Lausanne-Ouchy Cruises: Boats to Lavaux, Chillon and Évian from the Mid-Lake Hub

Walk down through Lausanne to the Ouchy quay and the lake opens out in front of you: the Savoy Alps stacked across the water, the Olympic Museum gardens behind your shoulder, and the low white boats swinging in against the pier. This is the middle of Lac Léman, the Swiss shore of Lake Geneva, and it works as a crossroads rather than a dead end. From here the water runs east toward the Lavaux vineyard terraces, Vevey, Montreux and the Château de Chillon, and straight across to Évian on the French side. This is the Swiss lake people picture when they think of paddle steamers under the Alps, not the small resort lake that shares the name over in Wisconsin. Every trip on Lake Geneva Cruises is a real, currently bookable sailing with its rating and its price attached, so you can match a boat to your afternoon rather than guess. The three-hour scenic circuit makes Ouchy a useful starting point for the vineyard shore.Check the Ouchy scenic circuit

Ouchy earns its place through geography. Geneva, out at the narrow western tip, can only loop its own harbour. Montreux, tucked into the eastern corner, sits close to the castle but a long way from anything west of it. Ouchy is the mid-lake hub, near enough to the Lavaux terraces to reach them in about half an hour on the water and central enough to send boats both ways. Below is what actually leaves from the Ouchy débarcadère, what each run costs in Swiss francs, and how to choose.

What boat cruises leave from Lausanne-Ouchy?

Lausanne-Ouchy is the mid-lake departure point on the Swiss shore, so its boats fan out in every direction: a three-hour Lavaux and Riviera scenic cruise, half-day sailings to the Château de Chillon landing stage, the short cross-border hop to Évian in France, and the scheduled eastbound line that threads the whole northern shore. Most of them run on CGN.

The operator behind the scheduled boats is CGN, Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman, which carries roughly 2.6 million passengers a year across the whole lake and runs a fleet of around nineteen vessels, from small motor boats to the historic Belle Époque paddle steamers. Its official site, cgn.ch, lists the scheduled circuits and the seasonal timetable. Ouchy is one of the main hubs on that network, and the boats that matter to a visitor here fall into three families: the long scenic cruise east along the wine country, the sailings down to the castle, and the crossings to France.

The headline product is the three-hour Lavaux and Riviera cruise, the slow, full look at the terraced vineyards from the water, from CHF 44 and with current reviews on its listing. Shorter and more focused, the round trip to the Château de Chillon runs down the shore to the castle landing stage from about CHF 32. Different again, the Lausanne to Évian sailing is a straight cross-border hop to the French spa town, roughly thirty-five minutes each way, from CHF 44. Behind all of these sits the plain scheduled line, which you can ride stop to stop without booking a named tour.

The three-hour Lavaux and Riviera circuit is the scenic option from Ouchy.

How does the eastbound line run past Lavaux to the castle?

The scheduled eastbound line, CGN's northern-shore route, leaves Ouchy and hugs the coast all the way to Villeneuve, about one hour and fifty-five minutes end to end. It calls at Lutry, then Cully, which sits at the foot of the Lavaux terraces roughly thirty-five minutes out, then Rivaz and Saint-Saphorin, Vevey, Montreux and the Château de Chillon landing stage.

This line is the spine of the eastern lake. You can ride the whole thing for the scenery or hop off at a Lavaux village and walk back into the vineyards, then catch a later boat. The terraces themselves are the reason to slow down here. Lavaux spans roughly 30 kilometres of terraced vineyards, close to 800 hectares, and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007 for a cultural landscape shaped since the eleventh century. The dominant grape is Chasselas, the region's emblematic white, and the sub-appellations, Lutry, Epesses, Saint-Saphorin, the steep Dézaley grand cru, change character village by village.

Seen from the water the terraces read as a single sweep of stone walls and vines climbing from the shore, the effect you cannot get from a car on the corniche road above. Boarding at Ouchy puts you at the western door of that stretch, so you watch the whole thing unfold rather than joining it halfway. For the vineyard-focused version of this trip, the Lavaux vineyard cruise guide goes deeper on the terraces and the walking options.

What does the 3-hour Lavaux and Riviera cruise show you?

The three-hour Lavaux and Riviera cruise from Ouchy is the slow, full look at the wine country from the water. A CGN boat runs east along the UNESCO terraces and the Riviera shoreline and back, from CHF 44, with current reviews on its listing, with a first-class deck option. It buys the best single angle on the terraced vineyards short of walking them yourself.

Three hours sounds long until you are on the deck. The boat tracks the Lavaux slope with the villages passing at reading pace, the Alps standing over the far shore, and the Riviera towns of Vevey and Montreux coming up at the eastern turn. The first-class option adds an upper deck and more room at the rail, which matters on a warm summer Sunday when the main deck fills. Prices sit in Swiss francs because that is what the operator charges at the quay; the booking platform then converts to your home currency at checkout, so the number you finally pay is your own.

CGN also runs themed variants of this water. The Dégustation sur le pont, or wine-tasting-on-deck sailing, pairs the same Lavaux and castle scenery with three small pours of local wine and first-class transport, listed at CHF 51 on cgn.ch, and dedicated vigneron-hosted evenings run on a handful of set 2026 dates. Those themed cruises are book-direct with the operator rather than part of the standard scenic ticket, and they are not covered by rail passes, a distinction the pricing section below returns to.

Can you reach Château de Chillon from Ouchy by boat?

Yes. A scheduled CGN sailing runs from Lausanne-Ouchy down to the Château de Chillon landing stage, passing the Lavaux terraces on the way, from about CHF 32. The boat sets you down at the quay beside the castle at Veytaux. Castle admission is a separate ticket, CHF 15 for adults and CHF 7 for children, bought at the gate or online.

This is the longer, more scenic route to Chillon, because you get the whole Lavaux shore before the castle appears on its rock. From Montreux the same castle is only a short hop, but from Ouchy the journey is the point. The landing stage sits at Quai Alfred Chatelanat in Veytaux, a short walk from the entrance, so you step off the boat almost at the drawbridge. Bring the castle ticket separately: the sailing gets you there, not in.

Chillon rewards the effort. It is Switzerland's most visited historic monument, and the Château de Chillon foundation reported close to 422,000 visitors in 2025, the second-highest year on record and a 6 percent rise on 2024, with international travellers making up 77 percent of them. In the main season, April to September, the castle opens 9:00 to 19:00 with last entry at 18:00, so an afternoon boat still leaves time to walk the vaulted cellars and the lakeside courtyards. For the full castle-by-boat picture from both Montreux and Lausanne, see reaching the castle by water.

Allow separate time for the castle visit, and align the return boat with your visit before setting out.

What is the crossing to Évian in France like?

The Lausanne-Ouchy to Évian sailing is a short cross-border hop, roughly thirty-five minutes each way, from CHF 44 round trip. Évian sits on the French shore, so this counts as an international trip: bring a passport or national identity card. On the far side you get the spa-town waterfront, the mineral-water source parks and a quieter Belle Époque promenade than the Swiss shore.

The Évian crossing is the trip that most reminds you the lake is shared. Ouchy and Évian face each other across the widest part of Lac Léman, and the boat runs the gap in a little over half an hour. Because you land in France, the sailing is subject to border formalities, so a passport or national ID is not optional. Évian-les-Bains built its fame on the water that carries its name, and the town rewards a couple of hours: the waterfront gardens, the funicular up to the source, and a slower pace than Montreux in July.

The good news for pass-holders is that this is a regular scheduled line, not a special cruise. The Swiss Travel Pass rides free on all regular scheduled CGN lines, and that expressly includes the cross-border services to France. If you already hold the pass, the Évian round trip costs you nothing beyond the border check. For the fuller France-shore picture, including Yvoire and Thonon, see the cross-border cruises guide.

Align your outward and return sailings with the time you want to spend in Évian.

What do Ouchy cruises cost, and does a pass cover them?

Ouchy cruises run from CHF 44 for the three-hour Lavaux and Riviera trip, CHF 44 round trip to Évian and about CHF 32 for the Chillon sailing. The Swiss Travel Pass rides free on all regular scheduled CGN lines, French crossings included, but not on special, dining or charter cruises. The Half Fare Card takes 50 percent off, and a CGN day pass is CHF 64 in second class.

Swiss francs are the honest way to show these fares, because that is what CGN charges at the pier; the booking platforms then convert to your own currency when you pay. The pass rules are where most visitors trip up, so it pays to be precise. A regular scheduled line-cruise, the eastbound boat to Vevey, Montreux and Chillon, or the crossing to Évian, is covered outright by the Swiss Travel Pass. A themed cruise, the wine-tasting sailing or a vigneron evening, is a special product and is not. The Half Fare Card, listed at CHF 150 for a month of validity, halves single tickets and the day pass, and the day pass itself is CHF 64 in second class or CHF 90 in first, unlimited CGN boats for the day. The full breakdown is on cgn.ch daily cards, and our Swiss Travel Pass and CGN boats guide walks through the covered-versus-not line in detail.

When do the boats run from Lausanne-Ouchy?

The Ouchy tourist boats run mainly from about 25 April to mid-October, with the fullest timetable and the Belle Époque steamers in service through high summer, roughly 1 June to 21 September. Core scheduled lines keep going year-round at reduced winter frequency. The bise wind or fog can cancel a sailing without much notice, so most listings let you cancel free up to about a day out.

Season shapes the Ouchy timetable more than anything else. Through July and August you get the widest choice, the most frequent departures and the paddle steamers on the water. In the shoulder weeks, late April into May and late September into October, the boats still run but on a thinner schedule, which suits travellers who want the terraces without the summer crowds. Winter drops the tourist cruises back to a reduced service, with some routes weekend and holiday only, though the core cross-lake lines keep running for commuters.

The themed evenings sit inside this calendar. CGN's vigneron-hosted Rendez-vous des vignerons cruises leave Ouchy around 16:55 and return near 19:45 on a few set 2026 dates, listed at CHF 45 for adults, with advance dates published by CGN. A weather cancellation, the bise wind whipping up the western basin or fog sitting low over the water, is a real possibility on any given day, so a free-cancellation window is worth more here than the few francs it might seem to cost.

Ouchy, Geneva or Montreux: which base for a lake day?

Base yourself at Ouchy for range: from one quay it reaches the Lavaux terraces, the Riviera, the castle and France. Choose Geneva only for a quick Jet d'Eau loop at the western tip, or Montreux if the castle and the Riviera are your whole plan and you want them on your doorstep. For a single day that samples the most lake, Ouchy is the sensible middle.

The three main bases each answer a different question. Geneva, at the Petit Lac tip, is built for the short scenic loop past the Jet d'Eau, from CHF 20, and little else on the water reaches far from there. Montreux, in the eastern corner, puts the two-hour Riviera loop and the Château de Chillon within minutes, the postcard scenery on your doorstep. Ouchy splits the difference and wins on reach: it is the only base from which a day can take in the wine country, the Riviera and a border crossing without doubling back.

For a trip across the lake region, a train to Ouchy or the eastern towns followed by a cruise is often more practical than sailing the full length. Our Geneva to Montreux by boat guide explains the connections. A short Geneva circuit remains an alternative if you stay at the western end.

The short version: Ouchy for range, Geneva for a cheap loop, Montreux for the castle and the Riviera on your doorstep.

Questions people ask before sailing from Lausanne-Ouchy