2025: Best Lake Geneva Winter and Christmas CGN Boat Cruises

During the winter season, CGN pleasure boat cruises on Lac Léman are limited to ferry boats, fondue dinner cruises, and sailings on Sundays (some Saturdays) and national holidays including Christmas and New Year’s Day — departures are most common from Geneva, Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, and Nyon.

Cruising on Lake Geneva has been popular with tourists in the Lac Léman region for well over a century. Many boats sail on Switzerland’s largest lake during summer but in winter cruises are limited to a few departures from Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, and Genève on Sundays, some Saturdays, and national holidays, fondue dinner cruises on Fridays, and short ferry boat rides between Lausanne and Evian or Thonon, as well as Nyon to Yvoire. The winter season for boat cruises on Lake Geneva in Switzerland is from mid-October to mid-April, the high season is from late June to early September, and the shoulder season in between.

In 2025 (March to mid-April), Lake Geneva cruises on CGN boats depart on:

Saturday and Sunday: lunch and afternoon cruises from Geneva, Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, Nyon, and others;
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: 50-minute late afternoon and sunset circular cruises from Geneva on Friday;
Weekdays: ferries from Nyon to Yvoire and Lausanne to Thonon;
Daily: ferries from Lausanne to Evian, and
Friday evenings: fondue cruises from Geneva and Lausanne.

Winter Pleasure Cruises on Lake Geneva in Switzerland

CGN boat cruising on Lac Leman in Geneva in winter

Pleasure cruises on lake boats on Lac Léman during the winter season are fairly limited. Standard sightseeing day trip boats cruise only on Sundays, some Saturdays, and national holidays during the CGN winter timetable period – mid-October to mid-April. (Note that there may be some gaps in the program, especially during the first months of the year.)

It is usually possible to embark or disembark at any port and the purchase of food and drinks is usually optional. On special cruises, lunch, dinner, or fondue are often included in the fare — reservations are usually essential.

Passenger ferries operate on Lake Geneva year-round but in winter some routes are on weekdays only. Although the crossing from Lausanne to Evian takes just around half an hour (50 minutes to Thonon), it is often the only way to enjoy a boat trip on winter days.

In winter, most boats cruising on Lac Léman are diesel-powered. However, the Belle Epoque Rhône steamboat is often used for departures from Geneva and the diesel-electric Italie paddlewheel boat may cruise on the upper lake area (Lausanne, Montreux, Vevey, Château de Chillon).

Lake Geneva Winter Pleasure Cruises from Genève

CGN Lake Geneva Boat Landing Mont Blanc is used for winter cruises

In winter, CGN offers the following cruises from Geneva City Center:

On most Sundays, Saturdays, Fridays, and national holidays: two one-hour sightseeing cruises in the afternoon from Geneva to Bellevue and back. Only drinks are served on these cruises. The boat only stops in Bellevue on demand.
On Sundays, Saturdays, and national holidays: a lunch-hour cruise from Genève to Nyon lasting around 80 minutes each way with stops possible in Versoix and Coppet. (Lunch is usually optional and restaurant seats are best reserved in advance.)
On many Friday evenings: fondue dinner cruises departing around 19:30 — cheese or winegrower (meat) fondue is included in the price but drinks and dessert are extra. Reservations are essential.

In winter 2025, lunchtime cruises are also likely to be possible from Geneva additionally on Christmas Day (December 25) and on New Year’s Day (1 and 2 January 2026).

Lake Geneva boat cruises usually depart from Genève-Mont Blanc (station side) in winter but sometimes Jardin d’Anglais (old town side) is used.

Winter Boat Cruises on Lake Geneva from Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, St Gingolph

CGN Boat Cruising on Lake Geneva near Montreux, Switzerland

On winter Sundays, some Saturdays, and national holidays, CGN boats depart on several cruises in the Upper Lake (Haut Lac) region of Lake Geneva. This part of Lac Léman is generally the most beautiful and is also easily accessible from many winter sports and ski resorts in the French and Swiss Alps.

If arriving from other parts of Switzerland including Genève and Geneva Airport by train, Vevey and Montreux offer simpler connections between the train stations and the boat landings than Lausanne.

The following cruise routings are possible on Sundays, some Saturdays, and most national holidays in winter:

Haut Lac — Best Lake Geneva Cruise Area in Winter:

On Sundays and some Saturdays:

Classic lunch cruise: from St-Gingolph along the Riviera coast with stops usually possible at Le Bouveret, Villeneuve, Chateau de Chillon, Montreux, Vevey Marché, Cully, Lutry, Pully, and Lausanne, before the boat returns directly to St Gingolph. Lunch is usually optional.
A second round with only smaller snacks offered in the afternoon.

These classical circular cruises take in some of the best scenery in the Lac Léman region: the terraced vineyards of the Lavaux, Chateau de Chillon, and the snow-covered Alpine peaks permanently in the background.

A full circle takes around three hours while the Vevey to Chillon Castle part of the route is just less than an hour.

The recently restored diesel-electric Italie paddleboat is often used on this route.

Fondue Dinner Cruises from Lausanne and Geneva

On most Friday evenings, fondue cruises are possible from Lausanne and Geneva:

From Lausanne: the fondue boat departs from Lausanne-Ouchy at 19:15 and returns at 21:45. It is also possible to disembark at Morges at 21:15 — a shorter walk to the train station than Lausanne.
From Geneva: the fondue boat departs from Genève-Mont-Blanc at 19:45 and returns at 22:15. It is possible to disembark at Coppet at 21:00

A cheese or a winegrower (meat) fondue is included in the price but drinks and dessert are extra.

Passenger Ferry Boats on Lake Geneva during Winter

Lake Geneva Cruise Boat Italie at Geneve Mont Blanc

Passenger ferry boats operate on Lac Léman as part of the public transportation network in the Lake Geneva region and thus continue to sail during the winter. Apart from the Mouette water buses in Genève, these ferries are often the only way to enjoy a boat ride on Lake Geneva during winter.

Mouette Water Bus and CGN Lake Cruise Boat in Geneva

Three passenger ferry routes are available on Lake Geneva:

Lausanne – Evian (35 minutes)
Lausanne – Thonon (50 minutes)
Nyon – Yvoire (20 minutes)

During winter, most of the routes have only ferry services on weekdays. The schedule is very limited – often only with services during peak commute times, which can be very inconvenient for tourists so double-check schedules before setting out. In winter, these ferries are the only boat service to the French shores of Lake Geneva.

The Lausanne–Evian-les-Bains route is the busiest, with boats departing every day, even during winter. These ferries are a good cruising option in winter when no other boats are on the lake. A special deal for breakfast is often available from Lausanne where passengers enjoy a light breakfast on a round-trip cruise to Evian and back without leaving the boat in France.

No car ferries operate on Lake Geneva — it is a long, slow drive to much of the French side of the lake.

Buy tickets from CGN online or at CGN ticket windows at boat landings. The Half-Fare Card and Junior Card savings may be applied to regular cruises but not to special cruises such as Fondue cruises on Fridays or in addition to special offers.

Lunch cruises depart from Geneva and Lausanne on Christmas Day (25 December 2025) and 1 and 2 January 2026. In 2025, the New Year’s Eve dinner cruise on Lake Geneva is from Lausanne.