Gros de Vaud–La Côte

The contrast between grey and yellow stone blocks and the interplay of light and shadow creates an impressive aura of peace in Payerne’s former abbey church. The slow-flowing Broye stream soon appears, afterwards only vaguely perceptible in strips of woodland. Then follows a steep ascent.

Extensive meadows and fields spread over wide rolling hills, the quiet Gros de Vaud is a corn-growing region, long strips of cultivated fields in tune with the terrain, sheltered hollows hold villages and hamlets. Here French-speaking charm is paired with the placid Bernese character. Solid stone farmhouses proudly show off their large archways and you can learn all about corn on «Le Chemin des Blés». Notches in the landscape with the deep cuts of the La Mentue, La Venoge and L'Aubonne rivers make cyclists work up a sweat, the reward the castles of Vuillerens with its colourful iris garden and Vufflens with its 60-metre-high brick keep and four corner towers in minaret-style.

The mild effect of nearby Lac Léman lets the first vineyards appear in the open landscape, but the route initially leads through the steep lanes of tiny Aubonne, where the open arcades of the impressive Kornhalle (granary) promise cool shade. La Côte is a dazzling strip of countryside, a sun-soaked and steep vineyard landscape, where a slightly sparkling, fruity white wine is pressed from Chasselas grapes.