17 Lausanne to Martigny
582 m climbing
7h 31m elapsed
30th July 2020, 23°C, sunny
76.47 km
4h 36m moving
41% off-road
The Vineyards and Montreux
The route out of Lausanne is a little mixed up, its not always clear which areas of the lake front cycling is allowed. But once you're out of town its irrelevant anyway since you head up into the hills on the side of the lake amongst the vineyards. I'd say to anybody thinking of taking the road at this point to avoid that and go to the hills: the views over the lake and to the Alps, especially early morning are yet another highlight of the Via Francigena.
Looking south over the lake to tomorrow’s destination
The vineyards, especially early morning are stunning
You’re often looking down on the villages
Finally into Montreux, and Freddie Mercury is getting some attention
The Château de Chillon
The Rhone Valley
The Rhone Valley is flat and dull. There... I've said it. There's very few highlights here... perhaps following the official route would be better but I couldn't see that was any more interesting. For me the only places worth a look were the Château d’Aigle and Cascade de la Pissevache (Cow piss falls would be a literal translation).
Typical vibe from the Rhone Valley… quite pretty but you’re never far from some concrete or other transport infrastructure.
Château d’Aigle
Even the river feels man-made
This wasn’t fun to cycle on; only a full-suspension mountain bike would be right for this kind of stuff.
Overnight: Martigny, Martigny Boutique-Hôtel
This was a great hotel and I'm not sure why: its a modern tower block a bit out of the centre of town, which isn't a problem on a bike, in the middle of a kind of post-industrial area looking for new life. I think the reasons are that the staff were great, the views are amazing from the high up rooms and it's very cycle friendly: it has its own lock up and cycle "workshop" in the basement. I’d definitely go here again.
