The good weather was set to hold for another half a day and we had a choice of visiting either Lausanne or Montreux. The camp site owner was in no doubt – it had to be Montreux by a country mile.
We took the train from Cully along the shoreline to Montreux with free return rail tickets provided by the campsite. It seems there is a system here (The Lavaux Transport Card) whereby tourists staying in approved accommodation qualify for free local train tickets for each day of their stay. The campsite owner simply issued us with vouchers (one each for Nala and Beanie too) and we were off.
If our journey along the north bank of Lake Geneva to Montreux is anything to go by, the rail system in Switzerland is excellent. It is public transport at it’s best or is it that I am so disillusioned by everything to do with the UK’s rubbish service? There are Panoramic and Belle Epoque trains operating on this route but we caught one of the regular double deck trains. Everything about our journey to and from Montreux was on point. The service was frequent, punctual and efficient. The trains (and stations for that matter) are clean and spacious and, best of all, is the consideration given to disabled travellers (and dogs like Nala in her walking wheels). Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, the views from the train were spectacular.
With the latest weather forecasts predicting heavy rain during the course of the afternoon, we were only ever going to have time to see Montreux; which is a shame, because we were also keen to visit some of the villages that our train paused at on it’s journey to Montreaux. Saint Saphorin, in particular, looked worth visiting and Vevey, of course, was home to Charlie Chaplin for many years.
We’d been told that a walk along the promenade in Montreux is an absolute must when visiting the town, not least because of the marvellous views out across the lake, and that was to be our first goal. From the railway station we headed down through the town to the Quai Edouard Jaccoud and; then followed it eastwards through the Quai de la Rouvenaz (with it’s Freddy Mercury statue) and; the Quai Ernest-Ansermet (with it’s statue of Les Amoreux) and; on to the Quai des Fleurs (with it’s Casino Barriere and many different annuals – 330,000 flowers are embedded along the Quai des Fleurs every year) and; finally, through to the Via Francigena (with it’s excellent views of the Chateau de Chillon). We’d been warned not to enter the castle, on account of it being ridiculously overpriced, but we were ready for a cup of coffee anyway and so retraced our steps to the Casino Barriere de Montreux.
Vanya wanted to see Queen’s old recording studios (Mountain Studios) which were incorporated in the casino building when it was rebuilt following the 1971 fire. Freddie Mercury had an apartment overlooking the Quai des Fleurs and he encouraged the band to invest in the recording studio. They bought it in 1979 and kept it until after his death, when Queen’s producer, David Richards, took it on. After Richard’s death in 2013 it was converted into a museum exhibition known as “Queen – The Studio”. Vanya was enthralled by the exhibition and subsequently spent the time it took me to drink two cups of coffee regaling me with anecdotes about the place. Amongst other things I learned, Queen produced 7 albums there and; other recording artists who used the facility included David Bowie, Brian Ferry, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Phil Collins and Michael Jackson. The list goes on and on.
You’ll have to speak directly to Vanya about the anecdotes. I’ll leave you with a few photos of our time in Montreux.
Montreux is a really charming town and well worth a visit if only to walk the promenade and soak in the views across Lake Geneva. Yes, there are a great many tourists but, so what? Just enjoy the place.
Heavy rain curtailed our visit to Montreux. When it continued through the next day and was forecast to get even worse, we made the decision to drive on into the south of France and Spain if necessary. We wanted more sunshine.
We missed out on Lausanne and Saint Saphorin and Vevey and some of the higher villages (Grandvaux and Chexbres) but, we’ll be back!