[Anonymous]

13 April 2020 at 20:25:16 #825505

As I continue to plan my now postponed trip to Switzerland (even though I am unsure of when we will be able to go) I would like some advice on a day trip from Lausanne to Montreux.

We (my husband and I) plan to stay in Lausanne and travel to Montreux for a day. Are we best to travel by boat or train?

When we are there we would like some time to look around Montreux, visit Chateau de Chillon, visit the Queen museum and take the cogwheel train up to Rochers De Naye. Is this possible in one day or would it be too rushed?

Thanks very much for your help. I really appreciate everyone’s assistance in planning my holiday, especially at this very difficult time.

Stay safe.

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[User]

Reply 1 of 5 • 14 April 2020 at 5:18:30 #932087

Hello Marggy,

Nice to hear, you’re still planning you now postponed trip, makes it more bearable, I assume, being able to plan, dream, etc.

As for your planned day trip to Montreux from Lausanne, I recommend using the timetable for detailed planning, e.g. you will see that by train the journey takes around 20-25 minutes, whereas the boat trip takes nearly 1.5 hours (the boat doesn’t go directly).
– http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable

This will also allow to plan your day, as it’s very individual what’s a too long day and what’s do-able.

Find input on attractions in Montreux in below link:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/montreux/activities

Best and get back to su anytime for further questions.
Steph

[User]

Reply 2 of 5 • 14 April 2020 at 19:10:59 #932088

Hi Marggy –

<<“When we are there we would like some time to look around Montreux, visit Chateau de Chillon, visit the Queen museum and take the cogwheel train up to Rochers De Naye. Is this possible in one day or would it be too rushed?”>>

Steph put it simply –

<<“as it’s very individual what’s a too long day and what’s do-able.”>>

There are a lot of things that we don’t know about you, that make it difficult to offer clear advice. I’ll illustrate by how I would plan it for myself. If I were planning that for myself, I’d decide

1.- what time in the morning I want to catch a train (for speed, vs. slower and less frequent, but more scenic boat). We don’t know your tolerance for early rising, and how much time (if any) you’d want to spend at breakfast.

2.-As noted by Steph, I’d look at the timetable, and see what train time makes sense based on #1.

On any day, in the morning, for example, there are 4 trains per hour from Lausanne to Montreux, taking from 19 minutes to 29 minutes…longer times are on an “S-Bahn” which is a local and make a lot of stops.

3.- It will take several minutes to ride or walk to Chillon from the main station. I’d check the timetable, which also lists boats. I’d think about starting or ending the day there, so as to avoid delays for changing a train along the way.

4. – I’d thoroughly and carefully study the complete link for Montreux

http://www.myswissalps.com/montreux

which includes the one for activities given by Steph.

It gives details of Chillon and Rochers-de-Naye

For example, it says, about Chillon:

<<“No special preparations are needed for a visit to the castle. As most of your exploration will be indoor, clear weather isn’t required. There’s a lot to explore, so a visit will easily take half a day or even, if you take your time and plan some breaks, a whole day. A quicker exploration can be done within 1,5 to 2 hours.”>>

For Rochers-de-Naye –

<<“The excursion takes at least 3 hours from Montreux.”>>

I don’t know how long the Queen Museum would take. I’d do my best to learn how big it is.

Note that Montreux is located on the side of a mountain. It is all up and down. From the lake level of 374 meters elevation, to an upper part of town at Sonzier, at 654 meters, is a rise of 280 meters in about one and 1/3 km. of horizontal distance. Looking around can be an athletic event, or the use of public transport:

map.search.ch/?pos=559885,142422&z=512&poi=bergbahn,haltestelle,zug

5.- In order to put that together, and estimate a time, we’d have to add up those times, make a judgement how athletic you are and what you mean by <<“some time to look around Montreux”>> with consideration for your proclivity for walking or riding.

I, at least, do not know the answers to how much time you would actually choose to spend at the locations noted.

Nor, do we know if you wish to be back at Lausanne for dinner…are you on a half-board plan?

6.- I’d determine my return time. What is your last possible return time, based on your personal estimate of how much you can pack into a day and still enjoy it?

<<“or would it be too rushed”>>

Too rushed? Or, what other alternative? Not rushed enough? We have posters on this forum who want to pack as much as possible into a day, perhaps so they can say they have been to those places. We have travelers who want every day to be unhurried, with plenty of time to look , take photographs, thoroughly examine all that is available…..

We don’t know which kind of traveler you are. 😉

Here’s what I’d do.

First, my observation based on things that I can determine. If I collect the information that is available as noted above, without knowledge of your preferences and “style,” it is my opinion that it will be a full day, and could be stretched to a day and half or two, depending on your choices.

So, what I’d recommend is that you look at a map of Montreux ( remembering that it is hilly), rank the events in terms of your priorities, put them on the map to guide your time estimates, check transport times, and draw your own conclusions. You can always drop an item off the end of your ranked list.

Slowpoke

[User]

Reply 3 of 5 • 15 April 2020 at 0:37:28 #932089

Unless you are of restricted mobility, I can’t see a problem fitting all that in on one day, distances are not great. Lausanne to Veytaux Chillon (via Territet, see below) station is exactly 30 minutes on the local S3 train. Rochers de Naye train takes just under 1 hour each way from Montreux main station.

Chillon is also served by the VMCV trolleybus (one of the last survivors of numerous interurban Swiss trolleybus routes that replaced some tramways in the 1940s and 50s). VMCV trolleybus ‘does what it says on the tin’ (because VMCV stands for Vevey Montreux Chillon Villeneuve).

I recommend the following circuit: Lausanne – Montreux (fast train, 20 mins journey – runs every 20 – 30 mins). Montreux – Rochers de Naye. Rochers de Naye – Glion. Glion – Territet (funicular, very historic). Territet – Veytaux Chillon (S3 local train or VMCV). Chillon – Montreux. Montreux – Lausanne

[Victoria]

Reply 4 of 5 • 15 April 2020 at 3:18:23 #932090

1960man has mapped out a good plan. The walk along the waterfront from Territet to the Chateau is very pleasant alternative to a train/bus/trolley-bus. Takes maybe around 25 minutes.

The Queen Studio Experience (http://www.mercuryphoenixtrust.com/studioexperience/) is not that easy to find. It is inside the Casino. Go in the entrance off Rue de Théâtre not the waterfront entrance. It is quite small, maybe about the size of a modest 3-bedroom apartment, but I’d allow at least an hour to have a decent look at all the exhibits. You could actually spend 2 hours just watching the documentary video (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1977894/) but if you are a devoted fan you may have already seen that.

You may want to think about an evening boat trip back to Lausanne. You could no doubt find a dinner cruise if you are there at the right time of year.

[User]

Reply 5 of 5 • 16 April 2020 at 19:23:12 #932091

Thank you all very much for such great information. The links are also very useful. After reading this I am confident that we can fit it into a full day. We are in our 60’s and of average fitness. We tend to leave our hotel at around 9 and whilst we don’t rush (preferring to soak in the atmosphere rather than just tick off a list) we do seem to pack a lot into our days. We generally do not take breaks, e.g. lunch, preferring to spend the time sightseeing.

Thanks again for your help and keep safe. Hopefully it won’t be long before we can all start travelling again.