This summer we visited the lovely Yverdons-les-Bains in western Switzerland, a region we hadn’t explored before. We did a beautiful hike to a cliff ridge at Le Chasseron, explored the largest cave system in Switzerland at Vallorbe, cooled off in the lake with a pedalo at Surf Center VD8, relaxed at the Grand Hôtel & Centre Thermal Baths and wandered the charming old town.
It was so nice to get to know this region a little better, which so many fun options for families. We only scratched the surface, so we’ll just have to come back to see more next time.
Note: Thanks to Lake Geneva Region for hosting our visit. See their website for many more fun hikes and activities in this area.
1. Overview of Yverdons-les-Bains
Yverdons-les-Bains is a “spa town” in western Switzerland at the southwest end of Lake Neuchatel, well known for its thermal baths. Many use Yverdon as a base to enjoy the lake and many outdoor activities in the surrounding areas.
Yverdon has a charming old town to wander with restaurants, museums, and other amusements. It also has lakeside parks and beaches so you can enjoy the lake view.
We really enjoyed wandering the streets, soaking in the atmosphere. With everyone speaking French and a seemingly more relaxed mood than eastern Switzerland, it felt like visiting France without crossing the border.
2. Getting There
By public transport: The Yverdon main train station is very close to the old town area and lake. It’s about 25 mins from Lausanne, 50 mins from Geneva, 1hr20 from Bern, and 1hr50 from Zürich.
By car: Yverdon is about 30 mins north of Lausanne, 1hr from Bern or Geneva, and 2hr from Zürich. If you are not parking at your hotel, there is lots of metered street parking around town. There is also a large parking lot next to the train station, Parking Place d’Armes (near Rue des Remparts 26, 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains). If you going to the lake beach, park at Parking de la plage d’Yverdon (Chemin des Grèves de Clendy, 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains).
3. Le Chasseron hike
The highlight of our trip was the hike to Le Chasseron (1607m), one of the highest points in the region with a beautiful panorama view from the cliffs.
It’s a 10k loop trail starting in Les Rasses, about a 30 min drive from Yverdon. There’s a free parking lot at the trail head next to Restaurant Les Planets (Route du Chasseron 12, 1452 Rasses). The closest bus stop is Les Rasses, Village.
The trail starts with a steep climb, gaining about 370m over the first 2.5km, mostly in the forest, which was nice on a hot day. At the top, you walk out to the cliffs for the big views over the countryside. On a clear day, you can see to Lake Geneva and France.
It’s nice to wander along the cliffs (stay safely away from the edge, no safety barriers!) to find a nice picnic spot. Or you can enjoy a drink and regional dishes at Hôtel du Chasseron near the viewpoint (open Tues-Sun in summer, see opening times) or one of the other restaurants later along the trail.
After enjoying the views, you loop around the mountain, through fields and forests, with views down to Yverdon and Lake Neuchâtel.
For a much shorter alternative, you can drive almost all the way to the top and park here: 46°50’35.7″N 6°32’27.1″E. Then it’s only 1.3 km to the cliffs viewpoint and restaurant. Then you can simply walk back the way you came.
For more hikes in the region, see yverdonlesbainsregion.ch
4. Exploring Vallorbe caves
We spent a morning exploring the Vallorbe caves, the largest cave system in Switzerland. These caves are a 30 mins drive from Yverdon and close to the popular JuraPark animal park. There is a walkway built inside the caves, making them quite easy to explore. Small children are welcome but not strollers. We spent about 1 hour inside the caves.
There are mood lights throughout the caves, adding to the beauty.
There are some stairs throughout the caves and sometimes the walkway is wet and slippery. So wear good shoes and bring a jacket in case you get chilly.
At the end of your cave visit, there is an enormous crystal exhibit, with 250 amazing crystals displayed in multiple rooms. We spent a long time browsing every display case and picking our favorites.
Outside the caves, there is a lovely forest and river. There is one big picnic area with tables and fire pits near the water.
Chemin des Grottes 1337 Vallorbe – CH
Open 9:30 to 17:30 in June, July, August (see other opening times)
Adults CHF 15, Children 6-15 CHF 7
grottesdevallorbe.ch
5. On the lake
One afternoon we cooled off in Lac de Neuchâtel by renting pedalos at Surf Center VD8 (Route de la Grève 1, 1400 Cheseaux-Noréaz), about a 10 mins drive from Yverdon. The surf center is inside the campground, but non-campers can use the facilities as well.
You can rent a variety of water craft: SUP, pedalos with slides, motor boats, canoes, windsurfer and sailboats. As an example, a 4 person pedalo costs CHF 20/hour. Some vessels are popular. So if you want something specific at a specific time, you might want to call ahead to reserve. +41 79 562 56 60
The campground has a long stretch of sandy beach with designated areas for swimming, protected from watercraft.
6. Thermal Baths & Our Hotel
We stayed at Grand Hotel-les-Bains, which has the biggest thermal baths in town. The kids loved swimming in the thermal baths each evening, a good reward for hiking. The hotel seemed to be quite popular with families. We loved eating our breakfast each morning on the big outdoor terrace. The hotel is conveniently located near the center of town and had free parking.
Grand Hotel-les-Bains
Avenue des Bains 22, 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains (see on map)
www.bainsyverdon.ch
6. Where we ate
One night, we ate at the plaza in the center of town at Restaurant de la Place, where we could people watch and enjoy the evening atmosphere. Another night, we had burgers at Double R, a popular locals hangout (Rue du Collège 4, 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains).
We were lucky to catch a community game night, hosted by the science fiction museum. Many summer nights they host different events in this plaza, including theater, dancing and music. It was so fun to participate and feel part of the community.
On our hike, we had a yummy picnic of local products including these almond tarts from St. Croix (aka amandine), very close to the trail head of our hike. They are shipped all over the world but you can buy them from the source here:
La Gourmandine Boulangerie-pâtisserie-confiserie Reynald Jaccard
Av. de la Gare 6, 1450 Sainte-Croix – CH (see on map)
7. Wandering Yverdon
We spent our evenings, before and after dinner, wandering the quiet old town of Yverdon. So lovely on warm summer nights.
We fit a lot into just a couple days but left wanting to see more. We hope to come back to this region to hike more of the countryside and enjoy more of the local food.
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The Areuse Gorge hike, about 40 mins from Yverdon
