Via Francigena in Switzerland from Sainte Croix to Gran San Bernardo - 12 days

Arriva a Sainte-Croix e raggiungi il tuo hotel. Sainte-Croix è la capitale dei carillon e della musica meccanica. Mentre sei qui, prenditi del tempo per visitare il Museo CIMA (Centre International de la Mécanique d'Art), dedicato alla storia della musica meccanica.

The Via Francigena reaches Switzerland at La Grand'Borne, near L'Auberson, and leads through the plateaus to Sainte-Croix. You start your walk downhill towards Vuiteboeuf, admiring the views on the way to Orbe, your overnight stop. 

On leaving Orbe, follow the path to the medieval town of Romainmôtier. Don't miss the Romanesque church, built between 990 and 1028 in the style of the church of Cluny and considered one of the jewels of the Yverdon-les-Bains region. After this point you continue to what is known as the centre of the world, where one part of the river Nozon flows into the Mediterranean, the other into the North Sea.

Today it is a fairly flat walk along the Venoge River from Cossonay to Saint-Sulpice with its Romanesque church, once the heart of a Cluniac priory, on Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), where it continues along the banks and through the Roman town of Vidy to Lausanne. Until the Reformation in 1536, Lausanne was an important pilgrimage destination and meeting point between the Via Francigena and the Way to Santiago de Compostela. Today it is home to the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee. Take time to explore the hilly old town with its medieval streets lined with shops and Gothic cathedral.

The stage with which you will celebrate the start of your journey initially runs along Lake Geneva and through the Lavaux vineyards. This wine-growing area of more than 800 hectares is a UNESCO World Heritage site as a testimony to the passion and hard work required for the perfect integration of human activity and the natural landscape. Take a break from your walk to taste some wine in a wine cellar. Cheers!

The route skirts around Lake Leman, crossing Montreux and proceeding until Villeneuve. Leaving the lake behind, the course continues levelly till it arrives at the entrance of Aigle. It then rises to pass Yvorne and a lovely panoramic point of the Rhône Valley, before descending to Aigle.

Leaving Aigle, the route passes a beautiful area of vineyards as it shortly arrives at the castle, Chateau d’Aigle, home of the wine museum, constructed in the 13th Century. Proceeding through vineyards and woods along the coast, the path reaches Ollon. It leads beyond Antagnes, where the route briefly follows the Gryonne till it arrives at Massongex and Saint Maurice, where since the Middle Ages, pilgrims have paused at on their journey to Rome.

Just after Saint-Maurice you reach Vérolliez, where a tiny chapel commemorates the martyrdom of St Mauritius and his companions. On the path into the Rhone valley, you meet the famous Pissevache waterfall and the 200-metre-deep Trient gorge.

This stage marks the begin of the climb to the Great St. Bernard pass. From Martigny a steep path leads over the narrow Les Trappistes pass to the medieval village of Sembrancher. From here the route follows the Napoleon trail.

In Orsières, don't forget to visit the church, the bell and its "Saint Gregoire Mass" and inside the church, the exhibition about Maurice Tornay, born in Orsières.

This stage leads you first along a forest path, west then east of the river, on the historic path from Liddes to the small Notre-Dame-de-Lorette Chapel before Bourg-Saint-Pierre.

Undoubtedly the most symbolic stage on the Via Francigena! The way to the pass leads along a road which has served the whole of Europe for 2000 years. Countless archaeological sites line the ascent, above all in L’Hospitalet and on the Great-St-Bernard Pass.

The trip and our services end after breakfast unless you have pre-booked extra nights with us or other extra services.