Montreux

Why go

Palms at forty-six degrees north — a lake microclimate that grows subtropical plants in Switzerland. The Jazz Festival — since 1967, and the recordings that came out of it are a canon in themselves. Château de Chillon — a lake castle Byron wrote about, on a rock a short walk along the shore. A literary residency tradition — Nabokov lived in a hotel here for sixteen years and never left.

The character

Montreux sits on the eastern arm of Lake Geneva, backed by mountains that block the north wind and reflect heat off the water, which gives it a climate mild enough for palms, magnolias and cypresses at the latitude of southern Ontario. That anomaly built the town: consumptive northern Europeans came for the air in the nineteenth century, the Belle Époque hotels went up along the quay, and the visitors stayed. Vladimir Nabokov moved into the Montreux Palace in 1961 and remained until his death in 1977, writing at a lectern and hunting butterflies on the slopes above.

The second identity is musical. Claude Nobs founded the Jazz Festival in 1967 and turned a small resort into a recording destination: Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone and Prince all played here, and Deep Purple watched the casino burn during a Frank Zappa concert in December 1971, producing the riff everyone can play badly. Queen bought a studio in town; Freddie Mercury's statue stands on the quay looking at the lake, which is a fair summary of what Montreux is for.

Places of character

Château de Chillon — a thirteenth-century castle on a rock in the water, with a dungeon Byron made famous in 1816. The lakeside promenade — several kilometres of flowerbeds, palms and sculpture between Vevey and Villeneuve. Queen Studio Experience — in the casino, where the band recorded for a decade; free, and better than it sounds. Rochers-de-Naye — a cogwheel railway from the lakeside to two thousand metres, with marmots at the top. Lavaux vineyards — UNESCO terraces along the shore west of town, walkable between villages. Nabokov's statue and the Montreux Palace — the hotel where he wrote for sixteen years, with his corner still noted.

The way to do it

Walk the promenade rather than driving it, and take the boat at least once — Lake Geneva's paddle steamers are a working fleet. Do Chillon early. If the festival is on, buy tickets months ahead; if not, the town is quiet and half the price. And walk in the Lavaux terraces, which are twenty minutes west and the best afternoon on the lake.

One perfect day

Coffee on the quay under the palms, then walk south along the shore to Chillon and take the castle before the coaches — the dungeon and the lake through the arrow slits. Boat back to Montreux. Late morning cogwheel railway up Rochers-de-Naye for the Alps and the whole lake below. Lunch on the way down at a mountain restaurant. Afternoon train two stops west to Lavaux and a walk between vineyard villages with a glass of Chasselas. Return for the evening promenade past the Mercury statue, dinner at a lakeside table, and the lights of Évian across the water.

Grand hotels

Fairmont Le Montreux Palace — 1906, Nabokov's residence for sixteen years, with the belle époque ballroom intact. Le Mirador Resort — above the town at Mont-Pèlerin, with the lake and the Alps in one frame.

When to go

Best expression: early July for the Jazz Festival, if music is the reason; book in spring. Consider: May and September — flowers or harvest, warm lake, no festival prices. Avoid if possible: November and early December, when the lake fogs and much shuts.

The frame

Ideal stay 2 nights · Minimum 1 night · Best arrival train along the lake from Geneva or Lausanne · Airport GVA, 95 km · Walkability excellent along the shore · Best without a car yes