Morges Tulip Festival

Posted by Anura Samara, 5 April 2014

Now that it’s spring and with summer coming along, there are so many outdoor festivals and events on around Switzerland. We made a spur-of-the-moment to head to Morges – it has a tulip festival, and it’s only half an hour away by train.

I have to admit that my memories of Morges were coloured by my last visit, which was on a Sunday in winter and the town was practically dead.

One of the great things about Switzerland is that when it starts to get warmer there are lots of people out and about enjoying both the sun and the various activities on offer. Like lots of Swiss towns, once you leave the modernity of the train station the real charm is in the older part of town. In the case of Morges, there’s a long mostly pedestrian street line with shops leading to a church. But if you cross the street you keep heading down to the waterfront, which is dominated by the old armoury building. And just beyond is Parc de l’Independence where the tulip festival is.

If you’re from Canberra, forget about Floriade. This is just a small town, putting on a display of flowers in its own small park. Having said that, there is clearly an attempt to link the flowers to various themes (I think it was sports on the day we visited) and also to extend the experience through other activities, such as a circus school for the children.

In the end, we just took advantage of the weather to enjoy a picnic by the lake and have a look around a town that we have visited before but probably not really appreciated.

Categories: Switzerland