Chillon Castle and Geneva, Switzerland

Posted by Michele September 05, 2024

Chillon Castle and Geneva, Switzerland

Leaving our Airbnb in Fribourg is bittersweet. It was a delightful place to spend our time in this area, but we must move on toward Geneva. On our way, we stopped at Chillon Castle, and I am so glad we did.

We had a delicious snack before going into the castle; three different quiches, a pasta dish, and overnight oats. All of the food we have eaten here in Europe is amazing, I will likely miss that and the fountains with clear water, more than anything else.

Château de Chillon is located on Lake Geneva in the canton of Vaud. It was first occupied by the House of Savoy, followed by the Bernese and now belongs to the canton de Vaud.

It was built on the island of Chillon, an oval limestone rock and I was amazed at how they incorporated the actual landscape, (rocks) into the castle.

The counts and dukes of Savoy used the castle as a residence but also to house prisoners. Its most famous prisoner was probably François de Bonivard, a Genevois monk, prior of St. Victor in Geneva and historian, who was imprisoned there for six years in 1530.

We spent several hours going through the castle and marveled at all of the different rooms including the “out-houses” which were toilet holes, in alcoves, that opened to the lake below. The best part about these toilet holes was the breeze coming up through them! Maybe it was designed that way so you could air dry!

After tromping through the castle we decided to drive to the old town of Geneva on the way to our Airbnb. That was a bit of a poor choice because of the traffic; it was bumper to bumper with traffic lights only allowing one, maybe two cars through each rotation. Kind of felt like I was in LA!

We forged onward and finally arrived at our destination. After a short walk uphill, we found Saint Pierre Cathedral, and luckily, it was open. It is the principal church of the Reformed Protestant Church of Geneva. It was a Roman Catholic Church until 1535.

At the time of the Reformation, the interior of the large, cruciform, late-gothic church was stripped of its rood screen, side chapels, and all decorative works of art, except the stained glass. This left the interior of the medieval church plain, and stark, unlike most churches that survived,

In the 1890s, Genevans redecorated a large, side chapel in a polychrome, gothic revival style. It is stunning.

After leaving the church, it started to rain. It is the first time that it has rained on us while tourist-ing. The Weather Gods have been “Forever in our favor!”

Leaving Geneva we drove to France to our Airbnb in Ferney-Voltaire. It is really close to the airport as we all have butt-crack of the morning flights on Sept. 6th. The apartment is adorable, with a small balcony and the most important feature: FANS!!!

As Americans, we are spoiled with air-conditioning in our homes and there have been a few nights where it was difficult to sleep because it was hot, and there were no fans.

Luckily, we are right by a market, and an amazing Indian restaurant. Dinner was amazing, as usual, although the Indian food in Oslo was better.