin (with its 16th century church)

C3F15CE7-7818-48D8-9DA1-62A3BC281A36 — LAVAUX

Towards the end of the Lavaux is Corsier-sur-Vevey, site of the beautiful Charlie Chaplin’s museum. (but it is not on the route).

Once passed the vineyards, the route continues up high through two tiny medieval villages (Corseaux and Corsier-sur-Vevey), before descending again to the lake, directly into Vevey’s market square. Corsier-sur-Vevey boosts Charlie Chaplin as one of his former famous resident, and it is now home to an incredible interactive museum dedicated to the actor ( https://www.chaplinsworld.com/en ).

In Vevey I spent some time strolling along the shore and through the old town. Vevey has a city flavor but it is also very pretty. An interesting museum, especially since Nestle’s headquarter is here, is the “Alimentarium”, which is an interactive museum about food (but I did not have time to visit it).

07B04A58-49F5-4D6F-9B94-8066BAC4344A — Vevey

After Vevey the Route goes again into the busy lake road. At this point, I just quickly biked the few kilometers to Montreux, where I took my return train.

I think MONTREUX is not as nice as the other lake towns. Sure, it is world-renowned, it has a beautiful shore footpath and panorama, expensive stores, restaurants and hotels; but the architecture is nothing special and the places are all quite crowded. However, since it is a popular destination, it has great train connections.