Nyon

Julius Caesar founded a colony here around 45 BC for veterans of his legions, Colonia Iulia Equestris, and the Roman town is still legible: columns from the basilica stand re-erected above the lake, and the Roman museum sits on the forum's site with mosaics and inscriptions. Above the harbour the castle, white with five towers, holds a porcelain museum - Nyon had a notable porcelain manufactory around 1800. The town is also headquarters of UEFA. Its largest event is the Paleo Festival in July, one of the biggest open-air music festivals in Europe, held on farmland outside the town, with tickets that routinely sell out within hours of going on sale.

The main sights

• A Caesar-founded colony - Colonia Iulia Equestris, about 45 BC.
• Re-erected Roman columns - basilica remains standing above the lake.
• A white five-towered castle - with the porcelain collection inside.
• The Paleo Festival - a major July open-air, sold out in hours.

When to go

April to October; July for Paleo if you have tickets. Half a day.

What to expect

Paleo tickets sell out almost immediately and accommodation vanishes with them. Museums close on Mondays. The Roman remains are fragments rather than a site to walk through. The lakefront is pleasant but small.

Nearby

Coppet is along the shore; Geneva is south-west.

Key facts