You might be very curious about the choice of Lausanne while everybody is going to Greece and other countries near the sea. How I did choose that city instead of other cities.
I have already been to Basel, Switzerland in December 2019. It was a very good experience and I wanted to go back during the summer but then the world faced a covid pandemic that barely disrupted the travel industry. We could not travel properly for 2 years.
Now that everything is almost back to the situation pre-covid, a friend of mine invited me to go back to experience “The Montreux Jazz Festival”. I told myself that this could be a tremendous opportunity to visit other cities there too. So ” let’s go to Switzerland again 😊”.
How did I plan the trip?
The first option was to travel from Budapest to Lausanne by train, but then I got scared because it was a very long trip approximately 20 hours. Therefore, I looked for some alternatives and found a way to travel a bit faster. I flew from Budapest to Basel and then booked the train from Basel to Lausanne. Those options were cheaper and faster than the first option. The feeling of excitement hits me because I did not travel for almost months out of Hungary. This might sound not that long for you but it was long for someone you love to travel as much as I do.
Now, what to do once there?
The original plan was to stay in Lausanne, and then go to Montreux for the festival and explore other cities nearby such as “Bern” and “Geneva“ which are quite closer. When I arrived in Lausanne, I was pleased to find out that there was a festival held in the city. The streets were crowdies, and there were full of people out enjoying the festival and the weekend. This city is crossed by “Lake Leman“ which offers a very stunning view and an amazing swimming experience. I could not resist swimming. There are lots of green areas and parks in Lausanne, and for those who love hiking, there are some great spots for such activities.
The Montreux Jazz Festival
As my trip plan was unfolding, I finally reached the final destination: The Montreux Jazz Festival held every year in June.
Montreux is a small city near “lake Leman” not far from Lausanne, only 30- 40 minutes by train. Once there, I was surprised by the number of people that came for that festival, the settings of the festival with a variety of food stands, music (oriental, Indian, Swiss, and so on) but the most important was the stage for the free concert and the paid one (to see the performance of the famous artists), and of course, the stage for the Jazz music.
Now, let’s explore the capital city: Bern
As I said earlier, Bern was on my bucket list of the Swiss city to visit. So time to book a Bla Bla car to discover the capital city of this beautiful land. I would suggest this means of transportation as it’s very cheap and also a bit faster than the costly train.
Bern is a charming city with gorgeous architecture that you can’t resist falling in love with. I observed some monuments such as the “Cathedral”, the “UNESCO village” and “the bear park” with the river “Aare”😊. If you ever visit Bern, I strongly recommend you to stop by there to explore, rest and enjoy the view and landscape.
It was a very great adventure and a week well spent. Now, it’s time to go back to Budapest, I am very sad to leave Switzerland, a country where I really enjoyed my stay. It was a fun week, and I had a very good time in these cities and tried the food, beers, and some Swiss specialties. I can say it’s now part of my traveling stories.
See you again Switzerland!
Next steps … no idea.
