Day 15 – Montreux, playground of the rich and famous

posted in: Travel | 2
Sunlight on the poppies with the mountains in the background
Sunlight on the poppies with the mountains in the background
Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin

We were scheduled to spend two days at Montreux on the banks of Lake Geneva, staying in the Montreux Palace, now a five star hotel. We arrived at the lakeside at the town of Vevey, where Charlie Chaplin spent his last years. There’s a statue of him here and several people took photos.

The promenade at Vevey
The promenade at Vevey – picture by PT

Then back on the coach for the short trip to our hotel.

The views over the lake are breathtaking. The mountains rear above the lake, sketching a line between France and Switzerland. The lake shore is a long promenade, encouraging visitors to walk along and admire the view. It seems quite a few artistic types like Freddie Mercury were drawn to this place. In fact Montreux hosts a music festival. Statues of a number of top performers can be seen in a garden near the lake – Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, B.B. King, Ray Charles. And for some reason known only to the Swiss, Vladimir Nabokov. He did live here, and died in Montreux. But I don’t think he was noted for his music.

Needless to say the local shops boast all the top brands – Armani, Rolex, Givenchy etc etc. We didn’t go shopping. After a quick look around the local restaurants we decided to eat at one of the hotel restaurants, since it wasn’t much more expensive than everywhere else. We would have liked to have pork knuckle with sauerkraut, but the server returned to the table to tell us it wasn’t available, so we had chicken. Beautifully cooked, far too much (but we should have realised) and served with nothing. If you wanted vegetables, that was extra. We had a main course with one ‘extra’ each, Pete had 2 beers and I had 2 glasses of local wine. That turned out to be something like AU$170. But hey -we’re on holiday. The following day we ate at an Italian restaurant – lasagne for me, pretty ordinary spaghetti marinara for him, a glass of wine, a beer. AU$120. Switzerland is a very expensive place.

Anyway, let’s get on with the photos.

Lake Geneva with swan
Lake Geneva with swan
Swan
Swan
They provided chairs set into the rocks so you can enjoy the view in comfort
They provided chairs set into the rocks so you can enjoy the view in comfort
Montreux Palace with statue of Nabokov in the foreground
Montreux Palace with statue of Nabokov in the foreground
IMG_3856
Lounge
IMG_3899
Dining room
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Freddie Mercury - his statue isn't with the jazz singers, it's down on the water's edge
Freddie Mercury – his statue isn’t with the jazz singers, it’s down on the water’s edge.

Tomorrow we’re going on two fabulous visits. Come and join us. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them as much as we did.

2 Responses

  1. Julia Barrett

    Wow! Gorgeous views and really expensive! I would probably have searched for a market. But the promenade is lovely!

    • Greta

      Never saw any mention of a market. But one of the problems with these sorts of tours is you’re never anywhere long enough to suss out the corners. It’s also aimed at the top end of the market – 5 star hotels and such. Still, I hear what you’re saying. I love a market myself.

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