Day trip from Geneva
Chillon Castle – also known as Chateau de Chillon is a picturesque fort which uses both Lake Geneva and a moat created between a small island and the mainland for defense. The oldest parts of the castle haven’t been definitively dated, but the first written record of the castle is in 1005. Successively occupied by the House of Savoy, then by the Bernese from 1536 until 1798, it now belongs to the canton of Vaud.
- The Savoy Period – From the mid 12th century, the castle was the summer home for the Counts of Savoy, who kept a fleet of ships on Lake Geneva. The castle was greatly expanded in 1248 and 1266-7 by Count Peter II. During the Wars of Religion period, the castle was used as a prison by the dukes of Savoy to house prisoners. Its most famous prisoner was Francois de Bonivard, a monk, who was imprisoned there for six years in 1530.
- The Bernese Period – In 1536, the castle was captured by a Bernese army, and all the prisoners, including Bonivard, were released. The castle became the residence for the Bernese bailiff.
- The Vaudois Period – In 1798, the French-speaking canton of Vaud drove out the German-speaking Bernese authorities. The Vaudois invited in French troops to help them maintain autonomy from the other Swiss. When the French moved in, Chillon was used as a munitions and weapons depot.
- Today, Chillon is amongst the most visited castles in Switzerland and Europe, with 42 rooms and an accompanying audio guide making it a hugely worthwhile visit.
From Geneva, there are a few options to visit Chillon Castle –
- Take a train from Geneva to Montreux (1h 15m). Then hop onto Bus #201 and get off at ‘Chillon’ stop right in front of the castle. Busses run every 10-15 minutes – We went with this option
- Take a train from Geneva to Veytaux-Chillon (1h 45m). From here, it is a 500m walk along the shoreline of Lake Geneva. You will get a great view of the castle as you get closer.
Chillon Castle is free to visit with Swiss Travel Pass. We first walked around the outside of the castle.
Chillon Castle Interior – At the ticket counter, you will be provided with a map that has details of each of the 42 rooms. We spent close to 2 hours at the castle (inside and outside combined).
Montreux – After visiting the castle, we decided to spend some time in the small town of Montreux which sits on the shore of Lake Geneva, and a 10 min bus ride from Château de Chillon. We walked along the lakeside promenade which had a statue of Freddie Mercury, who was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen.
Cailler Chocolate Factory in Broc – We were done with all the above sites before 1pm. We decided to visit the Cailler Chocolate factory in Broc. There are no direct trains from Montreux to Broc. We had to change 2 trains to get to Broc – The train path we followed takes about 2 hours including transfers : Montreux – Montbovan – Bulle – Broc.
Visiting the chocolate factory’s museum tour was free with Swiss Travel Pass. The tour lasts around 1 hour and leads you through the history of chocolate, from Aztec cocoa ceremonies to the innovations of today. We were then treated with a wide variety of delicious chocolates. I went overboard trying out all of them and came out feeling quite sick. Serves me right for being greedy.
