Morges | schwingeninswitzerland

Every year since 1971, the Lake Geneva Horticultural Society puts on The Tulip Festival from mid-April to mid-May in Morges, Switzerland. It lasts six weeks and presents 150,000 tulips of 250 varieties in every available size, shape and color. Last year, we walked the lakeside, checked out the tulips and stopped for lunch (they have a tent with decent food lakeside).

Lots of places have Tulip Festivals including: Netherland’s Keukenhof Gardens, Holland (in Michigan), Ottawa, Kashmir, the Skagit Valley, Istanbul, Amsterdam, and Perth. Morges is a cute town with a beautiful lakeside. All the flowers make the already beautiful lakeside park feel it festive.

The festival appears to be a group effort. The city of Morges and the regional tourism office assist the Lake Geneva Horticultural Society. Apprentice gardeners assist the city workers and volunteers with the planting. Cities as diverse as Istanbul and Yverdon-les-Bains have donated bulbs.

By the way, Morges is known for its connection to Audrey Hepburn. She lived for years in the nearby town of Tolochenaz, where she is buried.

Morges Tulip Festival (theadventuresofmisswidgetandherpeople.wordpress.com)

Sorry for the bad pun, I just couldn’t help it. I’m also sorry for the excessive “Cute Swiss Towns” posts. You might have guessed. We’ve had visitors and have been busy showing them around. As a visitor, I really appreciate anything my hosts do to show me or teach me about where they live. I, perhaps erroneously, assume that the rest of the world appreciates this as well. As a result, staying with us can be a sort of boot camp. If you give me the slightest indication that you want to see and do things, it’s on. You were warned.

When my mom was here, we went to Morges. It’s located between Geneva and Lausanne, near Nyon, on Lac Leman (Lake Geneva). Some people commute from there to Geneva (the housing is so tight in Geneva that some people don’t have a choice, others like this adorable town).