Ollon Vd – Vineyards, History and Nature

Ollon Vd combines winegrowing and historic buildings with walking trails, a botanical garden and nature experiences. The village of Ollon is clustered around its distinctive bell tower, surrounded by vineyards and situated at the foot of the mountain. When planning your stay, you can choose from several focuses: vineyards and walks, architecture and history, or activities at Gouille du Duzillet.

Vineyards and Trails Around Ollon

The Ollon vineyards lie at the foot of the Prealps, face south and benefit from a warm, dry climate influenced by the Foehn. The Balades dans le vignoble combine walks through the vineyard slopes with wine tastings and culinary specialties offered by participating winemakers. Most winemakers in Ollon welcome visitors to their estates for tours and tastings.

The walking trails also offer different points of interest: seven walks explore the municipality’s architectural heritage and history. The marked Sentier des vignes runs through Ollon and is open year-round. The municipality also has 13 fountains with a total of 27 basins—a specific figure that highlights the fountains as part of the local landscape.

Architectural History and Historic Sites

The Château de la Roche dates back to the early 13th century. It is open to the public for performances, exhibitions, conferences and receptions; group visits can be arranged on request. This is a different kind of visit from a regularly open attraction: if you are planning a group visit, you should arrange it on request.

In Ollon, the Reformed Church of Saint-Victor is protected as a historic monument. In Salaz, the abbey building of the Abbaye de Salaz is protected; the abbey was a rural dependency of the monks of St-Maurice. The estate includes a four-hectare vineyard. Thus, the municipality’s ecclesiastical architectural heritage and winegrowing are found side by side at different named locations.

The fortified, accessible site of Lessus in St-Triphon bears witness to settlement here since prehistoric times. The complex includes the former gateway to a fortified settlement and a Romanesque chapel with distinctive architectural decoration. The square tower of St-Triphon is 18 metres high; its only door is nine metres above the ground. A path leads from the village of St-Triphon to the tower on the hill.

Gardens, Water and Mountain Biking

The Jardin botanique de St-Triphon is home to rock-garden, medicinal and Mediterranean plants. Three ponds cover a total area of 180 square metres, and the garden also has an unheated greenhouse. This mix of different plant groups, water features and a greenhouse offers a distinct focus alongside the historic sites.

At Gouille du Duzillet, you can swim, sunbathe and barbecue. Access is free and open to everyone; swimming is unsupervised. The pond is also a recognised scuba diving site for underwater photography, is considered rich in fish and offers good visibility. The information about swimming and diving thus describes different activities available at the same location.

For mountain biking, La Boyarde is an entirely downhill route connecting Bretaye with the village of Ollon, with a descent of more than 1,500 metres. It is clearly different from the walks through the vineyards and those exploring the architectural heritage: this is described as a mountain-bike route, while the trails in Ollon have other points of interest.

Discover more destinations: Panex, Barboleusaz, Leysin, Roche Vd, Bex, Ormont-Dessous, Villars-Sur-Ollon, Gryon.

For the broader travel overview: Aigle.