Spring Swiss Flower Tours

Ever since I visited the tulip fields in Holland last year I’ve become a flower freak. My father wasn’t shy to point out, that on his visit to Switzerland this May, I took him and my mother to no less than three fields of flowers—all in the middle of nowhere.

The first flower adventure I took them on was to the mustard fields near Wettington. Every May in Switzerland, hundreds of these bright yellow patches seem to appear everywhere around the country. They are to Switzerland what the lavender fields are to Provence.


The next flower adventure was even more remote—the fields of narcissus near Montreux. Although there are specific tours that will take you to see them, they are in French, the website is in French, and like most French things, they aren’t excited about translating them. But since I’m the impatient type and like my information fast and furious, I made up my own tour based on theirs and took my family on a train to Caux. From there, we hiked up about a half hour and finally discovered beautiful fields of these white flowers, which, according to a local, are becoming rarer and rarer as the years go on. If you speak French and want a tour, or just want to wing it like me, the flowers/tours are supposedly around until June 7.

The final flower adventure took place at les Jardins du Chateau de Vullierens. The iris festival here is really in the middle of nowhere but that never stopped the Swiss transportation system. From Morges, you take a post bus (tell the driver where you’re going so he stops at the appropriate stop as you’ll have no clue when to request a “stop” and the busses don’t tell you what the next stops are). It’s worth the bus adventure though, to see the huge fields of irises that are found at this castle. You can order some for your own garden there too. There are hundreds of shapes and colors. The garden is open until June 28 and costs 15 CHF to enter. There’s a cute café there as well that serves fantastic pastries. Be sure to check departure times if you’re taking the bus, as it doesn’t run very often.