BONJOUR, GRÜEZI, BUONGIORNO!
“BONJOUR MONSIEUR, WHICH WAY IS THE RAILWAY STATION?”
The farmers looked up from their tasks and studied me curiously. Beyond them, endless swathes of green rolled down the hillside to the edge of Lake Geneva, its stunning blue blinding in the afternoon sun. The homogeneity of the landscape was punctuated with red-roofed farmhouses, the grey of a winding road, and the white of a train snaking far below. These were the picture-postcard UNESCO-listed vineyards of Lavaux, in the francophone southwest region of Switzerland, and I was happily lost.
Stretching over 30 kilometres, these vineyards cover an area of 800 hectares, from the medieval fortress of Château de Chillon in Montreux to the outskirts of Lausanne. The entire stretch is well connected by rail, but the real thrill lies in exploring Lavaux by road, especially on a bicycle. You may choose the easy path that runs along the waterfront, which you can traverse in just two hours. Or, you can make a full-day cycling excursion via the paved, well-marked, and scenic Route de la Corniche—winding through the vineyards and villages, sometimes hugging the lake shore, at other
