Vaud · Switzerland
Corniche de Lavaux
Chexbres to Lutry
Eight kilometres of narrow road through the UNESCO-listed Lavaux vineyard terraces above Lake Geneva, from Chexbres down through Epesses, Riex and Grandvaux to Lutry, with the lake and the Alps in view.
Switzerland Tourism’s dream route climbs from Corseaux to Chexbres and then follows the Route de la Corniche west through Lavaux, whose 800 hectares of terraced vines make it Switzerland’s largest contiguous wine-growing region, listed by UNESCO in 2007. Leaving Chexbres the road passes the terrace of the Baron Tavernier and a viewpoint above the vines before Epesses, where traffic lights take cars through a single-file section of the village. Just west of Riex a tiny roundabout offers the road down to Cully, and a short link above Chenaux leads onto the Route de la Petite Corniche, a narrow, winding road that descends through Grandvaux and Aran between dry stone walls, with the Savoy mountains across the lake. It passes under the railway and meets the lakeside road at Lutry. Since August 2025 a pilot 60 km/h limit and coloured road markings have applied between Aran and Grandvaux, and Police Lavaux runs frequent radar checks, aimed mostly at speeding motorcyclists.
Scenery
Best seasons
In these collections
Corniche de Lavaux on the map4.9 mi · point to point
Navigate to the start: Apple Maps · Google Maps
Character
Corners
busiest around mile 5Elevation
under 4%4 to 8%over 8%371 to 577 mPoints of interest5 stops
- Le DeckTerrace of the Baron Tavernier hotel on the Corniche just outside Chexbres, looking over the whole of Lavaux.0.2 mi in
- Viewpoint above EpessesViewpoint over the terraces on the Corniche between Chexbres and Epesses.1.4 mi in
- EpessesWine village that Switzerland Tourism calls a little gem that graces some wine bottle labels.1.7 mi in
- Viewpoint between Grandvaux and AranViewpoint on the Petite Corniche looking across the lake to the Savoy mountains.3.7 mi in
- Parking Petite CornicheCar park for about 70 cars at the Lutry end of the Petite Corniche.4.8 mi in
Hazards
- Narrow road shared with cyclists and walkers
- Single-file section with traffic lights at Epesses
- A 60 km/h pilot limit between Aran and Grandvaux
- Frequent police radar checks, especially on fine evenings and weekends
- Very steep side lanes down into the vineyards
Sources
“The Route de la Corniche, between Lutry and Vevey makes for a nice drive, and there are a couple of parking spots on the way should you feel the urge to snap a picture.”
“Elle est mythique. Autrement dit, il faut au moins une fois dans sa vie de pilote de deux-roues motorisé parcourir la Corniche (la petite et la grande) qui serpente dans les vignes de Lavaux et surplombe le lac Léman”
Route traced from OpenStreetMap, with its stats measured from that line. How the roads are mapped
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