While in Switzerland, we stayed in Leysin. It’s a few kilometres away from the wonderful lake-side town of Montreux. I managed to spend a few hours at the famous salt mine on a guided tour. I would recommend this – I have never been inside a mine before. After reading about this mine in a pamphlet, I was quite intrigued because it rather reminded me of the town of Bonk and the famous fat mines in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld……
You start off by getting there on time for the timed entrances, because you will need a tour guide for the mines (so you don’t get lost in there!) You can look for available times here on their website, and I would recommend you to book in advance, so you’d know when to get there.
We started off with a video presentation, and the guide will take you around the mines and will describe the sections to you as you get there. But to get below, you will take an underground train! Look below for some pictures (I am not giving away everything!) and look out for the GIF file of the train ride back to the surface.
While waiting for our allotted slot for the guided tour, we had a nice lunch at the nearby Auberge (Inn). Walking distance from the Bex Salt Mine visitor centre.
The owner is a wonderful, bubbly man. And he gave me a bottle of white wine (as we gave him a RM10 note for his restaurant currency wall).
Important Visitor Information:
Reservation is preferable, because of the timed entrances.
Address: Route des Mines de Sel 55, CH-1880 Bex, Switzerland.
Tél. + 41 (0)24 463 03 30
Fax + 41 (0)24 463 03 32
airinie 