In this mini guide, we cover the basics of doing a tour of lake Geneva by bike, camping along the way. We will be following Route 46 (Swiss) and ViaRhona (French)
For this trip, we split it into a few sections, covering the entire loop of the lake in 5 days/4 nights. The sections are listed below, you can click each to be taken to the more detailed post for each of these sections.
Distance: 189km
Max Elevation: 889m
Time: 4 Nights, 5 Days
5 Days of Cycling
On this journey, we set off from the city centre of Geneva and stopped in the town of Nyon on the road to Rolle. From here, we take a short side trip up into the mountains to the winter village of Saint Cergue.
From Rolle, we take the short 30km trip along the shore of the lake, through wooded lanes and into the city of Lausanne, famous for its beautiful parks.
A highlight of the trip, we cycled out of Lausanne and up into the hills along Rue De La Corniche – one of the most beautiful cycling routes in Europe. From here, we ride through Vevey and Montreux and onto Villeneuve.
From here, we cycle through the countryside before leaving Switzerland and cycling into France. Onwards towards the famous town of Evian.
When leaving Evian, we are on the home stretch back to Geneva, however we take a beautiful ride into the french countryside, up to the medieval town of Yvorie.
Maps and Route Guidance
For navigating, there are two digital mapping links which help you understand the cycle route on the Swiss and French side.
Swiss
French
Safety
On the Swiss side, almost the entire route is covered by wide, designated cycle lanes, away from traffic or through small lanes or woodland.
However in France, the route from Saint Gingoloph to Evian is on a national highway and is only recommended for experienced cyclists and has no cycle path. There are some detours but are up steep hills with sharp turns. If you are new to cycling, it is encouraged that you skip this part, or undertake it on a weekday outside of peak seasons.
Places to camp
If you are bikepacking (like I did), below are listed campsites I stayed at after a careful amount of online research.
- Camping Rolle
- Camping Lausanne Vidy
- Camping des Grangettes (near Montreux / Villeneuve)
- Camping St Disdille (near Thonon-les-Bains/Evian)
All of these campsites were bike friendly, had well maintained and clean facilities as well as friendly staff and on-site restaurants.
Storage
In Switzerland, almost all SBB railway stations have luggage lockers where for between CHF5-8 you can store your kit for 24 hours. This is great for side trips where you don’t want to lug an extra 10kg up the hill and back down again.
You can search using the SBB Luggage Storage Search to find a station and the location and price of the lockers.
