In this article, I invite you to head to Switzerland to discover the Canton of Vaud, in French-speaking Switzerland. We took this trip in June 2023 with my favorite photographer and several fellow bloggers. I am already somewhat familiar with Switzerland, known for being the oldest democracy in the world, but I had never visited this part of the country before. We specifically went to the “La Côte” region, which is located along Lake Geneva: in Nyon and then in Morges. This area is also rich in vineyards (it is the 2nd largest wine region in Switzerland) and has an AOC wine appropriately called La Côte. With over 2,000 hectares of vines, this vineyard represents more than half of the Vaud wine region!
Canton of Vaud Tourist Office
Table of Contents
Practical information for traveling to Switzerland
Getting there by TGV Lyria from Gare de Lyon
For this trip, we left from Paris and traveled to Switzerland as far as Geneva with Lyria, which is a Franco-Swiss operator that has existed for about thirty years and is also a responsible means of transport between France and Switzerland. There are 3 classes on Lyria: 2ND, STANDARD 1ST, and BUSINESS 1ST. We personally traveled in STANDARD 1ST. We also took the opportunity during the trip to test their Franco-Swiss food menu, “Le Deli”, in the bar car.
The tip: the STANDARD 1ST and BUSINESS 1ST classes grant access to the SNCF Grand Voyageur lounges in French train stations, offering free drinks, a super comfortable space, and newspapers at your disposal.
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General practical information for traveling in Switzerland
- The currency in Switzerland is the Swiss franc.
- Even though, overall, electrical outlets are almost the same as in France, this is not always the case, so remember to bring an adapter for three-pronged plugs, for example.
- Getting around locally: It is quite easy to get around the Canton of Vaud region without a car by using public transport (train or bus) and the Swiss SBB CFF trains (check the SBB CFF app).
Visiting Nyon and its surroundings
This town of 23,000 inhabitants located between Geneva and Lausanne boasts many historical sites, including the castle (which also hosts collections), the town’s museums (Lake Geneva Museum, Roman Museum), and its Roman ruins. It is situated on a hill on the edge of Lake Geneva, which actually gets its name from the Celtic language, meaning “large water”. It is also an ancient Roman colony founded in 45 BC by Julius Caesar, and the remains of its ancient monuments lie beneath the modern town. While walking through the city, you will discover many fountains (about forty of them) with potable water everywhere. Below, as usual, I offer a small selection of things to do and see if you are coming for a stay in Nyon or the surrounding region.
Also to see:
- The Roman Museum and its small park which houses some remains of the Roman forum (the forum is unfortunately no longer visible, but is represented by a painted wall and pillars on the ground).
- Nyon Castle, whose foundation stones date back to the 12th century, but which has seen many additions over the centuries by its various owners. At the top of the castle, you can still visit the town’s former prisons.
- Nyon is a festival town, hosting 6 major events per year.
- The Temple of Nyon (which was once the Notre-Dame Catholic church), which has very beautiful stained glass windows; and at the back left of the church toward the choir, don’t miss a 12th-century fresco.
Nyon Tourist Office
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Visiting Prangins Castle
This French-style castle, set between a courtyard and a garden, houses the Swiss National Museum and several museum spaces dedicated to life in Switzerland in the 18th century (“Noblesse oblige”), the Portrait Gallery (completed in 2023), and an exhibition space on the history of Switzerland from the 18th century to the present day. It is located on the shores of Lake Geneva, in a small village 3km from Nyon (I will explain below how to get there by bus from Nyon).
This site, established on a natural hill and inhabited since the Bronze Age, is truly one of the must-see historical sites in French-speaking Switzerland. Originally, a medieval Savoyard castle stood here. Between 1728 and 1739, the current castle was built by Baron Louis Guiguer on the site of the medieval castle. It was also in the 18th century that the kitchen garden appeared. At the end of the 19th century, the castle became a school, then in 1974, the building was purchased by the cantons of Vaud and Geneva. We took the “owner’s tour” guided visit, which allows you to see different parts of the castle that house museum exhibitions and places the owners at the center of the narrative.
The little extra: if you don’t have the time or the desire to visit the castle, you can enjoy the kitchen garden for free (which is a tribute to the one that already existed in the 18th century), which is located right in front of the castle and is one of the largest historical vegetable gardens in the country. I also recommend going to the back of the building (also accessible for free) to admire the view of Lake Geneva.
Prangins Castle / Swiss National Museum
Avenue Général Guiger 3, CH-1197 Prangins
Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm
Rates: 10 CHF / 8 CHF reduced / free for under 16s
To get there by transport from Nyon: take the TPN bus 805 or 811 from the Nyon CFF train station and stop at “Prangins, Musée national” or “Les Abériaux”
The tip: with your entry ticket to Prangins Castle, you get free access for 15 days to the Landesmuseum Zürich and the Forum Schweizer Geschichte Schwys, as these two museums are also part of the Swiss National Museum
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Where to eat a Vaud specialty? Chez Mon Oncle Restaurant
This restaurant is located in the Rive district. I recommend you try a Vaud specialty, found particularly in the La Côte region. This typical cheese-based dish is called Malakoff de Luins (named after a small village about 12 minutes from Nyon where this dish originates), a kind of gruyère croquette cooked in white wine and served with a salad (if you’re a cheese lover, this specialty is a must-try!). I recommend accompanying this dish with a glass of local white wine, a Chasselas. Inside the restaurant, you’ll find typical decor and photos of people who have eaten there, as well as those of the brotherhood of pirates. The restaurant offers products that come mainly from the Nyon region, the canton of Vaud, and Switzerland.
Chez Mon Oncle
Rue de Rive 40, 1260 Nyon
Price: lunch only, there is a set menu of 2 malakoffs accompanied by salad for 19 CHF
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Where to dine on a terrace by the water in Nyon? La Plage
Walking to the restaurant, you will pass through the fishermen’s village which is a 5-minute walk from Nyon’s town center. It is made of wooden huts on the edge of the lake that house professional fishing families who make their living this way, and you can buy their freshly caught fish. The address itself is located on the edge of the lake, making it a very pleasant place for a meal by the water.
To taste: grilled octopus with garlic and parsley (16 CHF); the specialty of the house, a filet of perch Meunière served with fries and green salad (44 CHF); cod ceviche (27 CHF); a beer from a Nyon craft brewery, Cap’taine Mousse.
La Plage Nyon
Route de Genève 12, 1260 Nyon
Price: appetizer between 9 CHF and 16 CHF / main courses between 22 CHF and 44 CHF / wines by the glass between 4 CHF and 7 CHF
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Where to stay in Nyon? Ambassador Hotel
This 4-star hotel, located not far from the train station, has 23 rooms in total and also offers a restaurant, the Ulivo (which we did not test). We personally stayed in room #322, which is located under the eaves with the charm of an attic room. The rooms that face the front of the establishment, and thus the street, are a bit noisy, but since our room was on the 3rd floor, I found it wasn’t that noisy. The rooms at the back of the establishment, with views of Lake Geneva, are quieter but are also more expensive. The hotel also has a lovely terrace at the back of the building.
Ambassador, boutique hotel
Rue Saint-Jean 26, 1260 Nyon
Room rates: standard room €205 / room with lake and castle view €260 / single room starting from 190 CHF
Link to the hotel website
Visiting Morges and its surroundings
This town, nicknamed “the Coquette“, was founded in 1286 by Louis of Savoy, and the town’s castle dates back to that time. But its origins actually date back to the lakeside settlements of the Metal Ages, which were established around Lake Geneva. The town center is actually built on an area that was formerly marshland. The town then developed significantly thanks to its strategic position and the expansion of lake transport. Morges is located about 12 kilometers from Lausanne and you can easily reach the town by train from Nyon. Below, as usual, I offer a small selection of things to do and see if you are coming for a stay in Morges or the surrounding region.
Also to see:
- The town has many inner courtyards of the Italian type, like in Lyon. The most beautiful courtyard in the town was built in 1682; it is that of the Forel Museum. It features a beautiful staircase leading to an octagonal courtyard.
- Don’t miss a trip to the market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
- The town is also linked to a cinema icon, Audrey Hepburn. She lived in Tolochenaz, a small village located a few kilometers from Morges, from 1963 until her death in 1993. She was also married in 1969 at the Morges town hall and is buried in the Tolochenaz cemetery.
- The Morges Casino was inaugurated in 1900 in a reinforced concrete building on stilts. It was a financial catastrophe for the municipality because construction was excessively expensive. Today, it is a beautiful early 20th-century style performance hall.
- The Cantonal Castle, a Savoyard fortress that dates back to the late 13th century and has been dedicated to the army since 1923. There, you can discover temporary exhibitions on the history of artillery and Swiss mercenaries.
- The town contains one of the first Protestant churches in the canton, dating back to the 18th century.
- Don’t hesitate to take a look at the Tourism House, which is installed in the town’s former customs house.
- Finally, go to the water’s edge to see the Morges guardhouses, which date back to the 17th century and were used to block the entrance to the port.
Morges Region Tourism
Rue du Château 2, 1110 Morges
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Visiting the Moulin de Severy
There is a true Vaud tradition around mills that has existed since at least the 16th century, but it is a tradition that is unfortunately tending to disappear. At the time, each village had its own mill, but today there are only 4 small oil mills for AOP Vaud walnuts remaining in the canton of Vaud. This mill, which has existed since 1810, has been held by the same family for 6 generations and now employs 4 oil-making artisans who take shifts so that production never stops. Located at the foot of the Jura mountains, along the “La Morges” river, the mill is the last in Switzerland that still carries out artisanal activity all year round (it produces walnut oil, in particular, all year). It is also recognized for its know-how and its mastery of the oil-making artisan’s techniques. Individuals can also bring raw materials (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds…) to be crushed, roasted, and pressed to make oil.
In addition to this, the mill also organizes guided tours, followed by a tasting of the mill’s products (oil, mustard, vinegar…). You will discover the old-fashioned pressing, an old bucket wheel in the boutique, the cracking workshop (to crack walnuts with modern machines), and the making of oil the old-fashioned way with roasting, which gives the oils their aromatic side. Finally, don’t miss a trip to the boutique to leave, as we did, with a few products made on-site.
Visit to the Moulin de Severy oil mill
Rates: starting from 10 CHF per person
Practical Info: from Morges, you can reach the mill by taking a regional MBC train, stopping at the “Apples” stop in Pampigny-Sévery, then a 20-minute walk from the station to the mill
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Lunch at the Moulin de Severy restaurant
The mill also houses a very good restaurant that offers bistronomic dishes prepared with products from the mill and seasonal ingredients. If you come to visit the mill, it’s a great place to eat that I highly recommend you test!
To taste: raisinée tart (a local specialty and a great local product); duo of asparagus with a citrus sabayon; perfect egg with white asparagus cream; arctic char with pistachio oil; roasted veal sweetbreads with asparagus and morels, with hazelnut oil; for dessert, the Vaud walnut cake with walnut ice cream.
Moulin de Severy
Le Moulin 10, 1141 Sévery
Restaurant prices: dish of the day at 28 CHF / mill menu with appetizer + main course + dessert at 65 CHF per person / bistronomic menu with appetizer + main course + cheeses + dessert at 80 CHF per person
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Take an E-Boat trip on Lake Geneva
This boat, for which no license is required, also called “The Frog”, can accommodate up to 6 people. I found it was a great outing idea if you are in a group. The boat is fairly easy to handle, and it’s a good way to enjoy Lake Geneva independently. The nautical base also offers rentals for paddleboards, kayaks, and 4-to-5-person pedal boats…
Passion Nautique
Port Du Petit-Bois, Prom. Général Guisan, 1110 Morges
E-Boat rental rate (6 people max on the boat): 50 francs for 1 hour of rental
nautical base open in summer from 10 am to 9 pm every day.
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Doing the CityGolf course in Morges
This 18-hole panoramic course extends over the town of Morges and also over the town of Préverenges. You have to pick up the equipment at the Morges Tourism House, along with the map showing the location of the holes, which also serves as a scorecard to track points. I have to say we weren’t pro golfers in our little team, but it made us laugh a lot to try!
CityGolf Morges course
Price: adult 8 CHF / child 5 CHF / family 20 CHF
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The Morges Little Train
I don’t know if you know, but since our first trip to Marseille (where I had forced the favorite photographer to get into a little train to go to the Bonne Mère), we have a kind of little train challenge. The favorite photographer runs away, and I try to get him to get into one… Well, in Morges, I did it again. So we did the city tour and laughed a lot! Well, I have to say that we didn’t really understand why there was this choice of Italian music on the little train (or maybe we didn’t find the link…), and the explanations were, I found, barely intelligible, but if you want to tour the city without getting tired, it’s practical!
The Morges Little Train
City or vineyard tours from April to October
Price: 9 CHF per adult / 5 CHF for children between 6 and 16 years old / free for those under 5 years old (duration 45 minutes)
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Have a picnic with Uncle Paul
The good idea: go and sit by the edge of Lake Geneva for a picnic. For that, you will need a beautiful checkered tablecloth to spread out on and some good local products to enjoy. We went to pick up the products (cheeses, charcuterie, lake fish terrine, mustard from the Moulin de Sévery…) for our part at a very good caterer, Uncle Paul.
Oncle Paul Caterer
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Brunch in a historic train
La Voie des Sens offers several unusual activities (winemaker’s train, beer and burger train, cheesemaker’s train, flavor train), including this Field Brunch in a historic train of the MBC, traditionally called “BAM retro”. They maintain several vehicles, built in 1895, 1925, and 1943 for the electric railcar. We personally were in the 1925 carriage, set up as a dining car. We set off for a 3-hour gourmet excursion in this historic train, through the vineyards and the countryside in the Morges region! During this train ride, we make several stops, in Apples and in L’Isle, and it’s an opportunity to stretch our legs a bit and discover the stations where we stop.
The brunch, concocted by the Auberge aux 2 sapins in Montricher, is served in 2 courses (with sweet and savory) and offers, in particular, regional products. And while we savor our brunch, beautiful landscapes pass before our eyes… An unusual discovery that’s very nice to do!
Field Brunch with La Voie des Sens from Morges
Several dates throughout the year, Sundays only for the brunch
Thematic historic train outings all year round by reservation
Price of the Field Brunch: 75 CHF per person
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Where to buy cheese in Morges? Dufaux Cheese Shop
Of course, we couldn’t come to Switzerland without bringing back a few local cheeses. We were recommended this cheese shop for the quality of its products, and we weren’t disappointed! I specifically recommend trying the AOP Gruyère.
Dufaux Cheese Shop
Rue Centrale 4, 1110 Morges, Switzerland
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Where to sleep in Morges? Hôtel de la Couronne
This 3-star hotel with 44 rooms, located in the town center of Morges, has existed since the 16th century (both the building, and it has been a hotel since that time). You will actually see beautiful 16th-century woodwork in the breakfast room. I also found that the breakfast was very good for a 3-star establishment, with a notable effort made regarding the selection and proposal of local products (local cheeses, walnut oil from the Moulin de Severy, which I mentioned a bit earlier…).
Our room faced the front of the establishment, looking out onto a pedestrian street (it was generally very quiet, except when a tipsy person came to sing under our windows at 1 am, but I think that was just bad luck). The room was very clean and had been redone recently. I recommend staying in this hotel if you pass through Morges, because it has much more charm than the entrance located in the passage de la Couronne suggests (which is, by the way, the name of the former hotel or inn that gave its name to the alley, not the other way around).
My advice: remember to bring an adapter for European plugs for this hotel, otherwise you have the possibility to borrow one from the reception, where all the staff are, by the way, particularly friendly.
Hôtel La Couronne Morges
Passage de la Couronne 2, 1110 Morges
Room prices: starting from €165 / 1 person 120 CHF to 250 CHF
Link to the hotel website
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Thanks to the Tourist Office of the Canton of Vaud, the Nyon and Morges offices, and Charline from the AirPur Agency for organizing this great stay to discover Nyon and Morges. If you want to know more about the destination, don’t hesitate to check out the articles from my fellow travelers, le Blog de Lili, Copines de Bons Plans and Happy City.
I hope that with all this, I have made you want to visit Switzerland and the Canton of Vaud, and if you, too, have your own good addresses and advice for this destination, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments below!
Photo credits: Nicolas Diolez Photos not royalty-free, photographer's authorization required before any use
