Villeneuve - Lake Geneva, Swiss Riviera, Lac Leman, Deep Lake Breath After Alps

Hairpin turns take their toll in the Alps. Go slow, but keep up, edge around the bends, no passing but the other guy just might be, where you can't see. Then, down, and flat finally, and Lake Geneva. To the French, it is Lac Leman. Half of the lake is Swiss, half French, with the Swiss city, Geneva, at that little pointy bay, a jutty-out place that looks like it should belong to France, dipping down at the eastern end. Lake Geneva is a traditional respite, resort area, long history of boundary changes, castles; and also a center of intellectual and political ferment through the centuries.

Here is Villeneuve. A gateway, quiet town. It was founded in 1215 by Thomas I of Savoy who owned nearby Castle Chillon, some two kilometers away, and lived there seasonally. Villeneuve became a supporting port, and a place for a tollbooth and warehouses.  See ://www.chillon.ch/en/index-La%2Bgrande%2Bhistoire-0-0.html/

Mountains behind, finally.
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Villeneuve, Switzerland, Alps backdrop

Villeneuve begins, at this end of the lake, the area known as the Swiss version of the Riviera. Romans stopped the ancient Swiss Helvetian tribes from moving south into France, and contained them in Switzerland until Roman Rule faded in the 400's. This was not an animus - just practical. There was relative peace during the Roman occupations. All the major Swiss cities stem from Helvetian Celt or Roman settlements: Lausanne, Zurich, Geneva, Basel. Only Bern emerged after the Romans. See ://history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch/switzerland-age-romans.html/

That history of Switzerland site gives a full listing of Roman towns and military outposts, and when they reached their peak size and influence, with the linguistic suffixes that identify them, as opposed to the linguistic clues for the Celts.

Lake Geneva, Villeneuve, Switzerland

With day ending, why go further into the major resort of Montreux where prices will be higher, and the lake the same.  Looking toward Montreux, from Villeneuve here, the view from the long dock here is even spoiled by the autobahn stretching above the old Castle of Chillon there toward Montreux,  below the arches.  

Promenade dock, Villeneuve, Switzerland, Lake Geneva

This was a market town, and the Old Town still has its medieval character. Stop and look for it: go inland a block or two, rather than merely driving through on the main road.

 View, Villeneuve to Montreux, Lake Geneva, Switzerland

Lakeside park, Villeneuve, Switzerland, with sports sculpture

When choosing a hotel room, aim for the back, without the view, where it is quieter.  You will close the drapes anyway.