From Murten (Canton Fribourg) to Avenches (Canton Vaud), Switzerland

(This post published Feb.28, 2023)

Wednesday June 1, 2016 – With all this rain there are only small windows of opportunity to find nice weather. On June 1st we had seen the weather forecast had decent weather in only one small North-South strip in Western Switzerland so that’s where we went, and indeed we had nice weather!

First we walked along the city ramparts in Murten, which is a medieval town (founded 1159-1179) in Canton Fribourg on the shore of Lake Murten (also called Morat in French) and the capital city of the Lake District. After a reasonably-priced meal of Cordon Bleu, we walked 14 km along Lake Murten through several bird protection areas, accompanied by bird chatter all along the way, to the town of Avenches, previously a Roman village called Aventicum (the former capital of Roman Helvetia and one of Switzerland's most important archeological sites), where there are still remains of the semi-circular theater with its usual temple, and the circular amphitheater which apparently is still used for open air concerts.

It was actually a pretty good hike with a single exception: A large part of the "trail" was along paved roads, not my favourite. But the amphitheater and the medieval towns of Murten and Avenches were worth the hike.

Interesting information about the town of Murten can be found HERE and of the rampart walls HERE

A five-minute walk from the train station in Murten gets you do the castle and into the old town

The very lovely main street of Murten. We got here at 11 a.m. and decided to first go see the city wall. 

Walking along the old city wall looking for the stairway access to the ramparts

The rampart walls of Murten were built in several stages and of several materials. The lower 15 layers existed before the founding of the town in the 12th Century

Urs on the Murten Town ramparts

Different views from the rampart walls of Murten

Panorama view over the roofs of Murten looking westward toward Lake Murten. 

Heading back to the main street to find the restaurant for our lunch

We were seated outside in the arched walkway, so we could observe the main street. 

Yummy variations of Cordon Bleu. Mine was with Gorgonzola Cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, Urs' was pear and Brie.

Hopeful for some dropped french fries

A view of the "Bern Tower" / City Gate from my seat at the restaurant table. 

A look across the main street. You can just see some of the cellar doors

Many towns in western Switzerland (i.e. Bern also) have these cellars doors from the main street level to one level down, and there are often shops and restaurants below, such as this one!

A final look down a secondary street in old town Murten. Looks like there are some Canada fans here!

Detail near the Bernertor (Bern City Gate) at the north end of town

Heading down to the lakeshore now for our walk south to Avenches. We did have a bit of sunshine at this point. 

An aerial view of Murten/Morat from the tourism website "FribourgRegion.ch"

From the ship station below the town, the fastest path to the train station in Avenches is only about 2-1/2 hours. We took longer as we did a detour to the Roman Theater.  

In all, with our walk around Murten and the town ramparts, as well as having a look at the Roman Theater in Avenches, we walked for about 3.5 hours, or almost 15 kilometers! Note that the western section of the lake belongs to Canton Vaud, whereas Murten and the other 2/3rds of the lake are in Canton Fribourg!

A final look at the town of Murten as we head south along the shores of Lake Murten

Another boat dock on the lake, this one is called Faoug (pronounced "Foo"), and is actually located across the Canton Border in Canton Vaud. 

Our lakeside walk, as well as a section along a marsch, was replete with waterbirds, and lots of twittering otherwise. We even glimpsed a woodpecker in a tree trunk!

VIDEO:

Duck Babies stay close to Mom!

(Note the sound of the birds twittering)

The first glimpse of Avenches from the west. We bypassed the town on this side to first have a look at the Roman theater on its east side. (It seems we lost our sunshine by now).

A satellite view of Avenches. We first had a look at the Roman Theater east of town, before heading to the Amphitheater and the castle inside the old town. 

The old Roman Theater in Avenches was built in the 2nd Century AD and could accommodate 9000 people for open-air spectacles, festivals and religious feasts. It was later exploited as a quarry until the 19th Century. 

Inside the old town is the Roman Amphitheater, which could accommodate 16,000 spectators to the gladiator fights. It is still in use for concert events. 

Eglise St.Marie Madeleine: The original church was built at the end of the 11th Century for the Bishop of Lausanne, then rebuilt at the end of the 15th Century, and again in the early 1700's during Protestant Reformation. 

Main street in Avenches with its sandstone houses and arched passageway beneath the residences!

Before heading to the train station, we took a detour up to the castle. 

Details of the Avenches Castle, which dates back to the 13th Century. More information about its history can be found HERE

Our approx. 15-km hike along Lake Murten from Murten to Avenches as seen on Google Satellite maps

Location of Lake Murten in Switzerland, between Fribourg and Neuchatel

Trans-Swiss Trail from Laupen to Murten in Western Switzerland

(This post was published on Dec.7, 2023)

Sunday April 10, 2016 -- This area in Western Switzerland is one we don’t see much. On this Sunday we did a non-strenuous 14 km hike from Laupen to Murten (crossing the borders of Cantons Bern and Fribourg a couple of times), mostly through woods and fields and a nature reserve where we glimpsed a couple of birds that use Switzerland only as a stop-over on their migratory tour.

Laupen and Murten are both medieval cities with fortresses, city walls and lovely old buildings. At the fortress in Laupen there is a beautiful model of a full-sized catapult weighing almost 6 tons. Its fling arm is 10 meters long and it can sling 13-kg stones over 100 meters. Murten (also called Morat in French) on Lake Murten is much the larger town and very popular, especially on a sunny Sunday afternoon! The main street of Murten reminds me of a mini-Bern, with its covered arched walkways and cellar shops. You can walk along the old city wall for a striking view across the red-tiled roofs of the city.

It took us 4.5 hours to walk the 14 km. The route we took is part of the National Trail no.2: "Trans Swiss Trail", the entire Section 8.

PART I: Discovering Laupen

(The town of Laupen lies directly on the Canton border. It is located in Canton Bern, but almost directly to the south is the Canton border with Fribourg).

The starting point of our trip, the small town of Laupen (2000 residents) with its fortress. This is in Canton Bern. We started here at 10:30

Heading into the old town of Laupen through the city gate

A lovely town square

Continuing on into the castle grounds

Looking over the castle walls at the rooftops of Laupen

Looking over the castle walls at the old town of Laupen

Inside the castle grounds in Laupen

Here's that fantastic model of a catapult used in the medieval days; it weighs 6 tons and can sling 13kg rocks over 100m.

Heading back down into the old town again

Very nice half-timbered houses!

Main street in old town Laupen, looking up to the town church. (The current church building is from 1734)

There were lots of these metal sculptures in all different places! So cute!

This would be more of an Emmental-Style house. 

This is an unusual style of house. You don't see a lot of houses with verandas around here. 

PART II: 14-km walk from Laupen to Murten

We left Laupen at about 11:10 and headed westward, soon crossing the canton borders into Canton Fribourg. We got to Murten at 3:40 p.m. Strict walking time would be 3½ hours. We took longer because we spent some time observing the birds in the Auried Nature Reserve and stopping for a picnic lunch

It took us 40 minutes walking on the east side of the Saane River to reach the bridge. The river on the right side forms the border with the two cantons Fribourg (on this side) and Bern on the other side, whereas on the left side of the bridge it's all Canton Fribourg!

Crossing the Saane River. The borders are weird here. Everying to the south is Canton Fribourg on both sides, but after we crossed the bridge, we returned to Canton Bern for about two kilometers, before crossing again into Canton Fribourg. 

The Auried Nature Reserve just west of the Saane River, and in Canton Fribourg just south of the border line. This is apparently home to the rare European Tree Frog

It was fun to observe birds we had never seen before! The one with the long bill is called a Common Snipe (Bekassine), and the one with the long feather on its head is called a Northern Lapwing (Kiebitz)

A large information board in the bird hide gives details on the types of birds you can observe here. 

The next community we got to is called Liebistorf. If you weren't looking, you might have missed it, but this farmer managed to "write" the name of the town in the field!

This is the next village along the way, it is called Liebistorf. 

Village chapel in Liebistorf

This fellow watching us sure made me smile!

It's always nice to find a bench in the sun (or in the shade in summer!) where we can stop for a lunch or coffee break. This was at 1:15 p.m.

A large section of our hike was through such forested areas. It was nice with lots of sunshine because the trees don't have leaves yet. 

On one of the farming roads, we came across this bird having a good time in a puddle! It's called a White Wagtail (Bachstelze)

VIDEO:

Wagtail bathing in a puddle!

After a long stretch through the forest, we reach farmland just east of Murten

And what a great view of the Bernese Alps (Eiger/Mönch/Jungfrau) to the south!

Across Lake Murten to the West we can just make out the Jura Mountains. The snow-covered peaks are quite visible. 

Coming toward the end of our hike, a view of Lake Murten and the city of Murten with its many towers.

A close-up look at Murten on Lake Murten, Canton Fribourg.

PART III: Discovering Murten

Now we have reached the Murten castle and the entrance to the old town on the south side. It's now 3:40 p.m. 

Main street in Murten wth the town clock above the northern gate. 

The arched covered walkways with the many shops are typical of this area

This passage between two parallel streets contained antique 2nd-hand objects for sale!

Now that is a cute vehicle!

The fronts of the shops on one of the old town streets. 

Heading toward the town wall, which encompasses the entire southeastern side of the old town. The wall is open to the public to go up on the ramparts. Apparently, the lower 15 layers of stone date from before the town's construction in the 12th Century.

The old city wall of Murten. You can walk up along here with a stunning view across the red-tiled roofs.

From the walkway along the tow wall, you look over the roofs of old town Murten

A look through the ramparts along the town wall to the castle to the west, and Lake Murten

A look across the rooftops to the northwest, with another view of the snow-capped Jura range

This is what our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps

On the way home, after leaving Luzern, the train passes by the lake called Rotsee (Red Lake) with a nice view of Mount Pilatus.

Final stretch along Lake Zug before we arrive in our home city of Zug. What a beautiful spring day, with such clear views of the Central Alps!