Private Lausanne, Lavaux Terraces & Gruyères Day Trip from Bern

Lausanne old town and cathedral

Lausanne climbs steeply from the shore of Lake Geneva to its medieval heart, crowned by the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, consecrated in 1275 and considered one of the finest Gothic churches in Switzerland. Its painted portal and rose window are highlights, and a centuries-old tradition survives here: every night a watchman calls out the hours from the bell tower. Below the cathedral, the covered wooden Market Stairs lead down to Place de la Palud, with its colourful Justice Fountain and the old town hall.

On this private Lausanne tour from Bern, the drive takes about 1 hour 10 minutes, and your driver drops you close to the old town to spare the steepest climbs. Plan around 1 to 1.5 hours here for the cathedral terrace, the lanes and a coffee. Lausanne also offers some of the best lunch options of the day, including halal restaurants.

Ouchy lakefront and the Olympic Museum

Down by the water, the old fishing port of Ouchy has become Lausanne's favourite promenade, lined with plane trees, flower beds and belle-époque buildings, with paddle steamers docking at the pier and the French Alps rising across the lake. Lausanne has been home to the international Olympic movement for more than a century, and the Olympic Museum stands in a terraced park beside the shore, decorated with sports sculptures and a running track with lake views.

Inside, interactive galleries cover the history of the Games, the athletes' stories and the design of torches and medals; allow about 1.5 hours if you go in. Entry is not included and is paid on site. The museum is usually closed on Mondays outside the summer season, so if you are travelling on a Monday, we suggest checking the opening hours or enjoying the free park instead.

The Lavaux terraces above Lake Geneva

East of Lausanne, the shore turns into one of the most striking landscapes in Switzerland. The Lavaux terraces stretch for about 30 km between Lutry and the outskirts of Montreux, stacked up the steep hillside on hundreds of kilometres of stone walls first built by monasteries in the 12th century. Listed by UNESCO in 2007, Lavaux is celebrated as a cultural landscape shaped by people working with nature over many centuries.

Your driver follows the panoramic Corniche road through the tiny stone villages of Cully, Epesses, Rivaz and Saint-Saphorin, with stops at the best viewpoints over the lake and the Savoy Alps. Locals say the terraces enjoy three suns: the sky, its reflection on the lake and the warmth stored in the walls. The best time to visit Lavaux is late spring to autumn, when the slopes are green and the lake shines deep blue.

Gruyères, the medieval village on the hill

From Lavaux the road climbs inland to the pastures of the Gruyère region, about 45 minutes away. Gruyères sits on a grassy hill at about 810 m beneath the pyramid of Mount Moléson. Cars stay at the foot of the village, and a single wide cobbled street leads up past flower-decked houses, a stone fountain and small shops selling cheese, wooden crafts and cowbells.

At the top stands Gruyères Castle, built in the 13th century and for nearly 300 years the seat of the Counts of Gruyère. Its knights' hall, period rooms and terraced gardens can be visited with a ticket bought on site; allow about 45 minutes. Is Gruyères worth visiting? For a perfectly preserved small town in pastoral scenery, it is one of the loveliest stops in Switzerland. Halal-certified food is rare here, so we suggest lunch in Lausanne.

Optional cheese and chocolate stops in the Gruyère region

At the foot of the hill, a show dairy lets you watch Gruyère cheese being made through large windows and see the cellar where wheels mature for months; cheese is usually made in the morning and around midday. A few minutes' drive away, the village of Broc is home to a Swiss chocolate factory that has used the region's milk since 1898, with an exhibition and tasting room.

These visits are not included in this tour, but because the vehicle is private, you can ask your driver to stop if time allows and pay the entry on the spot. Most travellers choose one of the two to keep the day relaxed. If you are wondering how to get to Gruyères from Bern on your own, the train needs changes; on this day trip the vehicle takes you door to door and back to Bern in about an hour.