The Lavaux Walk from Puidoux to Vevey

Today I met with a meetup group to walk through the Lavaux vineyards from Puidoux to Vevey and the experience was good. The logistics of buying a train ticket confused me but other than this the experience was good.

I was able to catch a train from Nyon to Morges, change in Morges for the train to Puidoux before then getting off the train in Puidoux. The advantage of changing in Morges is that I just had to get off one train before getting onto the next.

At the start of the walk we were in snow, rain, and at one point it was almost but not quite hailing. The balls were small so I barely count them as hail. The advantage of walking in such weather is that the light is interesting. It changes from overcast to spotlit, to sunny, and back to rain and more. It’s dynamic weather.

The views are great and one of the nice things about this walk is that you’re seeing different landscapes around each bend. One moment you’re seeing chateaux and vineyards and the next you’re seeing the Alps, and then after that you’re seeing the motorway and more. The motorway isn’t a selling point.

What I appreciate, on this walk, is that you’re walking through old villages rather than modern ones. The buildings are old, with character. I like that we get a sense of history without having to drive to Italy or Spain, or Southern France. If you know where to look you can find historical sites in Switzerland. I think this is a nice cultural walk.

During the walk I was struck by something. We hear about how Machu Pichu and other cities are built with vertical terraces but on this walk the terrassing is quite vertical in parts. You’re quite high above the lake, and the view down to the lake is precipitous. I even thought it could be described as vertiginous during the walk.

And Finally

The walk is physical. The beginning is a steep descent, and then you get some steep ascents and descents, more than once. Vineyards are often built on slopes and this was clearly evident. At one point I was walking up a slope on tip toes. It’s not high, in terms of altitude, but it’s exertional for people with less experience of “mountainous landscapes”.

I enjoyed it and I think that this is a walk that I would do throughout the year. I would do it in spring, when the flowers are out, in autumn when the leaves are turning, and maybe in summer.

It’s a nice walk.