Swiss Vapeur Parc

Do you like trains or travelling on them? Would you like to experience a "little" train adventure? Then you have to visit this beautiful and wonderful place that seems to be taken from a children's story. It is called Swiss Vapeur Parc and it is actually in the Port-Velais commune, specifically in the Le Bouveret locality in French Switzerland, but it is very close to Montreux which you can get to by basically any means be it train, bus or car in a very short time. Even when leaving from other cities like Geneva, the travel time should not exceed 3 hours. This amusement/ theme park is next to the simple but beautiful port of Le Bouveret and next to Aquaparc, a water park. This explains why it is a very visited place by people from different parts of the country and the continent.

The Swiss Vapeur Parc has more than a dozen miniature locomotives ranging from electric to steam. It also has several miniature buildings and several stations where passengers can get on or off trains. The rides are not that short because the train has to travel approximately 2 kilometres from the starting point to then return back to it, crossing through several tunnels and passing over different suspension bridges over small lakes along the way.

The entrance fee for adults is 17 Swiss Francs, equivalent to about 16 euros, and for children it is 14 Swiss Francs, which is approximately 13 euros. And the best thing is that the park has a group promotion; those who come in a group of ten or more only pay 11 Swiss Francs, or 10 euros (if we were to change the currency to Colombian Pesos it would then be: adults: 55, 000, children: 45, 000 and groups of ten or more: 35, 000. In pounds it would be: 15, 12, 10 respectively. This is all approximately). The price covers unlimited entry onto any of the trains.

I had already told you that the place is like a fairy tale story and that it is paradise for any child because most of the things here are literally made for them. Like the small castle on the hill, the church, the stations and also almost all the buildings are replicas and small versions of other major works.

The park is open every day and its decorations vary depending on the time of year. For example, I went during the last days of October, so the characteristic decoration was focused on Halloween. There’s even a game that they give to you at the entrance to the park which involves finding five different witches distributed throughout the park, but it was not easy going around without knowing where to look, although clues are also given about its possible location. In addition to all this, skeletons, cemeteries, spiders and many fun, spooky things can be seen around the place. If you wanted, you could also put on makeup that alludes to this unique time of year. The best thing is that it was all totally free. A pretty girl was at the entrance with her makeup and could paint on your face what you wanted: a spider web, a skull or a little witch.

Normally, spending time on any kind of transport is exhausting and usually makes you very hungry, but here you don’t have to worry about that. Throughout the park there were three different places, depending on what you wanted or where you felt most comfortable. Here you could choose to enjoy ice-creams, different foods, such as delicious crepes, and many different drinks. There was a place that I liked a lot in particular because it was like a traditional Swiss two-story house in miniature version and it was where they sold the delicious crepes, the Crêperie de la Treille.

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I found this place pretty much in the middle of the park, very near to the gift and souvenir shop, the church and the station for the little town called Chablais Village.

Why choose this place?

Firstly, because for little money you can enjoy something unique in the world as well as return in some way to your childhood. And it’s very fun to travel on the train around the whole park whilst the breeze blows across your face, and you can observe the infinity of plants, flowers and trees that this beautiful park can offer you. In other words, you will have a great time here regardless of your age because this place may be small in size but it is large in heart and is hugely fun.

This is a complete map of the place, so that you can see everything the Swiss vapeur parc has to offer, from where the food stores are located to the different buildings around the place.

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In the following link you will find all the necessary information that, in addition to what I have already told you, will tell you everything you need to know about this fantastic place:

https://www.swissvapeur.ch/ (it can be translated into English).