Nyon

Nyon is a small town on the western shore of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. The Romans who founded the settlement in the 1st century BC called it Noviodunum. Today you can visit a few Roman ruins and a Roman museum.

Understand

Tourist Office

• 1 Nyon Région Tourisme, Av. Viollier 8. 

Get in

Nyon castle

By train

Frequent regional trains between Geneva and Lausanne stop at Nyon. The 1 train station is within walking distance from the lake shore. Nyon is also serviced by trains from St. Gallen, Basel and Zürich to Geneva which stop in Nyon every hour (not all long-distance trains stop here, though!). As of July 2014 a one-way train ticket from Geneva costs Fr. 8.80.

By boat

Cruises at Lake Geneva commonly call at Nyon.

By plane

Geneva's international airport has its own train station, and many of the intercity trains going east from Geneva start at the airport.

By car

Freeway M1 between Geneva and Lausanne passes near Nyon.

Get around

Nyon is small enough to cover on foot, although there is a bus network in the city too, with lines going to the surrounding villages.

See

Julius Caesar welcomes visitors to the Roman museum

As of July 2014, the three main museums (the castle, the Roman museum and the Lake museum) have a common ticket, a ticket to one of them is also valid at the two other museums. Adults: Fr. 8F, Senior citizens, students, groups of more 10 adults: Fr. 6, Free entrance for children under 16. Free admission every 1st Sunday of the month.

• 1 Nyon Castle, Place du Château. November to March:Tuesday to Saturday: 14:00–17:00. Closed on Monday (except public holidays). Nyon Castle, a 12th-century fortress above Lake Geneva, contains the History and Porcelain Museum. Its former prison in the attic is open to the public. From the terrace visitors can enjoy the magnificent view out over Lake Geneva and the Alps and even have access to the Castle’s kitchen garden, still in use.  
• 2 Musée Romain, Rue Maupertuis 9. Artifacts from the Roman age from the area, such as amphoras, old coins, and parts of murals and statues.  
• 3 Musée du Leman, Quai Louis-Bonnard 8. A museum about Lake Geneva. There are vastly different things on display from photos and parts of ships to small aquaria with fish species living in the lake and a collection of stuffed land animals as well as works by artists and architects from the area and of course physical information on the lake itself and its properties and history.  
• 4 Roman ruins. Nyon is proud of its Roman ruins. 
• 5 UEFA Headquarters. Must-see for all football fans. All the European Cups are on display inside the main building (if they let you in). Beautiful small park around the building with some football related memorabilia. 
• 6 Explore the Old town. 
• 7 Prangins Castle (Château de Prangins) (from central Nyon bus 805 or 817 to Prangins village, or about 30 min by foot). Tu-Su 10:00-17:00. This castle from 1730 contains a museum, a park and an ancient pottery. The museum has a permanent exhibition about Swiss history from the 18th and 19th centuries and temporary exhibitions of different themes (art, history, culture). adults Fr. 10, students, seniors Fr. 8, children (under 16 years) free.  
• 8 Toblerone line. Defensive fortifications of Vaud, 10 km long. Similar lines of concrete defensive blocks can be found all over Switzerland, though more commonly in border areas, with purpose to stop tank invasions. The blocks resemble Toblerone chocolate bar, hence the name. The line has been left to nature since its construction and hiking trail along their route was made. (updated May 2021)
• 9 Villa Rose. The museum is only open intermittently.. One of the buildings of defensive line, disguised as a regular house, to not startle tourists. Nowadays, it is a museum-like building, with all the weapons and original services. A similar Villa Verte is nearby, but that one is on a private property and not commonly accessible. (updated May 2021)

Do

• 1 Usine à Gaz. Concert hall with varied program. Reasonably priced drinks. entrance Fr. 10-30, depending on the concert. 

Festivals

• Paléo. Nyon is host to the largest European Music Festival every year in early July — called Paléo, the festival attracts Musicians and people from all around the world come to enjoy this wonderful festive atmosphere. 
• Visions du Réel. Nyon also hosts the Visions du Réel International film festival every April. 

Buy

• 1 Focale, Place du Château 4. Book store and photo gallery. In this book store there is a wide choice of works by photographers from the French-speaking Switzerland. 

Eat

• 1 Café Tea-Room Roguemont, Rue St Jean 24. Pleasant café with sandwiches and pastries - fresh and delicious as you would expect in Switzerland. 

Drink

• 1 Smoothies de Sophie, Rue de la Gare 4. Get a home-made chocolate at "Smoothies de Sophie". 
• 2 Cactus Jack, Place de la Gare 13. Evening drinks and party at Cactus Jack, just in front of the train station. 

Sleep

There is no campsite in Nyon (there used to be one but the land was sold to the UEFA so they could build their Headquarters).

• 1 Hostellerie du XXVIe siècle, Place du Marché. The cheapest hotel in Nyon. 
• 2 Hotel des Alpes (situated near the station). The second cheapest hotel. 
• 3 Villa Sanluca, Chemin des Cottages 6, ☏ +41 22 362 62 53. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 11:00. The Villa Sanluca is a beautiful B&B guesthouse in Nyon with garden, swimming pool and 3 exceptional rooms with evocative names: La Vie en Rose, Rêve d’Eau and Parfum d’Orient. It's located in an old mansion close to the town centre in a quiet and private atmosphere. Hearty Swiss breakfast, wireless Internet access and car parking is included in the price. Prices from Fr. 140 to Fr. 270. 

Go next

• 2 Givrine. In summer, take the small train starting from below the train station and go to the station Givrine. Then walk to the top and enjoy the view. In winter, you can find a full fledged winter sport station at Givrine, with alpine and nordic skiing. 
• Lausanne