Montreux is a relatively small town on the shores of Lake Geneva known worldwide for the Montreux Jazz Festival – an international jazz festival held every summer. And of course for its Christmas market held every winter.
A couple of things to note about Montreux – in full disclosure I’m comparing it to Zermatt.
First the location – and therefore the views – are completely different. Zermatt lies deep in a valley and is surrounded by the jagged – and massive – peaks of the Swiss Alps. Montreux sits on Lake Geneva so you see the still, sparking water with the softer snow-capped Swiss Alps in the background. It was just slightly cloudy and the low clouds hovered about halfway down the mountain making for a surreal vista.
Montreux is so French! Whereas in Zermatt we practiced our German here we’re a bit more comfortable using our limited French. But it’s such a lovely language that it is a pleasure to try to speak it. Also contrary to Zermatt, there are many signs and menus that are only in French.
Although the population of Montreux is only slightly above 26k you can definitely tell that people make their life in this town. There are moms feeding their little ones on benches in the park and business men in suits getting off the bus on their way from work. Because it’s not solely a resort town the pace is much quicker and, yes I’ll say it, the people you encounter slightly ruder.
Or first stop was to our hotel – the infamous Fairmont Le Montreux Palace. I splurged on this one and was really hoping for something magnificent. Well I could tell from the first moment we walked in that we would not be disappointed! It is a massive, historic, gorgeous hotel right on the Swiss Riviera. It’s already tastefully decorated for the holidays with white lights draped along the banister of the central staircase and an elegant Christmas tree right at the reception desk. It was love at first sight for me! At this point in the trip I think we were both worn out and the idea of a little luxury was very welcome!
We were happily welcomed by reception and shown to our 4th floor room with 3 terraces – one of which overlooks Lake Geneva and the distant Swiss Alps. The room is romantic, elegant and charming with the historic touches of crown molding, carved wood ceilings and a marble bath featuring a jacuzzi tub (yay!!!!)
As if I weren’t about to swoon already, we were greeted with a spread of Swiss chocolate, French macarons and a Chocolate Petit Gateaux.
It was time to explore our new city so we set off to the nearby town of Vevey. Vevey was on John’s shortlist for places to stay in Switzerland. It was a scenic walk down the lake and we thought the movement would do us good. The views were phenomenal during most of the walk where pedestrians were permitted to walk right on the lake. But our destination…not so phenomenal! I will say, there is an Alimentarium in Vevey – a food museum – that we did not go into. I feel like doing that may have changed my mind about the town. But John and I both found it a bit depressing and dreary and somewhat sad. It’s not a place I’d recommend.
Next on our list was to explore Montreux’s famous Christmas market called Montreux Noël. The market essentially begins at our hotel – in the gardens out front – and continues for 1 kilometer – all the way to the Montreux Casino. It contains 160 delightfully decorated timber stalls featuring food, hot mulled wine (vin chaude) and vendors selling everything from jewelry to elf slippers. It’s incredible! There is a massive Ferris wheel for kids and adults alike, live music and even Santa literally flying on his sleigh! We were like little kids as we saw the sights – and all of the twinkle lights!
http://www.adventuretravelinggirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/img_1470.movOne of the coolest things we saw was the La Redoute House of Wishes which is situated in the indoor heart of the market. All are welcome to grab a small card and write what they wish for. Allegedly the wishes will be sent directly to Santa. Appropriately John and I wrote almost the same message ❤️
We were completely exhausted at this point but John noticed lights reflected on the beautiful Fairmont of the way back. After a brief rest we had to check it out. This year a brand new light show was included as part of the Christmas market – provided by the Fairmont – to project lights onto the facade of the hotel. The show includes the fantastic light display and Christmas music every evening during the season. What a festive way to end our first day in Montreux!
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