Villa Toscane Swiss Q Hotel

More about Montreux

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Chateau de Chillon

Chillon bus stop

The mountains around Rochers-de-Naye

Terrace of Molino

Forum Posts

Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

by travelmad478

My Google skills appear to me failing me right now :-(

Mr. travelmad478 needs to get from Geneva aiport to Montreux (specifically, the Fairmount hotel). He will be flying into GVA around 7 PM, then heading to Montreux. I know it's possible to do this trip by train, but is there a bus also? The train is on the pricey side for him, and the bus would be cheaper.

He did find one bus service a few weeks ago but needs to check on the schedule, and now we can't find it again! I came up with the Gare-Routier de Geneve website, but I don't see Montreux listed as a destination (that website is not very user-friendly). Thanks for your help!

Re: Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

by henry14

hi,

I'm researching Montreux at the moment but when checking my links the only bus service info I can find is the local service no.1. All the airport links are either the train or taxi, no bus link - very strange. It might be easier, and quicker, if you contact the hotel and ask them - they should know?

Re: Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

by henry14

....or maybe the local tourist office?

http://www.montreuxriviera.com/en/Contact

Re: Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

by K_V_B

In Switzerland the public transportation system is fully integrated, with buses serving as feeders to the trains, not competing with them. This means that where a convenient train service exists there usually is no bus. And even in the few cases where buses and trains serve the same destination pairs the price for both will be exactly the same (and they wil use the same tickets even).
To get to Montreux from the airport you just take the train. And you pay what the train costs.
You can use www.sbb.ch to find out about public transport options between any two places in Switzerland, using all available public transport.
On order to save some money it might be worthwile to investigate some of the passes available, but in order to give good advise here we would need to know a bit more about what other transportation in Switzerland will be used.

Re: Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

by K_V_B

Geneva Airport to Montreux is CHF 32,- (about half the price of a good meal in Montreux...). You can save a few francs the following way:
- Get the free "Unireso Toute Geneve" ticket at the airport. There are ticket machines in the bagage reclaim area, and yes, it is free for people arriving by plane.
- Take any train to the Geneva main station. Get of there.
- Buy a ticket from "Pont Céard" (the last station in Canton Geneva on the route to Montreux) to Montreux from a SBB ticket vending machine. This ticket costs 25. The ticket vending machines have English menus, and do allow buying tickets from other origins than the station the machine is standing in.
- Then take the local to Copet (leaves 3 and 33 minutes past the hour.). Your unireso ticket is valid till Pont Céard, and your SBB ticket beyond that, but splitting tickets like that only works if a train effectively stops there, that is why you need to take this local. At Copet you take a train for Nyon, and in Nyon you change for a train to Montreux. Takes a bit longer, but saves you 7 whole francs. This just might buy you a beer in Montreux...

Re: Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

by K_V_B

Oh, and one last remark: The "Gare de Routiére" in Geneva only serves destinations outside of Switzerland, which is why you didn't find busses to Montreux there. There are no domestic long distance busses competing with trains in Switzerland.

Re: Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

by travelmad478

Thanks K_V_B for your comprehensive replies!

Travel Tips for Montreux

Castle...Means of Access

by Neit

Chillon was in the ancient road to Italy over the Great St. Bernard Pass. It was built to guard the narrow defile between the lake and the mountains and to collect taxes on the merchandise that passed that way.

Byron was here

by Dabs

Lord Byron apparently had a thing for carving his name in stone, I had just read LoriPori's tip on how he carved his name into the Temple of Poseidon in Sounio before I left so I was a bit amused when I saw that he felt compelled to do it again at the Chateau de Chillon.

It's located on the 3rd pillar in Bonivard's Prison at the Chateau and is highlighted by being covered with plexiglass.

Bonivard was a Prior of St. Victor's in Geneva and was imprisoned for four years by the Catholic duke, chained to the 5th pillar, because he supported the independence of Geneva. He was freed on March 29, 1536 when the castle was captured by the Bernese. Byron immortilized him in a poem, "The Prisoner of Chillon".

La Rambertia, more plants from around the world

by dabidc

I will keep the narrative short, I was impressed by the compact location of the garden and the variety of the plants from all over. The name tags show the name of the plants and their origin.

I hope the enlarged photos show the info.

When I visited there was a gardener on site, who was able to understand my English/ German/French. He was extremely helpful.

Pay SWF 2 for a colourful brochure showing some of the plants and a map showing where the plants are located.

Boat ride on Lake Geneva (Lac Leman)

by Dabs

There are options for lake cruises all over Switzerland and from every port on Lake Geneva including Montreux. We opted to take a lake cruise from Geneva instead, it was too late in the day for us to do one from Montreux anyways. If you are also visiting Geneva, there were more cruise options there than in Montreux but you are cruising on the "little lake" in Geneva and the "big lake" from Montreux.

From Montreux it looks like they have cruises to the Chateau de Chillon, to Vevey, a 90 minute lake cruise or a trip to Lausanne, it looks like you can get off and explore in Lausanne. You can see prices and schedules on the attached website.

In The Suburbs

by masc4s

Take the Lausanne Road travelling east out of Montreux go approximately 15Km / 9 miles and you will arrive at the town of Vevey.

For further information on this interesting medieval market town Vevey see: Off The Beaten Path Travel Tips.

Villa Toscane Swiss Q Hotel

More about Montreux

Photos

Forum Posts

Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

Re: Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

Re: Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

Re: Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

Re: Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

Re: Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

Re: Bus service from Geneva airport to Montreux?

Travel Tips for Montreux

Castle...Means of Access

Byron was here

La Rambertia, more plants from around the world

Boat ride on Lake Geneva (Lac Leman)

In The Suburbs

Explore the World

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