Be sure to take another look at the Mediterranean shores of Lake Geneva between Montreux and Vevey before heading up toward the mountains and the cheese of the Gruyère region. In the winegrowing town of Vevey, once an important trade centre on the commercial route between France and Bern, you travel along the Veveyse River. Its source is located on the western slope of the Moléson range. The river flows through the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud for about 20 km. In Corsier with its beautiful Saint-Jean-Baptiste church you follow in Charlie Chaplin’s footsteps. Soon after the park of the same name you will find the museum called “Chaplin’s World”. A spacious area illustrates the life and work of the exceptional artist with interactive tours and personal objects. Chaplin spent the last 25 years of his life in the hills above Vevey with Oona, his fourth wife, and their eight children.

Accompanied by the sounds of lovely bells you pass through a rolling green landscape to get to Châtel-Saint-Denis. To say that you can smell Gruyère cheese wherever you go would be an exaggeration, but you absolutely have to taste it. It is sold nearly everywhere, either with the AOP label and stored for at least 9 months in a stone cave, or a “Premier Cru”, which matures for 14 months at a humidity of 95%. By the way, the latter is the first cheese named four times as the world’s best at the “World Cheese Awards”. In and around Châtel-Saint-Denis the construction business is hopping. Let’s hope that they stop before all the views are obstructed and that the area in the south of the Canton Fribourg remains as beautiful as it is now.

Another attractive town is Bulle. Before you get there, you follow La Sionge at times, an approximately 16 km long tributary of the Sarine River, whose source is located in the Creux des Enfers basin in the community of Semsales. The industrial district of Bulle includes the cheese manufacturers Vacherin Fribourgeois SA and Fromage Gruyère SA. The town is known for its classicist look and the typical “brasserie” restaurants. Don’t miss the “Musée gruérien” with lots of details about the local cultural heritage. The museum is near the castle which was built by the bishops of Lausanne in the late 13th century.