Morges

Morges sits on Lake Geneva between Geneva and Lausanne, in the wine country of La Côte, and it is the quiet alternative to both — a small town with an arcaded main street, a harbour, and Mont Blanc filling the view across the water.

The tulips

The Fête de la Tulipe runs from about the end of March into early May in the Parc de l’Indépendance on the lakefront, with something over a hundred thousand bulbs in several hundred varieties.

It has been held since 1971 and it is free. For a few weeks in spring it is the reason to come, and it lines up with the blossom on the vineyard slopes behind.

The castle

Château de Morges, thirteenth-century, square with round corner towers, standing at the edge of the water. It was built by the Savoy dukes as part of the same chain as Chillon.

Inside are four museums, and the one that surprises people is the figurine museum — around ten thousand model soldiers arranged into historical battles, which is either eccentric or wonderful and is certainly unexpected.

There is also the Vaud military museum and an artillery collection.

Audrey Hepburn

Hepburn lived at Tolochenaz, a village on the edge of Morges, from 1963 until her death in 1993, and is buried in the small cemetery there. She chose the place for privacy and got it — the village made no fuss then and makes little now.

There is a plaque, a rose named for her in the town, and a modest permanent display. It is not a shrine, which is presumably why she stayed.

La Côte

The vineyard slopes behind the town are the largest wine region of canton Vaud — larger than Lavaux along the lake to the east, though less dramatic and far less known. Chasselas again, and a marked path runs through the villages with cellars open at weekends in season.

Getting there

• By train — Lausanne 10 minutes, Geneva 25 minutes. It is on the main line, and trains are frequent.
• By boat — the lake steamers call here.
• On foot — the castle, the harbour and the park are all within five minutes of the station.

Nearby

• Saint-Prex — a medieval walled village on a promontory, ten minutes west
• Aubonne and the arboretum — a large collection of trees above the town
• Lausanne — ten minutes, and the cathedral
• Lavaux — half an hour east, on the other side of Lausanne

When to go

April for the tulips, which is the town’s moment. May to September for the lake and the wine. Out of season it is a quiet residential town and there is not a great deal to detain you.