Montreux is a town on the shores of Lake Geneva in the French-speaking canton of Vaud, population 22,000.
Montreux stands on a low hill between a mountain range and the calm waters of the lake. The area is fantastically beautiful and has a particularly mild microclimate, rightfully earning it the title of “Pearl of the Swiss Riviera”.
Montreux has been home to such famous people as Byron and Dostoevsky, Hemingway and Nabokov, Rostropovich and Gorbachev, Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson.
The Jazz Festival, invented 36 years ago by Swiss enthusiast Claude Nobs, takes place every summer in Montreux. Already in the early years of its existence, the festival gained worldwide fame, making the town by Lake Geneva famous all over the world. During the festival, music can be heard everywhere, and the town seems to be immersed in a whirlwind of fun, captivating jazz tunes with their unique rhythm.
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An hour’s walk along the lakeshore is one of the most famous castles in Europe – the Chillon Castle, which shocked Byron and was sung by him in his poem “The Prisoner of Chillon Castle”. The appearance of the castle, majestically rising on a small rocky island, has not changed since the middle of the 13th century. The dungeons and dungeons, the knights’ hall and the Hall of Justice, the ducal dormitory and the wooden chapel still perfectly preserve the spirit of the era of the Dukes of Savoy’s struggle with the Protestants. The ancient fortress was founded in the 10th century. Pierre II of Savoy greatly enlarged and fortified it. In it, Bonivar, a supporter of church reform in Geneva, languished for four years.
You can walk through the old part of the city by the central station, or go to the Market Square to see the statue of Freddie Mercury, the legendary lead singer of Queen.
Those interested in ethnography will enjoy visiting the Museum of Old Montreux to learn about the history of the city and the area from antiquity to the present day.
