Grand Tour of Switzerland - M...375.69073486328Tourist Office Pavilion NyonOpening hours
Open 7 days per week, from 17th May until 7th September 2014
May, June and September
10 am -5.00 pm
July - August
10 am - 6.00 pm403.80236816406Tourist Office NyonOpening hours
From 16th May until 8th September
Mondays to Fridays
8.30 am-12.00 am and 2 pm10 - 5.30 pm
Closed on Tuesday afternoon.
From 9th September
Mondays to Fridays
8.30 am- 12.30 am and 1.30 pm - 5.30 pm
Christmas timetable:
24 December: closed from 12 am
25 - 27 December: closed
31 December: closed from 4 pm
1-3 janvier 2014: closed373.66723632812La Côte AOCYou can easily lose yourself in La Côte, canton Vaud’s largest wine-producing region, with 2,000 hectares of vines that stretch from the gently undulating border lands in Geneva to Lausanne. Don’t worry, points of reference are always in sight, starting with Lake Geneva, of course, which operates a thermal regulator effect on the grapes here. Then there is the Jura, which offers a protective shoulder against the north winds. The string of hillside villages has names that sing out - Bursinel, Tartegnin, Féchy, Vinzel – with their cozy auberges and cool wineries that invite you to climb to reach them.
Vine parcels are compartmentalized and organized to some extent by the streams and creeks that wind through them, leaving hikers refreshed and with a sense of intimacy with the land. The 32 impressive chateaus and manor homes attest to a past where a secular tradition dominated life in the vineyards. But this is Vaud, and the past is not what leads visitors on here – it’s the terraces and open doors to the cellars with their extraordinary diversity of wines within the appellation.
Chasselas is king, of course, with a number of Premier Grand Crus. The enormous range of soils and sun exposure are found in the aromatic profiles of the wines and also in the huge range of grape varieties that are planted here. They are in general quick to express their terroirs, with floral notes and fruit in mouth – more delicate and elegant from grapes grown on the gravelly lower land, with more body when they come from the heavier soils higher up. From Founex to Morges, visitors rarely leave without harvesting their own collection of wonderful wine surprises.779.14239501953La Garenne ZooLa Garenne Zoo in Le Vaud specialises in European fauna, wild animal care and breeding of protected raptors. It also has a pedagogic mission. The zoo owes its existence to Erwin Maier, a fauna fan who inaugurated it in 1965.
As a contribution to preserving raptors, the zoo breeds some twenty raptor species, such as the bearded vulture, the only bone-eating vulture in the world that disappeared in the Alps in the 19th century. The young vultures, which were born at Garenne, have been set free according to the national reinsertion programme.
The pedagogic centre in the zoo proposes various thematic visits about predators, the food chain, raptors, migratory birds, reptiles and bats.
Open all year round.
Playground and self-service restaurant on site.406.10656738281Swiss National MuseumBuilt upon a hill with a view of Lake Geneva and the Alps, Prangins Castle dominates idyllic scenery: it is surrounded by a French-style park with lime trees and rose terraces in staggered rows.
Built around 1730, the Castle used to be inhabited by Voltaire and Joseph Bonaparte before being turned into a private boarding school. Donated to the Swiss Confederation by the Lake Geneva Region, it was renovated and became the Swiss National Museum in 1998.
"Discover the Swiss history between 1730 and 1920": this is the topic of the permanent exhibition showing ancient objects and countless didactic videos. The museum organises temporary exhibitions and has a historic vegetable garden.
Ancient flowers, fruits and vegetables have been integrated into the castle's landscaped garden and bear witness to 18th century cultivation based on ancient seeds provided by the Federal Agronomic Research Station in Changins.398.53567504883Nyon CastleThis medieval fortress was built in the 12th century and transformed in the 16th century.
The Castle dominates the old town and Lake Geneva. Serving as an administrative building for the Savoy family and later for the Bernese administration, it now accommodates the History and Porcelain Museum.
The Castle has recently undergone renovation and can be visited from top to bottom. The exhibition halls of the History and Porcelain Museum give visitors the impression of an inhabited residence. Indeed, the jewel of its collections, porcelain made in Nyon between 1781 and 1813 is presented in a period dining room. The historic collection, which is illustrated by items found in the surrounding region, summarises 3,000 years of Nyon's history.
Preserved in their original state with their walls full of scribbled messages, the former prison cells are located in the attic.
From the terrace with the Castle's adjoining vegetable garden, visitors can enjoy the fabulous view of Lake Geneva and the Alps.400.76205444336Museum of History and PorcelainSet up in a sumptuous dining room of the medieval castle, the Museum of History and Porcelain presents the porcelains produced in Nyon between 1781 and 1813.
The Nyon porcelain manufacture, one of the two that existed in Switzerland in that period, produced neoclassical porcelain, mainly for a local clientele of notables and patricians. It got its supplies of raw material (kaolin) from Saint-Yrieix near Limoges. The whiteness of its porcelain is comparable to high-level French productions.
The Nyon porcelain manufacture received the support of wealthy middle-class citizens only. The troubles linked to the French Revolution and Napoleon put an end to this expensive industry: the production of porcelain decreased after 1805 and stopped altogether in 1813. However, the Nyon manufacturers continued producing china until 1979.381.845703125Lake Geneva MuseumOpened in 1954 in a middle-class mansion on the shore of Lake Geneva, the Lake Geneva Museum contains a collection relating to the lake and to the nature around it. The prestigious naval heritage of Lake Geneva is illustrated by 30 historical boats owned by the Museum, which has recently modernised its museography.
The museum portrays the people working on the lake, particularly lifesavers and fishermen. There are various activities proposed in the same field.
Three aquariums present the biotopes typical of Lake Geneva: the shoreline where fishes spawn, the mouth of a river and the depth of the lake.
The first floor is dedicated to the Piccard family. August Piccard invented the first tourist submarine on Lake Geneva, put into service in 1964, the year of the Swiss National Exhibition in Lausanne. The Museum also presents the incredible feats achieved by the Piccards in the sea and in the stratosphere.42842842942743143143143343343443343443343042842943143243243143143043042842942942842742742842842842942943143042942842942942842742642642742842943143143143043042942943043243343242842843043343343243343443643743643543543643744144244244344344344243443243443544043943443343142942742742642642642642542542542642642642642642642642742842942943043143343343643543643743843944745345445545545645645845745144644745145645645545345746546647247347547748048348549249549749750050250250350550650550751051652052052252753353454154154755255656056156356556957157357557758058358358759059259359659960360460761161662262362462462763163263463764064364764764965365665966266366566666867267367567968368669069069169269469770270470570971671972272572672873073374074975375475676376576777077477878077877777477377377577978078278478578778878978779579779879879979980080080179979579779979979879880080680880980580480881081081381781982082382482683083583784284885086285885685485585786186386486987187287387587587688288388488889189289289489689890090590690991091191791892092192292592792993394095095395695796497097297497697998398498498498298198098498498698999098999199399410021003100199710001005100810201023102810321034103510351039104210461049104810481050105310631070107610821091109110931095109611001104111111101115111711211119112111291131113511301131113511391139113811421149115311541156116011661167116811651169118011791184119512011206121212161219122112231225123112331236123912421244125112581262126512681282128712901297129913061315132513261334134013471354135813621363136413661373137413761378138113841393139513981400140414071412141514181427143314391441144714521455146114721477147714751477148214851488149214961497