Hiking the Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 8 Murten to Laupen
Stage 8 of the Trans Swiss trail is a 15 km long hike with 280 m of ascent and 250 m of descent. The trail goes from Murten to Laupen and it is a fairly easy walk through fields, forest, and small towns. The trail starts in Murten, a lovely walled mediaeval town with pretty cobblestone streets lined with sidewalk cafes, a place worthy of visit on its own.
| Where: | Murten to Laupen Canton Fribourg, Switzerland |
| Train/Bus: | Zürich HB -> Murten – 1 hr 41 min Laupen -> Zürich HB – 1 hr 41 min |
| What: | Trans Swiss Trail – Stage 8 Murten to Laupen Yellow trail markers – Trans Swiss Trail Route 2 |
| Skill: | Easy – About 3 hrs 45 mins Length 15 km, Ascent 280 m, Descent 250 m |
| Stage 1 – Porrentruy to St-Ursanne Stage 2 – St-Ursanne to Soubey Stage 3 – Soubey to Saignelégier Stage 4 – Saignelégier to St-Imier Stage 5 – St-Imier to Chézard-St-Martin Stage 6 – Chézard-St-Martin to Neuchâtel Stage 7 – Neuchâtel to Murten Stage 8 – Murten to Laupen Stage 9 – Laupen to Bern Stage 10 – Bern to Worb Stage 11 – Worb to Lützelflüh Stage 12 – Lützelflüh to Langnau i.E. Stage 13 – Langnau i.E. to Eggiwil Stage 14 – Eggiwil to Schangnau Stage 15 – Schangnau to Sörenberg Stage 16 – Sörenberg to Giswil Stage 17 – Giswil to Flüeli-Ranft Stage18 – Flüeli-Ranft to Stans Stage 19 – Stans to Seelisberg Stage 20 – Seelisberg to Erstfeld Stage 21 – Erstfeld to Wassen Stage 22 – Wassen to Andermatt Stage 23 – Andermatt to Passo del San Gottardo Stage 24 – Passo del San Gottardo to Airolo Stage 25 – Airolo to Osco Stage 26 – Osco to Anzonico Stage 27 – Anzonico to Biasca Stage 28 – Biasca to Bellinzona Stage 29 – Bellinzona to Tesserete Stage 30 – Tesserete to Lugano (Comano) Stage 31 – Lugano (Paradiso) to Morcote Stage 32 – Morcote to Mendriso |
Getting There
The Trans Swiss Trail is best done with public transportation as each stage starts and ends at different points. Stage 7 ended at the Murten train station after a passing through the old town. Stage 8 trail picks up at the Murten train station and then immediately heads out of town.
Because we had enjoyed our stroll through Murten old town at the end of stage 7 so much, we decided to spend a little time exploring the area before starting stage 8 and heading out of town.
Touring Murten
To start our tour of Murten, we retraced our steps from stage 7 and followed the trail back up to the old town. This time, we stopped in at the castle, took in the view of lake Murten from the courtyard, and then climbed the steps to the tower to get a view of the old town wall from above. We’ve had an intense amount of rain this summer and if you look closely at the picture of the lake, you can see that the water level is so high some of the docks are underwater.
After leaving the castle, we meandered down a side cobblestone street until we came to the town gate. We then turned around and came down the main street. We had remembered seeing a cafe (J’adore Cafe) here, that served crepes last time we were here and we thought that would make an excellent lunch. Luckily, they had a table available.
After a delicious lunch of crepes and cappuccino, we decided to walk on the old city walls – something you should definitely do when in Murten. Such a fun way to see the town!
When we were done exploring the old town, we headed back to the train station to pick up the trail and begin our hike for the day.
Starting the Trail
Stage 8 picks up where stage 7 left off, right at the Murten train station.
From the train station, stage 8 heads through newer areas of town and then quickly out into farm country.
The Trail – Murten to Laupen
The trail description said it would take us through forests, fields and small towns. And, no lies detected. As we walked, we passed through fields of wheat, soy beans, sugar beets, tobacco, more forests, lots of corn, and a few tiny towns. I didn’t known that tobacco could be grown in Switzerland and I didn’t know what it was when I saw it (second picture bottom row). I had to use a plant identification app to find out.
My favorite fields, though, were the fields of sunflowers. Just so summery and joyful!
As the trail continued towards Laupen, we passed a swampy area that was a nature reserve, so we stopped briefly to watch the herons.
As we approached Laupen, we crossed the Sarine river and then hiked along side it until it joined with the Sense river.
When we reached Laupen, we were rushing a bit as we wanted to get home before dinner time.
Getting Back
To end the hike, we hiked past the old train station wich no longer has tracks and over to the new train station to catch the next train home. From the new station, there is a view of the castle on the hill.
This wasn’t the most exciting stage to hike but Murten is a cute town and I am glad we spent some time exploring it and to trying one of the cafes before we started hiking. The next stage will be long hike taking us all the way to Bern. Looking forward to it!
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