VEVEY

Vevey is just a quick 10 minute train ride (or 30 minutes by bus) from Montreux and such an adorable place! We stopped here for a coffee one day and ended up skipping a day trip to Gruyères just to spend more time here. It’s smaller and quieter than Montreux but still beautiful with loads of charm.

One of the highlights of this cute lil town is its lakefront (shocker). There were a bunch of fun sculptures around, including my favorite — La Fourchette (aka The Fork). It’s literally a giant fork sticking out of the lake in front of Alimentarium, the food museum, and I was obsessed with it. There’s also a nearby Charlie Chaplin statue, which people seemed delighted by… but I was too enamored with the fork to care about the most famous silent film star in history. Sorry Charlie! The nearby Jardin du Rivage had some adorable sculptures too, and we also encountered an outdoor gym with the most EPIC lake view. Between that gym and Lausanne’s lap pool in the lake, I would most certainly become a fitness freak if I lived here.

We found the most adorable cafe and wine bar, Céleste, and ended up going there two days in a row. It felt like the type of place you absolutely must hang out and read a book in. For lunch, we grabbed a baguette from Boulangerie Bread Store and gruyère from Fromagerie de la Grenette. The very kind cheese lady didn’t speak much English but with a lot of pointing and nodding, we were able to sample a bunch of varieties of gruyère. The super aged one was the best — love me some cheese crystals. We took our little Swiss picnic to the Jardin du Rivage to enjoy with a view of the lake.

Paddleboarding was at the top of my Lake Geneva bucket list, so we rented some boards at SWISSPADDLE at the lakefront pool, Piscine Olympique. It cost 5 CHF to enter the pool and 20 CHF to rent a paddleboard for an hour. You could store your stuff in the boathouse while you were on the lake and they also provided a lifejackets and a dry bag to bring with you. The staff were super friendly and we were out on the lake within just a few minutes. There was barely anyone around so it felt like we had the lake to ourselves - such a vibe!

Cully

Just a 10-minute train ride from Vevey, Cully sits in the heart of the Lavaux-terraced vineyards, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The vineyards stretch along Lake Geneva and have some of the most best views in the area. While I didn’t do a vineyard tour (no booze for me!), there’s supposedly an incredible wine-tasting route you can follow that takes you from vineyard to vineyard with stunning views of the lake. I’m still SO happy we explored even a little bit of the area because the walk from Cully to Epsees was STUNNING.

We did a leisurely 25-minute stroll from Cully to Epsees (as recommended by someone on Reddit). This gave us a glimpse of the vineyards but also an epic walk along the scenic lakefront. I ended up jumping in the lake because it was so freaking idyllic and there were a bunch of other people just lounging in the grass or swimming.The whole scene was so serene — 10/10 would recommend.

There was only an hourly train from Epsees to Montreux, so we did have to time our departure accordingly, but we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful place to kill time. If you have the time, I absolutely recommend doing a longer walk through the vineyards and stopping at a few spots along the way. But even just the quick stroll and lil swim was worth the visit.

There are so many things cute things to do in Vevey AND Cully, but it’s definitely worth exploring the other cities nearby. Check out my other posts for cities just a quick train ride away from Vevey and Cully:

• Lausanne - Olympic Museum, Ouchy lakefront, Collection de l’Art Brut museum, Lausanne Cathedral

• Montreux - Chillon Castle, Queen The Studio Experience, Le CouCou restaurant

• Lake Geneva - general guide to the area including transportation tips