Montreaux, on the shores of Léman Lake, was our first stop in Swiss land. Geneva was too big to visit in a couple of hours, so we went to Montreux instead. We were also tired after some hours of driving and we had to arrive yet to the cabin. Besides we read in some travel forums that Geneva is a very big, massified and artificial city.
On the other hand Montreux has a great incentive: this is the city where Freddie Mercury spent his last years, and it has a statue of this great artist. It’s also home of a famous jazz festival that takes place by the end of June.
We walked by foot part of the promenade on the shore of the great Léman Lake, with the Alps as a backdrop and listening to a street concert. There are many statues along the shore, including the figures of Freddie Mercury and Charles Chaplin.
We saw the buildings of the Central Market, the Great Casino and the Palais Oriental, which is a true architectonical jewel, and serves as a restaurant today, although it was a private residence for decades.
In the Swiss tourism website you can download a PDF guide with every point of interest, activities and experiencies to enjoy this city.
Léman Lake is the biggest one in Western Europe and it’s the frontier between Switzerland and France. There are several famous cities in its shores: Geneva, Lausanne (home of the International Olympic Committee), Montreux…
Some photos of the city:
We’d had liked to visit Chillon Castle too, which is a few kilometers from Montreux, but we ran out of time and we still had to drive a couple of hours to our cabin.
GPS coordinates: 46.432053, 6.909155
More information: Tourism of Montreux