Heritage Doors, Windows and Houses of Lavaux, Switzerland may not be mentioned in any guide books on Switzerland, but as soon as you enter Lavaux area, they strike you the most. Right after you get over the gorgeousness of the terraced vineyards which have intrigued the travelers for centuries, these heritage houses can overtake your senses.
In my case, even before we reached Lavaux, our new friend and host Neha had already told us
quite a bit about these doors and windows. I am generally quite a sucker for old houses and doors, so was quite looking forward to explore them.
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The Perfect colors! |
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A view on the streets... |
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Functional beauty! |
Lavaux is famous across the
world for its wine, but my visit made me realise that there is more to the area than wine. So
while we explored the grapes, wines and food, I also explored the houses
there. Picture perfect in every way, the houses have been
maintained like this for the last few centuries.
The
colors of these houses truly come alive on a sunny day when the light
is bright. With blue sky in the background, most houses use yellow, red
and green to stand apart. Both pure hues as well as pastels are seen,
and all of these compliment each other. There are very specific rules
which one needs to follow if they want to color their houses, and it all
first needs to be approved.
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More functional windows |
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Close to our parking, I loved this view... |
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My favorite yellow wall! |
Most of these windows are
'real' windows, but some are not, at least not in the conventional way.
These openings look like window but are actually areas for displaying
the famous Lavaux wine. Most of the people living in these stunning
houses are actually wine growers, so these 'windows' are a display area
for their brand!
The layout of the houses in these
villages is based completely on practicality. As it was desired that
most land be used for growing wine, the villages were typically small
and houses were compressed in narrow alleys. The bigger and richer
houses were generally built outside the villages in the vineyard itself.
Some of the villages worth a visit include Savuit, Aran, Grandvaux,
Epesse etc. If you buy some wine there, you will realise that those are
often branded after the village where the grapes are grown.
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Most windows have flowers and flags... |
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More minimal and functional |
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Another set of functional windows |
As
always the best way to discover these gems is simply to walk through
these villages. People here are quite used to tourists getting wide-eyed
looking at their homes, and do not mind photography at all.
Here
are some of the images from the few hours I spent wandering through
some of these beautiful little towns of Lavaux. All of these have been
taken from my iPhone (read more:
mobile photography).
Enjoy and let me know your feedback :)
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Window as a wine display! |
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A house, a restaurant...super relaxing... |
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Just another gorgeous street |
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A 'wine tasting' center |
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Lovely grape vine around the door... |
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A relaxing afternoon in the village... |
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In perfect harmony with each other |
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More flowers, lace... |
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That's Lake Geneva in the background |
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A rustic wall and rustic windows... |
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A quaint village corner |
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Walk down to the vineyard |
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Another very interesting display for wine |
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One of my favorite displays! |
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Brilliant orange! |
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These houses have remained unchanged for centuries... |
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Another lovely window with flowers! |
To reach
By road:
The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces are reachable by driving from the towns of
Vevey and Montreux by a drive along the gorgeous Swiss Rivera.
By Train: The vineyard is also reachable by trains and the best train for travellers is RER / S1 which has a hourly departure.
By bus: The third option is to take a bus to Lavaux from Vevey or Montreux.
If you are in Switzerland, you can also take a Swiss Pass
which is one pass which allows you travel through bus, train and
waterways, and is the most affordable way to explore the country.
I love colourful houses and if you do too, there's another town in Switzerland which you should not be missed - Appenzell. Read more:
Appenzell – Swiss Village of Painted Houses.
Do you also love doors and windows? If you do, I am sure you
will love my story on Doors of Zanzibar, a tiny island off the mainland
Tanzania.
Read more Doors of Zanzibar
Note: I was in Switzerland on invitation of Switzerland Tourism and NDTV Good Times to explore the 'Swiss Made Grand Tour'. The story shared here is based on personal experiences and all the views shared are completely my own.
Beautiful! I love how chirpy the windows look :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Madhu! I like how you put it - chirpy :)
DeleteGorgeous place! I absolutely love doors and windows. The sky is such a beautiful shade of blue… it just makes you happy looking at it!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Chaitali! I am also very fascinated by doors and windows...they always have a story to say :)
DeleteNice article Sid! In love with doors and Windows. Quite like how clean and pretty they keep here. The wine story for all area is cool! Btw I use to take pictures of doors and windows in India :) I think I should blog about them soon !
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! And you must certainly blog about the doors and windows in India...I also try to do it from time to time :)
DeleteOh my! You have made me nostalgic about Switzerland and its eternal beauty. I miss it so much. :( I won't forgive you for this. :P
ReplyDeleteI am also a lover of door & windows. Gorgeous, simply gorgeous.
Thanks Nisha! Why not forgive me? :) :)
DeleteNow when am reading all your post from last few days...wow...am really enjoying it so much. All this feels like a wonderland :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Shilpa :)
DeleteLove the French for the keeping everything gorgeous including their houses and vineyards. If you go France, keep your eyes on door knockers. I went berserk clicking them on my last visit.
ReplyDeleteWow its lovely bedandbreakfast we would be very happy showcase it on our website www.worldholidayrental.com
ReplyDeleteThank you
Lovely post Sid! You already made me fall in love with Lavaux through these doors and windows. Excellent pictures and beautiful eye that captured this part of the town.
ReplyDelete