Lake Geneva Spring Steam

DAY 1

Travelling by Eurostar from London, via Brussels and Köln, to Basel before continuing the short distance to Olten. We check into our hotel for the evening, located next to the train station, and enjoy our first evening meal together in the old town area.

DAY 2

Today, after breakfast, we travel to Lucerne and journey through classic alpine scenery over the historic Brünig Pass to the Swiss capital of Bern. Here we will take in the sights of this beautiful city via an exclusive 2-hour private charter on a unique 1894 steam tram. Later, we will travel onwards to Vevey to stay for five nights at the Astra Hotel where our luggage will have been transferred directly from Olten and we will enjoy our evening meal together.

DAY 3

After breakfast this morning, we will depart Vevey by one of the vintage paddle steamers to Château de Chillon perched on the rocky outcrop on the edge of the lake. Entrance is included into this picturesque fort which originally guarded the strategic road through the Alpine passes as a Roman outpost using both Lake Geneva and a moat created between a small island and the mainland for defence. Afterwards, we cross the lake to the charming village of Le Bouveret and visit the Swiss Vapeur Parc, a huge miniature railway created in 120,000 man-hours featuring steam and diesel trains attracting model railway fans from all across Europe. Following our experience at this beautiful park, we return to Vevey by paddle steamer.

DAY 4

Today, we take a train the short distance to Blonay to witness the magnificent triple-headed steam train depart to Chamby before we, ourselves, travel over the stunning GoldenPass route onboard the charming and elegant Golden Mountain Pullman Express from the 1930's 'Belle Epoque' era to Gstaad. Travelling through a charming corner of the country with spectacular views from the city to the countryside with lakes, peaks, and forests. After our journey, we will return to Vevey by regular train for our evening meal.

DAY 5

Today takes us by rail along the shores of Lake Geneva to Lausanne and onwards to the quaint village of Hinwil for the weekend steam-hauled trains to Bauma and return. We have included a day pass on the line and, with two engines in steam, there is plenty of opportunity for riding and photography, capturing the beauty and history. After a day of exploring, we return to our hotel and enjoy our evening meal together.

DAY 6

Enjoy a full, action-packed day at the Blonay-Chamby Steam Festival featuring now fewer than four engines in steam. We start our experience with a rare double-headed steam ride from Vevey to their depot at Chaulin before having the opportunity using the day pass to ride the intensive steam service (13 return trains to Chamby and 7 to Blonay) plus the vintage tram service between the steam. A thrilling day for steam enthusiasts!

DAY 7

After a leisurely breakfast this morning, we say farewell to Vevey and travel via Bern and Freiburg to Koblenz arriving in the afternoon for our overnight stay. We will enjoy our final evening meal together in a local restaurant.

DAY 8

We are homeward bound via the scenic Rhine Valley line to Köln, before travelling onwards via Brussels to London.

B=Breakfast, D=Dinner