Lavaux region trip - suggestions?

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
Hello! We're planning a short trip (about 2 nights) to the Lavaux wine region in mid October (we want to go when the Autumn colors are really vivid, is this the best time?). We're interested in doing the walk along the vineyards and hoping to do some wine tasting along the way. Any tips on doing this, recommendations on hotels in the area, best ways to get there (coming by train from Zürich) and any restaurant tips would be fantastic.

(Note: I've looked on the tourism websites and it all looks very doable by train, and I've also noticed that the hotels in the region, between Lausanne and Montreux, seem really pricey. Is staying in Lausanne or Montreux doable? And if so, which city do you think is better in terms of stuff to do, restaurants, etc?)

Thanks in advance for any tips! Much appreciated.

2
Doing it by train is definitely feasible. You may even be able to incorporate a boat ride into the plans, see the boat website here . Lausanne and Montreux are both nice. The more touristy part of Lausanne is down by the lake, in the region of Ouchy, where there are lots of hotels, Hotel Au Lac is great. From there, it is a 5 minute metro-train ride up to the main station. The new Hotel Ibis is near the middle of town and on direct bus lines from the train station - buses 3 & 21 (about 5 minutes), and according to my parents it is one of the cheaper places in town, and they were very happy with it, but the location is nowhere near as nice as the places down in Ouchy. I don't know Montreux very well.

We often start vineyard walks with visitors by taking a city bus from Lausanne to Lutry, and walking from there to Rivaz, then catching the boat back to Ouchy, or continue by taking the train to Vevey to have a look around the lakeshore there. There's some good bakeries on the old pedestrian central street in Lutry where you can pick up sandwiches to eat in the middle of the hike. There are lots of different trails through the vineyards; you can't go wrong because they are all nice.

3
A good an affordable hotel in Montreux is the Tralala .

A nice restaurant with a stunning view in Lavaux is Le Deck

4
Fantastic - thanks to you both for the great tips!

5
You could try these apartments in Lutry. www.lebourg7.com

When we were having our house build I was fed up staying in Hotels, The rates are about 250 to 300 per night, and very comfortable, only down side, you need to negotiate a steep stair case if you stay on the upper floors.

You could also try www.Booking.com were you can find some good deals. we also stayed in the Nash Carlton, small rooms, but comfortable and often very good rates through booking .com.

if you want to pay more, we have stayed in the Chateau d'Ouchy, Hotel Angleterre and the Beau Rivage, all a little pricey, all on the Lake, but very nice if you want a bit more comfort.

Have a great time, it's a beautiful area.

6
I can recommend Vevey as a place to stay (I used to live there). It's a nice town in itself, and there's a train directly from Vevey into the vineyards.

7
Excellent, thanks everyone!

8
There's a nice restaurant in St. Saphorin. Auberge de L'Onde.

http://www.aubergedelonde.ch/

If you're meat eater look out for La Chasse!

Testuz also have a nice wineshop between St. Saphorin and Cully:

http://www.testuz.ch/treytorrens.asp?l=1

9
A must on your Lavaux wine walk is visiting Cully, for me one of the beautifulest views onto France, Valais, and the Lake . You can take the boat from there to Lausanne or Vevey-Montreux. Interesting resto is Restaurant de la Poste in the heart of the upper town.

Also Lausanne Marathon 31 October.

In expensive place to stay in Lausanne is actually Auberge de la Jeunesse, which isn't like any idea you would have as a youth hostel. Has good bus correspondences from there to get you to Lausanne train station, or buses to Lutry which Chris has mentioned is a good place to start the walk in the Lavaux.

10
any specific wine tasting spot recommendations?

11
Try Dezaley, the best white wine in the region.

Try this website:

http://www.dezaley.ch/

and this one:

http://www.massy-vins.ch/order/index...oduit&prd_id=6

for more info.

12
many thanks, will check them out

13
This may be of interest;

Lavaux Express Train thru the Vineyards

14
I read in a brochure that "You can find an open cellar every day, where you can sample some wines from the region."

We're planning on going this upcoming weekend with some friends who are on a tight budget. How does the wine tasting work? Are there caves ouvertes with free samples, or do you pay for a selection of samples, or what can we expect?

We'll be going regardless if it's free or not, as I for one will be buying a few bottles, but it would ease the situation if we could all enjoy some samples along the walk.

I've come across this page , although I have a difficult time understanding which days are open days.

Any help greatly appreciated!

15

that page is quite good. it tells you in real time if the place is open. it has a red x on it if it's closed right now or green if it's open now. you can also click on each cave's name and look under 'afficher horaires' to see the dates and times. most caveaux seem to be open from 17:00-21:00. i don't know if there are any free samples. i always go to the same one and it's not free.