The scenery and delicacies improve as our slow travel expert rides a local train through Canton Fribourg to a stunning medieval village
A hand-painted sign on a wooden barn caught my eye in Gruyères. Travelling from Emmental to Montreux last year, I followed the scenic Golden Pass rail route. Our train stopped at Montbovon, the beginning of a steep ascent to the line’s dramatic mountain pass. Ahead lay the prospect of stunning views of Lake Geneva. To the right of the railway, I noticed the bold sign: “La Gruyère vous salue” (the region, like the cheese, lacks the village’s final).
With spare time earlier this month, I revisited Montbovon to explore the branch railway that runs from there down the Sarine valley to Gruyères and beyond. This time, I arrived on one of the new Golden Pass trains, which now run through from Montreux to Interlaken, using technical magic to switch from narrow-gauge to standard-gauge tracks along the way. In the posh prestige class, tourists were enjoying platters of charcuterie accompanied by Swiss wine. The climb up from Montreux remained as magical as ever, twisting and turning up into the hills with Lake Geneva far below. Forty minutes out from Montreux, the train made its first scheduled stop at Montbovon, a village noted in my old Baedeker guide for its good cherry brandy. I was the sole passenger alighting from the train, which, after a brief stop, continued its journey, now following the Sarine valley upstream towards Gstaad.
Valley of La Sarine
On a side platform, another train awaits. It is a humble local service, lacking the flair of the Golden Pass train, which can be heard tooting its horn as it ascends the ravine carved by the Sarine River. The local train is bound for Palézieux via Gruyères. Soon, we are on our way and within a minute, rattling down the main street of Montbovon, passing the dairy and the bakery to our left.
So maybe this isn’t exactly a train! Could it be a tram in disguise, sitting at platform 3 of Montbovon station? It’s actually a hybrid, sometimes running alongside roads but also looping through forests and skirting chasms and gorges. These hills are part of the Prealps, a series of folded ranges that give Switzerland’s Fribourg Canton its unique character. Not quite the traditional train ride, you might think, but very special in its own right. The 27-mile journey from Montbovon to Palézieux skirts around the eastern, northern, and then western side of Le Moléson, one of the most prominent peaks in the Fribourg Prealps. To Baedeker, Le Moléson was “the Rigi of western Switzerland,” a comparison to the mountain by Lake Lucerne that, while not particularly tall, offers stunning views of many Alpine ranges. You don’t have to climb to the summit of Le Moléson to enjoy the scenery; even from the train, you can see remarkable views of distant, snow-covered peaks.
“People are drawn here by the landscape, but also by the cheese,” says a woman on the train, mentioning she’s on her way to visit a friend in hospital in Riaz. “Though not on days like this,” she adds, referring to the unpredictable weather on this early March day, which has included threatening clouds and hail showers.
Cheese and chocolate
I follow her lead and disembark, only to realize we’re not actually in Gruyères, but in a place called Pringy. Despite this, the station name Gruyères draws in crowds, though very few of the cheese enthusiasts who gather in Pringy venture to Gruyères village itself, located on a hilltop about a 20-minute walk to the east.
La Maison du Gruyère, situated right by the station in Pringy, features plastic cows on the roof and offers cheese-themed tours and tastings. For those truly enamored with Swiss culture, there’s even a special Gruyère edition of Toblerone chocolate available for purchase.
As we continue on the train towards Palézieux, the scenery becomes increasingly breathtaking. We pass along the northern side of Le Moléson, its steep, forested slopes rising to our left. Snow fences line parts of the track where the terrain is more exposed, and the train winds through high pastures with occasional old farmsteads dotting the landscape. The thick clouds begin to dissipate, allowing the late afternoon sun to break through. Intrigued by the surroundings, I decide to pause my journey at Semsales, the highest station on the line, where a sign on the wooden station building proudly declares our elevation at 858.1 meters above sea level.
With a couple of hours to spare in Semsales, I embark on a hike into the hills, ascending enough to enjoy a panoramic view of the distant French Alps across Lac Léman to the south. The rugged peak of Le Moléson looms closer, its northern slopes still adorned with remnants of winter’s snow. As dusk approaches, I hasten back to the village, eager to catch a train before nightfall. The journey from Semsales to Palézieux takes just 20 minutes, and upon arrival, our train pulls up not at the main railway station, but on a platform adjacent to the street. True to Swiss efficiency, a fleet of waiting buses offers connections to nearby villages. However, I opt to walk to the station and board the local train bound for Lausanne.
I thoroughly enjoyed this journey and would gladly repeat it. It offers a perfect circular route for those staying in Lausanne or along the Montreux Riviera, departing from Montreux via Montbovon and returning via Palézieux. The tranquil, rural scenery with stunning mountain vistas is a winning combination.
The journey from Montbovon to Palézieux lasts only 80 minutes. The complete circuit from Lausanne or Montreux, departing via Montbovon and returning via Palézieux, takes three hours, but it’s worth allowing time for one or two stops along the way. Trains run at least hourly on the entire route, with a half-hourly service on weekdays between Gruyères and Palézieux. The cheapest one-way fare from Montbovon to Palézieux is 17.40 Swiss francs (£15.75). Tickets should be purchased at Montbovon before boarding. This ticket is valid for three hours, allowing for a brief stopover en route. A return ticket costs 34.80 francs (£31.50) and is valid for a full day with unlimited stopovers, not only on this route but also on most public transport in Canton Fribourg. For those including this route in a broader itinerary, an Interrail pass is often the most cost-effective option. Adult passes valid solely in Switzerland cost €165 for three days’ travel within a month, while a pass valid for 33 countries is €283 for four travel days within a month.
