Chris and I teamed up again with our lovely friends Roza and Russell for more fun and adventures on another section of the 2000 km Via Francigena aka the ‘Road to Rome’.
Beginning in Lausanne, Switzerland, this time we had taken 2 weeks off work and after completing 9 more of the official stages we ended in Chatillon, Italy.
As our return flights were from Turin, we finished the trip with two nights this elegant and historic city.
This was our itinerary:
- Stage 1: Lausanne to Vevey
- Stage 2: Vevey to Aigle
- Stage 3: Aigle to Saint-Maurice
- Stage 4: Saint-Maurice to Martigny
- Stage 5: Martigney to Orsieres
- Stage 6: Orsieres to Bourg-Saint-Pierre (split into two days)
- Stage 7: Bourg-Saint-Pierre to Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard
- Stage 8: Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard to Aosta (includes rest day in Aosta)
- Stage 9: Aosta to Chatillon
- Final 2 days in Turin
To begin our trip the 4 of us met at Luton Airport and at lunchtime, boarded the short EasyJet flight to Geneva. No time was spent in Geneva as we took the one hour train straight from the airport and directly to Lausanne city centre.
French speaking Lausanne is the prosperous 4th largest city in Switzerland. Located on the shores of Lake Geneva, Lausanne is also home to the International Olympic Committee.
We had arrived at our Ibis hotel in Lausanne at 6.30 pm. After checking in to our rooms and dropping our bags we headed out for the evening.
The 4 of us walked to the gothic cathedral but by now it was closed. Pilgrim stamps are available from the gift shop when its open but more on that in later posts.
Tonight in Lausanne we had a tasty Lebanese meal where Chris and I shared a selection of small plates.
Switzerland is expensive however our share of the bill came to around £60 which was reasonable given the quantity and quality of the food.
Following our meal, using our free transport passes (given to us by the Ibis hotel) we took a bus to the waterfront promenade at Ouchy. Ouchy in French is pronounced ‘oo-shay’ and not how us Brits would say ‘ouch-ee’ 😂
Ouchy has several bars and restaurants and we located our starting point to begin our trek to Vevey following morning before taking the free metro back to the Ibis.
Although on the way back Russell took us on a detour via a craft beer shop!
Day 1: Lausanne to Vevey
Distance walked: 21.2 km (13 miles)
This moderate walk took us from Lausanne and through several smaller lakeside towns such as Pully and Lutry before the path traversed higher into the famous Lavaux vineyard terraces.
As before, this entire trip was planned and booked independently (by Russell and Roza). And, for the first time for Chris and I, we had no luggage transfer either!
This meant we had to pack smart and carry everything we would need for the next two weeks in our backpacks.
After checking out from the Ibis at 7 am on the Sunday morning we took a metro back down to Ouchy to the official start point. The above photo was taken a couple of minutes into the walk en-route to Vevey.
The first place of interest we passed was the historic Chateau d’Ouchy. Built in the 12th century, this current luxury hotel was previously a medieval castle.
The temperature at 7.30 am was 16 degrees which was pleasant before the 26 degrees forecast for the middle of the afternoon. We were able to get a few miles under our belts before the walking became too hot.
We continued past the Olympic museum which contains exhibits including Olympic torches and medals.
After more than an hour of walking we came to Lutry where, to our delight, some of the bakery’s were open.
In Pâtisserie Vincent Chris and I indulged in a huge chocolate croissant, cappucino with oat milk and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice each and while it was all of excellent quality it was not the cheapest at £27 for these 6 items!
After breakfast and Lutry we turned off at Villette train station for a short climb up into the vineyard terraces.
We immediately had panoramic views across the vineyards towards Lake Geneva.
We looked inside the picturesque church hoping for our first pilgrim passport stamp but came out empty-handed so we continued along the vineyards.
Surrounded by green and black grapes, we continued through the UNESCO world heritage Lavaux vineyard terraces which stretch from Lutry to Chillon Castle. These were first carved out in the 11th century by Benedictine and Cistercian monks.
Along the way, small family owned wineries offer tours and wine tasting. In the warm 25 degree temperatures this was tempting but we still had a few miles to go.
We continued in the warm sunshine adjacent to the train track below us.
After a while the VF path took us down to Cully and back to the shores of Lake Geneva.
Cully has several shops and restaurants so this was an ideal place to stop for a break.
Cully is a pretty lakeside village and on this day, a Sunday, it was popular with families.
For anyone who doesn’t want to undertake lengthy lakeside walks another option is to take a ferry to Vevey.
The ferry connects Culley, Vevey and other villages around the lake.
Throughout the day we could see France across Lake Geneva. Being so close to France, the locals in this part of Switzerland all speak in French and all menu’s etc are also in French.
Potable and non-potable water fountains were frequently found during our route today.
St Saphorin is a pretty village but from here we still had over an hour of walking to reach Vevey.
And this next bit was tough as it involved the steepest climb of the day in what was now about 26 degrees in full sun and with our large heavy backpacks!
However, from the higher vistas we could now see Vevey in the distance…
We had reached the outskirts of Vevey town and continued following the VF signs towards the town centre.
We stopped at a large BP petrol station just before reaching Vevey town centre and purchased cold drinks and snacks. This air conditioned shop had tables and seating which gave us a welcomed stop before the final push to the finish.
Feeling refreshed we continued through the town centre. Vevey is the home of Nestle, the huge global food and drinks company which was founded here in 1867.
Hurrah! Down by the lake again and the official end of day 1 of our Swiss section of the Via Francigena is complete. This sign was located at the Vevey ferry dock.
Our hotel was very close to the finishing point. Later we met Roza and Russell and celebrated day 1 with a lovely meal. Tonight I had prawn and crayfish risotto together with a glass of white wine from Montreux which had a sharp fresh taste.
Wine in Switzerland is generally around £4 or £5 a glass but is served in small 10 cl measures 😕
After dinner we had a short walk around the lakeside at Vevey and discovered some interesting features!
Charlie Chaplin left the USA in 1952 and spent the last 25 years of his life living in Vevey.
The ‘Fork of Vevey’ is an 8 metre tall stainless steel fork sculpture, located in Lake Geneva. This holds the Guiness World Record for being the tallest fork!
There are two of these nymph sculptures which represent water nymphs riding seahorses!
Accommodation
We stayed in the Hotel Vevey which had a great location, close to the shores of the lake and also close to some lovely bars and restaurants.
Our rooms were large and airy and we were able to do some initial clothes washing and get everything dry for the morning. We had a shared bathroom with other guests but this was very clean and worked well. I would stay here again!
A short note-to-self and reminder for any future visit to Switzerland… sometimes a European adapter would work but not always… during the 9 days spent there we often needed to use a Swiss adapter which is pretty unique in the world!
Summary
With perfect weather, incredible scenery, fab company and some quirky features, this was a wonderful start for our Switzerland to Italy section of the Via Francigena.
It was great to be back on this ancient pilgrim trail and tomorrow we leave the shores of Lake Geneva and head towards the mountains…
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