Montreux tourist information & hotel reservations.

We warmly welcome you to visit Montreux and wish you a wonderful vacation.

Montreux is situated only 3 kilometers east of Vevey, 24 kilometers east of Lausanne and 100 kilometers east of Geneva. It is the main resort on the Lac Léman and the people there speak with a French accent. The resort has attracted people like the writer Vladimir Nabokov and still is attractive with its Mediterranean climate and vegetation; green and beautiful parks. The town is protected by the mountains in the back and this allows growing of fruit trees, cypresses, magnolias, bay trees, almonds and even palms.
The settlement was a rather small one during the 19th century, but since then other villages have also combined with it and now the resort is pretty big. One of the swollen villages – Clarens, is the scene of the novel La nouvelle Héloïse by Rousseau. Just before World War I the place was visited by famous people like Tolstoy, Flaubert, Dostoyevsky and Ruskin. Nowadays the town is mostly oriented towards tourism and has around 20 000 inhabitants. It is suitable throughout the whole year, but most people prefer going there in the summer.

Montreux should be explored mainly on foot. You should not miss visiting the Old Montreux and walking along the quays.
Only three kilometers away from the town you can go to the Château of Chillon – the most amazing castle in the country. You can easily reach it with trolley bus №1 or by walking along a lake path. It is a long but very beautiful walk. Most parts of the castle are from the 13th century, but some are considered to be a thousand years old. It is famous throughout the whole Europe and was built by Peter II of Savoy. During the Inquisition the castle was used as a prison and Byron even wrote about the most famous prisoner there – François Bonivard. Bonivard used to support Geneva’s independence in 1532 and therefore was imprisoned in the castle till 1536 by the Catholic duke of Savoy. The castle is closed for visits only on Christmas and at the end of each year.

The Rochers-de-Naye

Rochers-de-Naye is a very famous peak above the lake you can go to at 2 042 meters elevation. You can reach it by a cogwheel train and the trip takes less than an hour. The train will pass through the small resort of Glion and through Caux at 1 097 meters elevation. The final stop is of course the Rochers-de-Naye peak in the Vaudois Alps. There you can see the highest flower garden in Europe as well as a magnificent view of the Savoy Alps, including Mont Blanc and the Jura Alps. The cogwheel train to the peak leaves hourly from the train station of Montreux.
At the end of the lake you can go to the small town of Villeneuve, which visitors include Lord Byron, Mahatma Gandhi and Romain Rolland. The whole scenery around the settlement is quite beautiful and is painted a lot, even by the artist Oskar Kokoschka. You can reach Villeneuve on foot from the Château of Chillon for about 20 minutes.

Montreux Jazz Festival

This two week festival begins the first week of July and it one of the biggest musical events in Europe. You can see there stars like Bob Dylan and B. B. King. You can buy tickets from the tourist office, but although they are not cheap, they usually sell very fast. If you don’t manage to get a ticket you can go and listen to the many bands which play free on the “Jazz Off”.

Gourmet Route

The Gourmet Route will take you every year around the vineyards from Montreux to Vevey. It is a 5 kilometer walk with some stops on the way where you can taste the masterpieces of the most famous chefs in the area. The Route Gourmande is part of the Confrery which attracts more than 2 000 visitors from Switzerland, France, Italy and even Japan. By participating you can taste the most exquisite foods and wines in the area.

Montreux Transportation

Montreux is a stop along the way of the Orient Express line between Paris and Milan. It also has train connections to Geneva and the Simplon Tunnel. From Interlaken you can take the Train Panoramique to Montreux which is with huge windows and a glass roof. There is also a train to Lucerne.

If you are driving, you will have the pleasure of travelling along a network of highways, connecting Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland.
You can go to Montreux with a steamer along the Lake Geneva. The steamer connects Villeneuve and Geneva and makes other stop along the way. The trip from Lausanne takes around an hour and the one from Geneva – about three. Most of the boat travel from May till September and are operated by the Compagnie Générale de Navigation.

Visitor Information
The Montreux Convention & Tourist Information Office, rue du Théâtre is located opposite the boat quay and is open every day.

For flights, trains and car-rental reservations as well as for buses, coaches and taxi ski transfers refer to the general Switzerland Transportation page!