Story and photographs by Tony Chisholm
Earlier this summer on my way to visit family vacationing in France, I took a 3 day side trip to Montreux just over the border from France in Switzerland. I wanted a couple of days to recover from jetlag in a nice spot and was impressed with Montreux. It helped that the weather was perfect, giving me a great opportunity to explore the city and its beautiful waterfront. I had flown into Geneva and joy of joy, I was able to pick up a train right from the airport direct to Montreux, about 1 hour away. The train ride was smooth, efficient and perfectly on time.
My reservation was with the Eden Palace Hotel and it was quite a place. Right out of the Belle Epoque it was opened in 1896. It enjoys a fantastic location on Lake Geneva facing south towards the French alps, some mountains still covered in snow. At 45 miles long, Lake Geneva is one of the largest (and cleanest) lakes in Western Europe. It forms a large arc and Montreux is in the middle, on north side.
I had a balcony on the second floor facing the lakefront promenade with spectacular views of the lake and mountains, especially at sunset. Unfortunately for me, it was a small balcony, or I would have dragged my bed out there to enjoy the spectacular view, day and night. I soon learned an important lesson as I sat in the patio having lunch waiting for my room to be ready. To fill the time, I treated myself to a hamburger (35 Swiss Francs) and a couple of glasses of wine with desert. The whopping bill for one was over $110 US. I quickly learned how expensive things were in Switzerland.
Montreux enjoys a population of 26,000 and is situated in the center of the Swiss Riviera. Its mild climate has been welcoming tourists for well over 100 years. It is an important wine growing region that dates back to the bronze age, well before the Romans settled there in the 3rd century.
I learned that Montreux has a strong musical connection and is the home to a very popular jazz festival annually. Deep Purple recorded Machine Head there in 1971. As well, the town boasts a popular, larger than life statue of Freddie Mercury. He has one arm raised to the sky and everyone seemed to try and strike the same pose at the foot of the statue for their favourite photographer.
The hotel was on the beautiful lake front promenade which stretches nearly 4 miles from Villeneuve to Vevey which is another small, beautiful town to the east. This was an easy and enjoyable stroll along this flower lined walking and bike path. It was the weekend, and everyone was strolling past the food trucks and the main square in town, the Place du Marche. This was where I picked up the cruise boat the next day for an enjoyable 2 hour cruise across the lake with stops in villages on both the Swiss and French shores. People would get on at one town and off at another to hike the hills or explore the towns.
The highlight of the cruise was the stop at the Castle Chillon. The interesting castle was built on an island in the 11th century and was a summer home for the Counts of Savoy. They not only used the house as a residence but used it to house prisoners as well. It was faithfully restored at the end of the 19th century and today makes a beautiful historic site nestled on its small island. So photogenic from the lake framed with the mountains in the background.
Finding interesting restaurants was fun and I had several enjoyable meals. Both were in places just a few steps from the lovely waterfront promenade. But on the walking trail one needn’t reserve a restaurant seat as there were interesting food trucks doing a brisk business parked right on the promenade. Some blasted music and all offered a wide variety of local food treats.
I enjoyed my stay and reveled in the beauty and culture of this small but charming Swiss town.
