Two team members of the European Association of the Via Francigena ways EAVF are traveling along the Swiss part of the route from 26 July to 8 August 2020.

Luca Bruschi, EAVF director, and Elena Dubinina, International Relations advisor, walk from Orbe to the Grand Saint Bernard Pass, one of the most fascinating points of the Via Francigena, during a 10-day trip.

The team is covering 200 km of the Swiss stretch between the cantons of Valais and Vaud, exploring the route and its landscapes and, at the same time, meeting several representatives of the local authorities, tourism offices and other stakeholders involved in development and management of the Via Francigena, to reinforce the network that is consolidating along the way.

Here their trip stage by stage:

DAY 1: Orbe- Romainmotier among dirt roads, woods and picturesque villages

DAY 2: Romainmotier-Cossonay: wondering about the cows

DAY 3: Cossonay- Lausanne: through fairytale woods you get to the lake.

DAY 4: Few steps but many important meetings in Lausanne

DAY5: Losanna – Vevey. Exciting stop between UNESCO heritage vineyards and Charlie Chaplin museum

DAY 6: Vevey – Aigle On the trail of Freddie Mercury, Victor Hugo, Lev Tolstoj, Fedor Dovstojevkij, Scott Fitzgerald and Hugo Pratt.

DAY 7: Aigle – Saint Maurice. Fairy-tale castles among vineyards on the way to Abbey, the director becomes a knight and climbs up and down.

DAY 8: Saint Maurice – Martigny Walking under the rain, discovering waterfalls and the legendary apricots of the Vallais

DAY 9: Martigny – Orsières. The ascent begins, between temperature changes and unsupervised revelations of orientation capabilities.

DAY 10: Orsierès – Bourg Saint Pierre. The director is tempted to continue on to Rome. But he is stopped by a raspberry plant.

DAY 11: Towards the legendary mount.