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[Anna]

7 December 2019 at 7:22:29 #925924

I agree, Lausanne is hilly! Still prefer Lausanne to Geneva. Can’t wait to visit again when the weather warms up.

Thanks for all the write-ups. Keep them coming..

Regards,

Anna

[rockoyster]

11 December 2019 at 9:32:24 #925925

Neuchâtel report now up at http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/a-week-almost-in-neuchtel-october-2019.

[Removed user]

11 December 2019 at 16:00:56 #925926

Haha, yes, Lausanne is truly hilly. There is 500 m difference in altitude between the lowest (at the lake) and the highest part (Chalet-à-Gobet) of the city. But if you live here you get to know the tips and tricks on how to make it easier; there are several elevators and escalators within the city. 🙂

Also the smallest city in the world with a metro system!

Have you seen the Olympic Museum? It is amazing!

[rockoyster]

11 December 2019 at 19:16:55 #925927

Hi Ildiko,

We did ride the metro but we didn’t make it to the Olympic Museum. Maybe next time. 😉

[Peterli]

14 February 2020 at 3:53:40 #925928

Hello again,

I just finished reading through all of this thread. Looks like you took a photo of my dark grey Maserati (second row in your second post of December 7). Kidding aside, your photos are great, even the ones you got the day you didn’t bring along your regular camera. I hope many people have seen this thread and also the Neuchâtel one, as I am sure it will make prospective visitors want to come to see these parts of Switzerland.

[rockoyster]

14 February 2020 at 4:10:45 #925929

Thanks Perterli. I have been trying to refer to (and link to) my trip reports wherever relevant. Not many people ask about Neuchâtel which is a great shame.

ps It’s a Ferrari! 😉

[Removed user]

27 February 2020 at 4:12:58 #925930

Hi rockoyster would you recommend Montreux or Lausanne for a 4 day stopover to see Gruyere and Geneva and Mont Blanc? Thanks

[rockoyster]

27 February 2020 at 4:54:14 #925931

Well all I can say is that I really loved the waterfront location of Montreux. Lausanne not so much. Just felt too busy and hilly for my taste. I’ve sure it will appeal to many with different tastes. I’ve never been to Geneva.

[Removed user]

27 February 2020 at 6:38:37 #925932

Hi Paymac99,

you can read about Lausanne at http://www.myswissalps.com/Lausanne and Montreux at http://www.myswissalps.com/montreux and Geneva at http://www.myswissalps.com/geneva.

As a tourist I enjoyed Montreux the most, I think you need a bit more time in Lausanne to get to know the city and enjoy it. It has many lovely spots but not in one place. I did not enjoy Geneva as a tourist, I found it too big 🙂 I prefer smaller places with more charm. But as Rockoyster mentioned, tastes are different. 🙂

Ildiko

[Removed user]

27 February 2020 at 8:20:14 #925933

thank you all for your input, we have got a decision to make as we enjoyed Porto with it’s elevated old town. We are spending 4 days in Interlaken and this will be the next 4 days before we head to Zermatt and Chur and I’m really grateful for all your great tips.

cheers

[Peterli]

27 February 2020 at 23:50:30 #925934

Hello,

I’ve watched this thread for a bit and finally decided to jump in.

You asked Rockoyster whether he recommends “Montreux or Lausanne for a 4 day stopover to see Gruyere and Geneva and Mont Blanc”. I’ll start by asking what you have in mind when you say you’d like to “see” Mont Blanc ? On a clear day, you can see see it from quite a few places in western Switzerland, obviously at varying distances. Do you want to travel to the mountain itself so it is right “in your face” or are you content to view it from a distance ? If you are only stopping for 4 days, a trip to Mont Blanc will take up all of one of your days.

My preference of Lausanne or Montreux would be the latter, not only because of its location but also because of its relatively small population. You’ll find there are about 26 thousand people there (population density of just under 800/square kilometre), compared with Lausanne’s 140 thousand inhabitants (and a density of about 3400/square kilometre). Tourists will be much more visible in Montreux. I’d say that Lausanne is much more of a “normal” city, if you get what I mean. Genève has the second largest population in all of Switzerland, with about a half million inhabitants and over 60% of the population of the canton consists of foreigners or naturalized foreigners. So I’d choose Montreux if I were you and keep in mind that trains are running all the time between Montreux and Lausanne, and beyond to Genève. And it is easier to get to Gruyères from Montreux. If you were going to be looking at which place would be better for a much longer time, say a month or more, I would then say Lausanne.

A last thought, isn’t Genève a much nicer sounding name than Genf ?