La 🌷 « Fête de la Tulipe » in 🇨🇭 Morges is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and kicks off this season on 20th March 2020, and those first buds are expected to be in full bloom by mid-April.

You don’t have to travel too far from the 🏔 Pays du Mont-Blanc to experience total dépaysement, to distance yourself from the mountain valleys and high snowy peaks; just the other side of Lac Léman takes you to a land of open vistas of lake with an alpine backdrop (those very same mountains that are on our doorstep 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc!). A milder climate allows for vineyards to flourish and 🌷 springtime flowers to bloom.

Among the lovely lakeside villages and towns to explore on the other side of 🇩🇰 Lac Léman is Morges . . . and Morges is also host to the pretty 🌷 « Fête de la Tulipe » each year, which marks the return of springtime.

A lakeside stroll in Morges is perfect for a family outing  . . . so pack your 🍏 picnic, pick a warm and sunny day, and don’t forget a 🚲 draisienne or pedal bike or 🛴 scooter for little explorers . . .

🌷 « La Fête de la Tulipe » 🌷

Every year, for the duration of about six weeks, the association « Morges Fleur du Léman » delights with 🌷 a carpet of tulips in the Parc de l’Indépendence (between the Château de Morges and the river La Morges) . . . about 🌷 120 000 tulips, from about 300 varieties, are planted and the result is a mosaic of vibrant colour!  And to visit the event is FREE!

🍁 autumn preparation: during the autumn months, apprentice horiculturalists from Centre d’Enseignement Professionnel de Morges (CEPM) and gardeners from la Ville de Morges busy themselves getting the ground ready for this festival!

🌷 history of the event: the 🌷 « Fête de la Tulipe » was conceived in 1971 to celebrate and mark the 50th anniversary of the Société Vaudoise d’Horticulture. The Parc de l’Indépendance as the choice of location is a salute to the Vaudoise independence of 1898;

🌳 Parc de l’Indépendence: this green park has 50 types of trees, including the impressive chestnut tree from 1750 and giant sequoias;

🌈 animations – during the festival, there are plenty of weekend animations: exhibitions, gastronomic specialities, brunches, music, markets . . .  / see website for more details about the animations;

🎉 50th birthday celebrations – to celebrate its 50th edition, a special statue by Leo Orta (and in collaboration with the Dutch company gutundgut) will be unveiled in the Parc de l’Indépendance/ the Dutch are the guests of honour this year, with an Orange Day planned for the 25th April 2020;

☕️ buvette – installed for the duration of the event from 10h to 18h, you can get snacks from 11h to 17h (run by the Fondation du Relais, which works towards the re-insertion into society of adults and young people in difficulty);

[ ➡️ for up-to-date information about the tulips’ blossoming, see état de la floraison  ]

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Morges – a little history

A visit to the 🌷« Fête de la Tulipe » is also the perfect opportunity to amble through the streets of this medieval lakeside town, or to continue your stroll down the quayside towards 🌳 Parc de Vertou, with its spacious lawns and playground . . .

🏰 Morges Castle – is a medieval castle. In 1286, Louis of Savoy founded the city in a pasture and he built a castle to protect the new city. Very soon, Morges became a thriving market centre and a city transporting goods by land and water. Like many other castles, it became the cantonal armory in 1803, was expanded in 1836-39 and damaged in an explosion in 1871. From 1925, it has housed the Vaud Military Museum / more information here;

🎹 Igor Stravinsky in Morges – the musician settled for a while in Morges a century ago (from 1915 until 1917), looking for calm and a mild climate to finish his works: Histoire du soldat, Pulcinella, Les Noces, and Renard. The manor house that he occupied has been transformed into an elegant hotel/restaurant / read more about the house.

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🍁 MBFF’s autumn visit to Morges 🍁 

The MBFF team visited Morges one warm and sunny October day a few years ago, and here is where we strolled en famille:

• 🌳 Parc de l’Indépendence and 🏰 Château de Morges;
• along the Quai du Mont-Blanc and the Quai Igor Stravinski – here, there are lakeside boulders to clamber over (take small children by the hand!), 🦆 ducks and ⛵️ boats to admire, 🌺beautiful flowers and 🗻 snowy mountain views . . . also the perfect route for a draisienne, pedal bike, scooter or buggy!
• 🌳 Parc de Vertou – here we paused to enjoy the playground, before heading back to the car;

🍏 picnic spots – Parc de l’Indépendence, along the quayside (benches, lovely views of lake and snowy peaks) and Parc de Vertou;

🌈 playgrounds – in front of the Temple de Morges (beginning of walk) and le Parc de Vertou (large, spacious lawn for ball games around the playground);

🗺 Google Map of our route:

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Practical Information

Office de Tourisme de Morges address: rue du Château, 2, 1110, Morges, Switerland;

tel: +41 21 801 32 33

website: here

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 children – Morges Tourisme has a leaflet for a children’s visit through old Morges: history, anecdotes and mysteries / see here for more details or here to download leaflet;