Switzerland Guide
The Arc Jurassien
Grandson
The lakeshore village of Grandson resonates in the mind of every Swiss schoolchild as the location of one of the three greatest victories ever won by a Swiss army, against Charles of Burgundy in 1476. Its castle, the focus of the battle, now houses one of the best castle museums in the country.
At the castle ticket desk you're given a follow-the-numbers leaflet. It's worth pausing awhile at the foot of the walls to look out over the lake and up at the massive fortress above. Highlights inside include the Torture Chamber (room 3), with original wheel and executioners' axe; an informative English-language slide-show on the history of Grandson and the Burgundian Wars in room 7; vast quantities of booty from 1476, as well as a life-size mock-up of Charles the Bold's war tent (room 12); the claustrophobic Prison (room 16); and a ramparts walk leading through the various towers and watch-rooms. Accessed by stairs leading down from a corner of the Banqueting Hall (room 15) is an incongruous Vintage Car Museum (rooms 17–19), whose dream machines include Greta Garbo's white 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Grandson's train station, 700m west of the castle along Rue Basse, has only one or two slow trains on the line between Lausanne and Neuchâtel (via Yverdon). It's better to get the regular postbus from Yverdon to Gorgier-St-Aubin, which can drop you in Grandson's Place du Château (takes 10min), or the boat.
Opening time: Mon– Sat 8.30–11am & 2–5pm, Sun 8.30am–5pm Fr.12
Telephone: 024 445 29 26
Website: www.grandson.ch