Amazing Medieval Castle and Idyllic Lake Tour

August 23, 2023

From an idyllic lake cruise to clambering through medieval castle dungeons, up spiral staircases to great halls, through courtyards, and exploring every nook and cranny of an ancient castle.

This morning we took a boat ride on lake Geneva stopping at various ports of call. Being out on the water was a great relief from the heat.

The lake is beautiful with the craggy mountains surrounding it

We hopped off the boat at Chillon Castle. Chillon has been restored to it‘s medieval historical period. The castle actually dates back to about 800. It was like walking through history. The audio guides gave great information to really understand the parts of the castle and how they were used.

The store rooms and the vaulted arched ceilings holding up the rest of the castle

The prison that was the basis of Lord Byron’s Prisoner of Chillon

Lord Byron carved his name in the column

The great Hall where the Castlean would entertain

They had a large display of all different kinds of chests. In medieval times furniture was portable as people would have to move from one place to another

The Coat of Arms Hall was a reception room in the Middle Ages and is decorated with the coats of arms of the Bernese bailiffs , who lived in the castle between 1536 and 1733.

Some of the doorways were really short! Marcia could barely fit without ducking.

We climbed 8 stories to the top of the keep to see the views across the lake

Waiting as our boat back to Vevey pulled up to the dock.

Enjoying the boat ride and some cool drinks

The boat we rode back was a restored paddle wheeler

After we got back to the hotel we decided to take our bikes to a bike shop down the street to borrow their floor pump as some of our tires were a little too squishy! Some of the tires had less than 20 lbs of pressure in them. We aired up the tires, headed back to the hotel and had a new experience, riding in an elevator designed for cars!

Have you ever been in a car elevator? It was the first time for us.

Waiting to get in the car elevator when we got back to the hotel

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Kathryn ZiewitzWhat dramatic scenery with those high mountains surrounding the lake. Great photos of it all, including the castle.
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