Lake Geneva pleasure boats frequently call at beautiful, medieval Yvoire in France — one of the top day-trip cruise destinations from Geneva and Lausanne. Passenger ferries operate year-round to Nyon with many more sailings available in summer.
Yvoire, a small medieval-looking town famous for its flowers, is one of the most popular cruise destinations on Lake Geneva. The passenger ferry between French Yvoire and Swiss Nyon operates year-round and has up to 35 crossings per day of Lac Léman in summer. Other Lake Geneva pleasure boats, including Belle Époque paddle steamers, also frequently call at Yvoire while sailing between Genève and Lausanne.
By Passenger Ferry from Nyon to Yvoire on Lac Léman
The easiest way to reach Yvoire by boat is by using the regular passenger ferry service that connects Yvoire in France with Nyon in Switzerland in around 20 minutes. Nyon has excellent railway connections to all towns on the Swiss side of Lake Geneva, including four trains per hour to Geneva Cornavin (15 minutes) and Lausanne (30 minutes).
The same cannot be said for public transportation from Yvoire — don’t miss the last boat. (The Leman Express makes missing the boat less of a financial disaster than previously, but getting to a train station is cumbersome.)
During summer (late June to early September), up to 35 boat crossings per day are possible between Nyon and Yvoire. Most of these services are on the Navi Mobilité N3 passenger ferry service. The crossing takes only around 20 minutes.
During summer, a CGN boat is available more or less every half hour, but with gaps in the schedule. The first boats leave Nyon at 10 am (Yvoire at 10:30 am) and the last ferry of the day departs Nyon at 22:30 (Yvoire at 22:00) but may be much earlier on weekends. In winter, 12 lake crossings are possible per day but only on weekdays with no sailings on weekends.
→ See also: Passenger Ferry Boats on Lake Geneva for more details on ferryboat services between Switzerland and France. During winter, these are often the only cruises available on Lac Léman.
Paddle Steamers and Pleasure Boats to Yvoire on Lake Geneva in France
In addition to the passenger ferry services, other pleasure excursion boats frequently call at Yvoire. Yvoire is a popular destination for day-trip excursions from Geneva and Lausanne, or as a stopover port on longer cruises.
See also Yvoire – a Medieval Floral Town for what to do in what may well be the most picturesque small town on the shores of Lake Geneva.
During summer, up to four daily direct services are possible from Geneva to Yvoire – the sailing time is around two hours. Similarly, four direct services per day are available from Lausanne to Yvoire – sailing times depend on the routing and can be as short as an hour but more likely around two hours. The routings can be quite different – boats usually call at Nyon en route to or from Yvoire but the next destination from Yvoire can be Rolle, Thonon, Evian, or occasionally directly to Lausanne.
The pleasure boats on Lake Geneva are mostly historic Belle Epoque paddle steamboats although sometimes more modern vessels are also used. The cruise times and prices for historic boats from the early twentieth century are the same as for modern vessels.
For More on Traveling to Yvoire See Also:
- Yvoire – a Medieval Floral Town on Lac Léman in France
- Passenger Ferry Services on Lake Geneva
- Cruising on Lake Geneva
- Savings Tickets and Fares for Cruising on Lake Geneva
- Cruising on Lake Geneva in Summer, Spring & Autumn, and Winter
More on Lake Geneva Pleasure Boats and Cruises:
- Pleasure Boats and Ferries on Lake Geneva
- Lake Geneva Boat Cruises in Spring
- Passenger Ferries on Lake Geneva
- Book Cruises at GYG or at CGN
- Passenger Ferries and Cruises from Lausanne to Evian and Thonon
- Savings Tickets for CGN Lake Geneva Boat Cruises
- Summer Lake Geneva Boat Excursions and Day Cruises
- Spring & Autumn Cruises on Lake Geneva
- Winter and Christmas Cruises on Lake Geneva
- Pleasure Boat Excursions to Yvoire
- Boat Cruises from Genéve to Lausanne
- See the Historic Paddle Steamers at the Parade Navale
- New Year’s Eve Dinner Cruises on Lake Geneva