Below the path, the terraces fall away in long green steps, each one held up by an old stone wall, until they run out at the lakeside road and the railway line. Then it's just Lake Geneva, very blue. On the far shore the Alps rise straight out of the water. You can walk for a while here without anyone saying much, which, for a group of six or seven friends, tells you something.
I live in Switzerland, so this was a weekend away in late June rather than a big trip. We weren't trying to fill every hour. The idea was to slow down and eat well, and maybe understand a bit more about this corner of the country while we were at it.
The placeWhy Lavaux
Lavaux is in the canton of Vaud, on the northern shore of Lake Geneva, stretched out between Lausanne and Montreux. What makes it is the slope. The vineyards are cut into terraces on hillsides so steep they look ready to slide into the lake, and the mountains stand on the opposite shore, so from almost anywhere you get the vines and the water with the peaks behind them.
People have grown wine here for a very long time, and the landscape you see today was shaped over centuries by generations of winegrowers. Since 2007 the Lavaux vineyard terraces have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A small confession for a wine region: I don't drink alcohol. I still found Lavaux fascinating. There's the history and the local culture, but above all there's the landscape, which you can enjoy perfectly well with a glass of water in your hand.
FridayHôtel de la Gare
We arrived on Friday and checked into Hôtel de la Gare in Grandvaux for two nights. We chose it for the location and the panorama, and it delivered. From around the hotel you get the classic Lavaux view, vines running down to the lake with the mountains across it.
It also has its own restaurant, which is more useful than it sounds on a short weekend.
There was no air conditioning when we stayed, so I wouldn't pick it in very hot summer weather. The rest of the year, the location makes it a very convenient base. Check the room facilities before you book.
SaturdayThe vineyards with a guide
On Saturday morning we'd booked a wine tour with a local guide. We picked the morning on purpose, to be out on the slopes before the heat of the day.
The non-drinker on a wine tour. It sounds like the start of a joke, and yet I really enjoyed it, because the tour was about much more than tasting. Our guide walked us through the vineyards and explained the region: how the vines are grown here, and why this stretch of shore has such particular conditions for them.
It comes down to the sun and the lake. The steep terraces catch plenty of sunlight, while the lake and the stone walls of the terraces shape the local microclimate, and together they make it possible to grow wine on a hillside like this. For me that was the best part of the day, understanding why people have farmed this slope for centuries and how they adapted to a landscape this steep.
At the end there was, of course, a tasting for the group. The people organising it were very kind and offered me non-alcoholic drinks instead. So if you don't drink and have been quietly assuming vineyard tours aren't for you, go anyway. The cultural side is all still there, and you get a beautiful day walking through the vines.
In summer, book the vineyard tour for the morning. The terraces catch the sun all day and there isn't much shade between the vines, so by midday it gets hot.
WanderingWalking between the vines
My favourite thing about Lavaux is that you can simply walk.
You don't need a complicated itinerary. Paths run between the vineyards and the villages, and often the best plan is to wander off along one and stop whenever the view asks you to. That was exactly the weekend we wanted. Nothing stressful, and no pressure to see absolutely everything.
"Sometimes the best thing to do in Lavaux is just wander, stop for the views and take your time."
There's also a little panoramic train that runs through parts of the vineyards, a nice alternative if you don't fancy a long walk on steep ground. I was glad we explored with our guide, though. We could actually understand what we were looking at, rather than just passing through it.
DinnerLe Guillaume Tell
One of my friends is particularly good at finding restaurants, so I happily left this part of the weekend in her hands.
She booked us a table for Saturday night at Le Guillaume Tell, in Aran-Villette, part of Bourg-en-Lavaux. It's listed in the Michelin Guide, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of our stay.
We had a tasting menu of around six or seven courses, the kind of dinner you don't rush. Dishes kept arriving and everyone talked, and somewhere along the way the meal became the evening itself. It opened with something bright orange in a small square glass, a black lace tuile balanced on top. After that came a little disc of beetroot tartare under a spoon of cream.
The first courses: the orange verrine, then the beetroot tartare.
Next was a seared scallop on lentils with a squid-ink tuile standing beside it like a black sail. Then beef fillet, pink in the middle, with a swoosh of pea purée and small spring vegetables around it.
Scallop with lentils and a squid-ink tuile, then the beef fillet.
The food was amazing, and for a special evening with friends it was the perfect choice.
Book Le Guillaume Tell well in advance, especially if you're coming for a weekend and already know your dates.
PracticalBefore you go
You don't need a car to get here. Grandvaux has its own railway station, a short regional train ride from Lausanne, and Hôtel de la Gare sits right by it, as the name suggests.
We went in late June, with the vines in full leaf and the evenings long and light.
We kept our weekend deliberately slow, but there's plenty more to do if you have the time. The villages along this shore are made for stopping in as you go: Cully, Lutry, Epesses, Saint-Saphorin, Rivaz. Stop wherever you like rather than trying to see them all. A boat on Lake Geneva shows you Lavaux from the water, a completely different angle on the same hills. You can cycle it too, if you're ready for the climbs. Autumn is the season to aim for if you can, when the vines change colour and the whole slope turns golden. And with a few extra days, Lausanne and Vevey are close enough to fold into the same trip, with Montreux just a little further along the shore.
SundayThe last morning
If I had to pick one plan for Lavaux, it would be the smallest one. Find a viewpoint at the edge of the terraces and sit down. Stay there longer than you meant to, with the vines dropping away below you to the water and the mountains filling the other shore.
That morning we packed up and followed the lake east, toward Montreux.