Chillon Castle, Gruyères and Freiburg in one day

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Day 2: GENEVA - CASTILLO CHILLON - GRUYÈRES - FRIBURG - BERNA

At 6 in the morning and after sleeping only 5 hours we start the first day of our trip to Switzerland. We have set out to visit the Chillon Castle, Gruyéres and Freiburg in one day and end in Bern where we will stay and for that we need to take time out of the clock.
The first thing we do after waking up is to look out the window and check the weather on the internet. It seems that it will not rain today.
We leave the Park & ​​Suites Elégance Genève-Ferney Voltaire after 7 in the morning, after paying 1.98 euros (we are still in France, since we have stayed in the French part) of lodging fees.
Before we had coffee at the reception for 2.20. But no normal coffee, if not nespresso capsules. Did you know that Switzerland was expensive right?


We carry luggage in the car, connect the GPS of the rental car in Switzerland with the address of the Chillon Castle, which will be our first stop today and we set off under a blue sky that makes us look and smile.
We are in Switzerland and in good weather, something that according to forecasts was not what we were waiting for.
As we move away from the highway and reach Montreaux we begin to see those landscapes that are associated with Switzerland and that have the green color as the protagonist. We believe that there is only one possible color to award to Switzerland and it is green.
We have a path of about 60 kilometers from Geneva to Chillon Castle where we arrived about 8.30 in the morning.
And as we have some sandwiches, which we brought yesterday safely in the suitcase for dinner, but that we did not eat, we make an impromptu picnic in the parking lot of the castle that recharges our energies and puts us ready to know the Chillon Castle, Gruyères and Freiburg in one day.
A few minutes before 9 in the morning, we hung the cameras and began the first visit of the day, Chillon Castle.
Of course, before entering we walk around the area from which you have beautiful views and views of the castle from the lake and we recommend not to be missed.

Landscapes around Chillon Castle

In front of Chillon Castle

About 9.30 in the morning when we enter Chillon Castle, after paying by credit card 12.50 francs per person. They give us a brochure in Spanish with all the details of the visit and the explanation of the points we will go through.
By the way, they have free wifi in a couple of points of the entrance of the castle, with a very good signal.

Chillon Castle Entrance

Chillon Castle is an oval fortress from the 11th century It is a maze of courtyards, towers and halls full of period furniture, works of art and weapons.

Chillon Castle Winery

The part that overlooks the hill of Chillon Castle is the most fortified, while the one that overlooks the lake is the one that presents its friendliest face.

Lake views from Chillon Castle

Most of the Chillon Castle It was built by the House of Savoy and with the defeat of Vaud before Bern, it passed to the Bernese governors.

More practical information to prepare your trip to Switzerland

- Swiss route by train
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Switzerland
- 10 amazing places to see in Switzerland
- 10 essential places to see in Bern

The fortress became famous in 1816, when Byron wrote The Prisoner of Chillon, a poem about Bonivard, locked in the dungeon for his independence ideas and released by the Bernese army in 1536. Byron carved his name on a pillar in which, supposedly, Bonivard was chained.

Details of Chillon Castle

Column with the name of Bonivard

We visit Chillon Castle in about an hour and a half, following all the points that mark the route and we can say that it is one of the castles that we liked most of all those who have visited, which have already been enough in All these years that we have been traveling.
At 11 o'clock we left and before returning to the car, we cannot avoid going back for a walk around the castle, from where there are incredible views.

On the lake of Chillon Castle ...

After a while enjoying an environment where we would like to stay a few more hours, we connect our GPS again, putting the next point of the day, the town of Gruyères.
The sky has become much more gray than it was this morning and when we took 15 minutes on the road, we were surprised by the rain it seemed, it had given us a truce on this trip. Hopefully it improves a bit as the day progresses.
We arrived in Gruyères from Chillon Castle in just over 30 minutes and we left the car in one of the parking lots in the lower part of town.
Still raining and with some cold, we have to put on a long-sleeved sweater and lay hold of the umbrella while we climb the stairs that will take us to the town of Gruyères.
We love the first vision of Gruyères and although we would continue touring the town, it continues to rain, so we prefer to make a technical stop and take advantage of the famous HR Giger, decorated in the same style as the HR Giger Museum, a museum dedicated to the painter behind the alien filmed in the movie Alien.

It is still raining in Gruyères

HR Giger Museum in Gruyères

How could it be otherwise, at the moment we are inside the bar, we understand the reason why it is so famous and take advantage of a free table in the window, to charge energies with a cappuccino and a long coffee for 9.50 francs.

Interior of HR Giger

Reviewing today's itinerary visiting Chillon Castle, Gruyères and Freiburg in one day

When we see that it stops raining and the sky returns to that shade of blue that we like so much to enjoy in our travels, we shot to enjoy Gruyères, a town with a lot of charm, that seems taken from a story.

Streets of Gruyères

Gruyères

When it is almost 2 in the afternoon we go to the famous Chalet Gruyères, one of the best known restaurants in Gruyères, where to eat fondue.
And how could it be otherwise, we ordered a complete fondue for two, coke and beer for 50.10 francs.

Fondue in Gruyères

All great! And warned you are that with a fondue for two you have enough.
The waitress told us that it was for a person and luck that we did not pay much attention, following the opinions we had read and taking a look at the dishes at another table, because if we get to ask for something else, it remains untouched at the table.
We just ate and made a short table when we went out with a splendid sun that accompanies us, when we decided to take a last walk through Gruyères.

Gruyères Castle

Doing some shopping in Gruyères

On the way back to the parking we see again the same landscapes that we saw a few hours ago on our arrival in Gruyères with rain and we think it's a lie as the same view, it can change so much according to the weather.
Now in front of us we have the color green splashing everything. Beautiful landscapes that we didn't remember seeing since we were on our trip to Austria several years ago.

Saying goodbye to Gruyères with an incredible time

As we mentioned this morning, today's planning is to know the Chillon Castle, Gruyères and Freiburg in one day, so we make our way to Freiburg, which will be our last stop of the day, before we go to Bern, where we will stay tonight.
It takes us 20 minutes to get to Freiburg from Gruyères, arriving there around 15.30 in the afternoon, a perfect time to discover a new point on the map of Switzerland.
We are going to park directly in a square near the funicular that joins the upper and lower areas of the city and this is when we remember again that we do not have francs and that the parking must be paid with coins.
There is no parkimeter to pay with a card, so we have no choice but to go to an ATM, get money with the N26 card and to get coins, have a couple of coffees on a terrace that incidentally help us wake up.
That after arriving yesterday from Barcelona to Geneva quite late, we only slept 5 hours and that, at this time of day it shows.
After this coffee, we pay 3 francs for 2 hours of parking and we go quietly to the Cathedral of San Nicolás, which we have right in front of the area where we have parked.
Incredible chapel of the Holy Sepulcher and the entrance of the Cathedral, certainly a stop that you can not miss if you come to Freiburg.
From here we go to 3 streets named in the guide, as the most central in the city, Rue de Broucheurs, Rue de Chanoines and Grand Rue, although the truth is that we do not find this area too much, although we arrive at a viewpoint from which we see the area of Freiburg's bohemian neighborhood, where will we go next.

Freiburg views from a viewpoint

We return to the car and go straight to the lower part of Freiburg where we park in the blue zone, marking the time with our cardboard clock and we go straight to Freiburg's two most famous bridges, the Pont du Milieu, made of stone and the paved and roofed Pont du Berne.

Views of Freiburg from the Pont du Milieu

Pont du Berne

From the first we have splendid views of the upper part of Freiburg and from the second we enjoy an incredible tranquility next to the river, where we enjoy a few minutes embobados with the surroundings.
It is 17.30 in the afternoon when we end our visit to Freiburg and return by car to get on our way to the city that will welcome us tonight, Bern.
We arrive in Bern from Freiburg after 6 in the afternoon and leave the car in the blue zone, since from 6 in the afternoon until 8 in the morning it is not paid.
During the day, from 08.00 to 11.30 and from 14.30 to 18 you can park one hour for free and between 11.30 and 14.30, it is extended to 2 hours.
So we can park for free in the blue zone until 9 am, putting our cardboard clock at 8 o'clock as if we had arrived at that time.
Result the issue of parking, we go to our accommodation in Bern, the Ibis Budget Bern Expo, where we check in and directly, being the time it is, we go to dinner.
The streets of Bern are very crowded and we find an environment that invites you to sit on a terrace, where it is difficult to find a free table at this time.
We go straight to the Nooch restaurant, an Asian that serves sushi and that as soon as we enter we know we will love it.
The chefs are Japanese and we see that the letter includes even our long-awaited bentos, of that trip to Japan that we remember so much.
We ordered 4 trays of 8 rolls each, plus water for two, for 74 francs.

Having sushi dinner in Bern

Very good, although we have to say, in honor of the truth, that a variety itched as something bad that made us drink the bottle of water as soon as we started.
It's 9 o'clock at night and we're really busted, so we go for a walk to the hotel, where a dream night awaits us, dreams with Bern.

Chillon Castle

Freiburg

Day 3: BERNA - THUN - OBERHOFEN - SPIEZ - INTERLAKEN

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