Montreux



Montreux is mostly known for its world-famous two-week-long Jazz Festival, but it is well worth a wander through, if only to get to the scenic Château de Chillon or to get to the hiker's paradise of Hauts de Montreux.

By plane
Geneva Cointrin International Airport is the closest major airport to Montreux, and serves direct flights from most major European hubs, as well as a few cities in Canada and the United States, North Africa, and the Middle East. From Geneva, it's a little more than an hour by car, and less than an hour by train.

The railway station in Geneva is connected to Geneva International Airport. From the arrivals hall turn left (inside the building) and you will walk through a shopping mall where the railway platforms are one floor below.

By train
Montreux is served by direct rail services from Geneva, Lausanne, Visp and Brig, and is easily accessible via rail connection from almost anywhere else in Switzerland. See Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) site for timetable info.

By train
The Montreux–Oberland Bernois railway (MOB) is one of the longest established of the Swiss narrow gauge railways and runs from platforms 5 and 6 of the town's main line station to Zweisimmen via the resort town of Les Avants, Montbovon, Château-d'OEx, Saanen and Gstaad. The company, which operates 1/3 of the Golden Pass route to Lucerne along with the BLS and the Zentralbahn brought under its sales banner, the cog-wheel Montreux - Glion - Rochers-de-Naye Railway and its associated funicular from nearby Territet, the Les Avants - Sonloup funicular and the lines of the former CEV from Vevey into the hills.

The trains on the Rochers-de-Naye line stop running to and from the top around 18:00 but they'll shut down early if the weather's bad, so don't count on one to carry you out of a sudden early evening rainstorm.

The MOB operates local, stopping, trains and a regular service of panoramic trains with coaches having large picture windows and glass sections reaching into the roof, which are great for the views. Twice a day the line runs a classic service using either original coaches built before World War I or some built later to the same design, a throw back to the days of the Orient Express. First and Second class fares, single and return, are available on all trains with no extra charge for the panorama or classic trains. Well worth the ride and a cup of tea or coffee in the buffet car.

The best deal to date has to be the Jazz Train, which runs on various days throughout the Jazz Festival (see above). The train goes from Montreux to Gstaad, and you can buy tickets for three of the carriages, where jazz bands play live during the journey. Once in Gstaad there is an opportunity to sample some local products and pretend to be a millionaire (Gstaad is that kind of place) before a return trip with more live jazz.

Pretty much anything heading north and/or east of Montreux will lead to some combination of charming Swiss villages, such as Château d'Oex and invigorating Swiss landscapes. Despite the heavy Golden Pass advertising scheme, most of the visitors are small groups of locals, not the hordes of tourists you'll find in nearby, but hard to get to Chamonix or Interlaken. Many of the mountain-top restaurants double as 'buvettes' - something between a refugee hut and a hotel - where you can stay the night, often for much less than you'd pay for a lakeside hostel.

By foot
The waterfront and the old town are best accessed by foot. If you like to take a little longer walk, the castle is a few kilometers southeast from the city center along the shore of Lake Geneva. From the old town you can walk uphill to the waterfall Les Gorges du Chauderon.

By bus
There are a couple of bus lines in and around Montreux, operated by the company VMCV. Their website is however only available in French.

See



 * The Riviera Promenade. Stroll along it and challenge yourself to recognise each tree and flower. The city gardeners create each vegetal sculptures on a special theme. On week days the quai are the perfect place to roller skate from Clarens to Villeneuve.



Do

 * Cruises. Take a cruise on the unique Belle Epoque paddle steamers and discover Lavaux from the lake. Timetable at Compagnie Générale de Navigation's website.
 * Take a journey at the "alpage". Up High but not so far away, spend a night at a true "alpage", have a dinner with the "armailli", sleep on straw, and if you are awake early enough, milk the cows, watch the cheese making on woodfire and if you are lucky turn the "batte à beurre". Nothing can beat a spoon of cream served with a wooden spoon carved by a local artisan. Don't miss the L'Etivaz cheese, of course. Information: Olivier et Huguette Yersin. Tel. +41 79 230 30 77

Hiking
The mountains around Hauts-de-Montreux are threaded with forest trails, isolated villages, caves, grottos, and wildlife. Any of the train stops will lead to several hiking options. For a real hiker's hike, tackle the four hour, 1000-metre climb from Caux to (2045 m above sea level). Saner folks might want to get off at, just below the peak (1875 m above sea level), where you can enjoy the views and fresh air without the huffing and puffing. You can walk the trails up there which are not difficult, one being across to The Alpine garden which is very beautiful with nearly 800 varieties of plants and flowers.


 * Another option is to go to Vevey & take funicular to or a train to . From Les Pleiades, enjoy the amazing views including the majestuous Mont-Blanc.
 * Go to Chexbres and walk to Cully to discover the "à pic" scenery of Lavaux vineyards.
 * Another option is to go to Vevey & take funicular to or a train to . From Les Pleiades, enjoy the amazing views including the majestuous Mont-Blanc.
 * Go to Chexbres and walk to Cully to discover the "à pic" scenery of Lavaux vineyards.

Learn
Montreux is in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Therefore you can learn French in Montreux in some language schools including ESL.

Buy
Every Christmas Montreux hosts an excellent Christmas market for several weeks over the holiday period. The main road through the town (Grand' Rue) and the lakeside path are lined with wooden chalets where you can find anything to buy from local wine (free tasting sometimes on offer) to chocolates (of course) and local crafts. The atmosphere is magical, your kids can visit Père Noel (Father Christmas). With all the regular shops also open you could do all your Christmas shopping in one trip and get some unique presents into the bargain.

For the cheapest souvenirs in Montreux, check out the Kiosque Biblique, which is housed in a small wooden chalet next to the Eurotel. It's not always open because it's run by volunteers, but it always offers a friendly welcome to everyone and has lots of free Christian literature in many languages.

Budget

 * If you turn left as you leave the débarcadère (where you get of the boats) you will see a small outdoor café selling drinks and Mövenpick ice creams. If you buy something there you can sit under the spreading vine that shelters the café from the sun and watch the world go by. As long as it's not too busy you can sit there as long as you like - drinks and ice creams are about Fr. 3.50 each.
 * If you turn left as you leave the débarcadère (where you get of the boats) you will see a small outdoor café selling drinks and Mövenpick ice creams. If you buy something there you can sit under the spreading vine that shelters the café from the sun and watch the world go by. As long as it's not too busy you can sit there as long as you like - drinks and ice creams are about Fr. 3.50 each.
 * If you turn left as you leave the débarcadère (where you get of the boats) you will see a small outdoor café selling drinks and Mövenpick ice creams. If you buy something there you can sit under the spreading vine that shelters the café from the sun and watch the world go by. As long as it's not too busy you can sit there as long as you like - drinks and ice creams are about Fr. 3.50 each.

Go next

 * Vevey — a lovely city in a cove, and the corporate home to the Nestlé chocolate and food empire.
 * Lavaux — terraced vineyards and one of the prettiest landscapes anywhere stretching between Lausanne and Vevey.
 * Lausanne — a university town and home to the International Olympic Committee.
 * Château d'Œx — a ski town that also offers a wide range of multi-season sporting activities.
 * Yvorne — yet another wine growing region, this one on the slopes of the Vaudois Alps.
 * Montreux is the western end of the luxurious Golden Pass scenic train line going all the way to Lucerne.