LAKE OF GENEVA
When visiting the Lake of Geneva region your destinations would usually include Geneva with its Jet d’eau, the City of Lausanne the seat of the International Olympics Committee, Montreux with its Jazz Festival, the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Vineyards of Lavaux, and of course the Château de Chillon. Rarely would you consider the Lake of Geneva itself. You should really include a pleasure cruise on the lake to this list. Once you have taken a day cruise on one of the elegant paddle boats which ply the lake, you will know why people return as often as possible. The spectacular vistas are a key draw, but for some the fabulous “Belle Ėpoque” boats are the main attraction. The fleet operated by CGN (Compagnie Générale de Navigation) consists of five paddle steamboats and three paddle boats powered with diesel rather than steam engines. You definitely want to opt for a cruise on one of the steam driven boats.
One of the more popular day-cruises sails from Lausanne along the vineyards of Lavaux, to Vevey, Montreux, the Château de Chillon, Villeneuve, Le Bouveret & St-Gingolph before crossing the lake back to Lausanne. A trip on the SS La Suisse built in 1910 -recognized as the pride of the fleet- takes about 3 hours. We suggest taking the 12:45 pm cruise & highly recommend going first class to enjoy an excellent lunch in the first-class salon on the upper deck.
The cruises from Geneva to Lausanne are equally delightful. Some of these stop off at smaller towns along the lake such as Nyon & Morges with one stop across the lake in Yvoire. Morges, by the way, is famous for its flower displays such as the Tulip Festival in spring and the Dahlia Festival in summer. Again, we recommend going first class & enjoy a delicious lunch aboard. Although you could sail back to Geneva, a great option is taking a train back which takes less than 45 minutes.
With a day ticket the CGN allows hop-on & hop-off at all the ports around the lake. The good news for holders of a Swiss Pass is the 50% discount offered. Keep in mind that on specialty dinner cruises the discount is only applied to the fare. In addition to the historic paddle steamers smaller boats are available such as the fast passenger ferries which will take you from Nyon on the Swiss side of the lake to the lovely village of Yvoire nicknamed “Pearl of Lake Geneva” and hailed by many as one of France’s most beautiful villages. You can also take the ferry from Lausanne to Ėvian on the French side of the lake for a free taste of their well-known water.
Check out the embedded videos & web sites by clicking on the various highlighted links above.
When visiting the Lake of Geneva region your destinations would usually include Geneva with its Jet d’eau, the City of Lausanne the seat of the International Olympics Committee, Montreux with its Jazz Festival, the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Vineyards of Lavaux, and of course the Château de Chillon. Rarely would you consider the Lake of Geneva itself. You should really include a pleasure cruise on the lake to this list. Once you have taken a day cruise on one of the elegant paddle boats which ply the lake, you will know why people return as often as possible. The spectacular vistas are a key draw, but for some the fabulous “Belle Ėpoque” boats are the main attraction. The fleet operated by CGN (Compagnie Générale de Navigation) consists of five paddle steamboats and three paddle boats powered with diesel rather than steam engines. You definitely want to opt for a cruise on one of the steam driven boats.
One of the more popular day-cruises sails from Lausanne along the vineyards of Lavaux, to Vevey, Montreux, the Château de Chillon, Villeneuve, Le Bouveret & St-Gingolph before crossing the lake back to Lausanne. A trip on the SS La Suisse built in 1910 -recognized as the pride of the fleet- takes about 3 hours. We suggest taking the 12:45 pm cruise & highly recommend going first class to enjoy an excellent lunch in the first-class salon on the upper deck.
The cruises from Geneva to Lausanne are equally delightful. Some of these stop off at smaller towns along the lake such as Nyon & Morges with one stop across the lake in Yvoire. Morges, by the way, is famous for its flower displays such as the Tulip Festival in spring and the Dahlia Festival in summer. Again, we recommend going first class & enjoy a delicious lunch aboard. Although you could sail back to Geneva, a great option is taking a train back which takes less than 45 minutes.
With a day ticket the CGN allows hop-on & hop-off at all the ports around the lake. The good news for holders of a Swiss Pass is the 50% discount offered. Keep in mind that on specialty dinner cruises the discount is only applied to the fare. In addition to the historic paddle steamers smaller boats are available such as the fast passenger ferries which will take you from Nyon on the Swiss side of the lake to the lovely village of Yvoire nicknamed “Pearl of Lake Geneva” and hailed by many as one of France’s most beautiful villages. You can also take the ferry from Lausanne to Ėvian on the French side of the lake for a free taste of their well-known water.
Check out the embedded videos & web sites by clicking on the various highlighted links above.
