Lausanne – Day 2 – Chillon Castle


Christie Stewart really wanted us to experience the Montreux Riviera from the water aboard one of Lac Leman’s classic paddle-wheelers. Unfortunately, we had tarried a bit too long in the fascinating digestive tract of the Alimentarium. By the time we had evacuated the museum’s bowels, we could see the tour boat leaving the dock.


Despite being pooped (OK, that’s the last of my scatalogical PUNishment), we still had time to catch a commuter train that would bring us close to our last major tour of the day: Château de Chillon.

From the train stop, we strolled along a lakeside path with lovely views of Lac Leman.

The château resembles a castle out of a fairy tale. A splendid medieval fortress, it is built on a rocky islet at the lakeshore.



With its strategic position at the eastern end of the lake, there has been some form of fortification here since Roman times. The oldest parts of the castle date back to around 1000 A.D. The Counts of the powerful Savoy family used the castle as their summer home from around the end of the 12th century A.D.




 The castle was also used as a prison during the religious wars of the 16th century. Arguably, its most famous prisoner was the Genevois monk François de Bonivard, who was imprisoned in 1530 for six years for defending his homeland against the Dukes of Savoy. Bonivard's saga was detailed in Byron's poem, The Prisoner of Chillon, published in 1816. The castle was converted to a state prison in 1733, and later into a munitions depot when the French took over the castle in 1798.

We had great fun charging about the ramparts, negotiating narrow staircases, and slipping down dark passageways to explore the great halls, bedrooms, courtyards, and cave stores. 




Many of the rooms have been decorated with vintage furniture and restored murals to recreate the castle’s medieval heyday.












Christie had one last surprise for us in Montreux, a short bus ride from Chillon Castle.

We took a leisurely stroll along the town’s picturesque lakeside promenade. We would have loved to see much more, but we were fading after a long day of touring. Suzanne was delighted when we made our final stop in front of a statue of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of one of her all-time favourite bands, Queen.


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