Six minutes up the shore from Yverdon, Grandson is built around the Château de Grandson, one of Switzerland’s great medieval castles, its towers standing over the lake above a quiet, cobbled old town.
After a long restoration the castle reopened in 2026 with a new permanent museum, “a thousand years of history” laid out across 15 rooms on four floors, from the first medieval tower around the year 1000 to the present day, told through some 100 objects. Grandson’s biggest moment runs through it: the Battle of Grandson in 1476, where the Swiss Confederates routed Charles the Bold, one of the defeats that broke Burgundy and redrew the map of Europe.
What to do
- Tour the Château de Grandson: fifteen rooms over four floors, the ramparts, and the views down the lake.
- Wander the cobbled old town below the castle, with its fountains and lanes.
- Swim or picnic on the lake beach below the town.
- Walk up to the Neolithic menhir at Champ des Échâtelards, an echo of the Clendy menhirs back at Yverdon.
Practical notes
- Castle open Wednesday to Monday, 10:00–18:00 (closed Tuesday). Entry CHF 16 / 8, family CHF 38; see chateau-grandson.ch for current details.
- Allow half a day for the castle, the old town and the shore.
