MONTREUX

Montreux (pop. 22,500) is a resort town past its Jazz Age heyday. Fortunately, the music still swings; world-famous for drawing and discovering exceptional talent, the EiMontreux Jazz Festival erupts for 15 days starting the first Friday in July (www.montreuxjazz.com; tickets 49-79SFr). Luminaries Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and Miles Davis have all played here. If you can’t get tickets, come anyway for the Jazz Off, 500 hours of free, open-air concerts by fledging bands. The Chateau de Chillon, a gloomy medieval fortress on a nearby island, is one of the most visited attractions in Switzerland. It features all the comforts of home: prison cells, a torture chamber, and a weapons room. Take the CGN ferry (14SFr) or bus #1 (2.80SFr) to Chillon. (Open Apr.-Sept. daily 9am-6pm; Mar. and Oct. 9:30am-5pm; Nov.-Feb. 10am-4pm. 9SFr, students 7SFr.)

Trains leave the station on av. des Alpes for: Bern (lHhr. 2 per hr. 5:30am-llpm, 37SFr); Geneva (lhr. 2 per hr. 5:30am-l 1:30pm, 26SFr); and Lausanne (20min. 3-5 per hr. 5:25am-midnight, 9.80SFr). Descend the stairs opposite the station, head left on Grand Rue for 5-10min. and look to the right for the tourist office, on pi. du Debarcadere. (s 962 84 84. Open mid-June to mid-Sept. M-F 9:30am-6pm, Sa-Su 10am-5pm; mid-Sept. to mid-June M-F 8:30am-5pm, Sa-Su 10am-3pm.) Cheap rooms in Montreux are scarce year-round and almost nonexistent during the jazz festival, so book ahead. BRiviera Lodge , pi. du Marche 5, in the neighboring town of Vevey, is worth the commute. Take bus #1 to Vevey (20min. every lOmin. 2.80SFr). From the bus stop, head away from the train station on the main road to the open square on the water. Guests get a pass for discounts and free activities in the area, such as waterskiing and a ride up the Vevey funicular, (a 923 80 40. Sheets 5SFr. Laundry 7SFr. Internet 7SFr per hour. Reception daily 8am-noon and 5-8pm. Call ahead if arriving late. 4- to 8-bed dorms 24SFr; doubles 80SFr. MCA’.) To get to Hotel Pension Wilhelm , r. du Marche 13-15, take a left on av. des Alpes from the Montreux station, walk uphill 3min. and take a left on r. du Marche. ( 963 14 31. Breakfast included. Reception daily 7am-10pm. Open Mar.-Sept. Singles 60SFr, with shower 70SFr; doubles 100120SFr.) Grand Rue and ave. de

Casino have reasonably priced markets. Marche de Montreux, pi. du Marche, is an open-air food market. (F 7am-lpm.) There’s a Co-op supermarket at Grand Rue 80. (Open M-F 8am-12:15pm and 2-6:30pm, Sa 8am-5pm.) Postal Code: CH-1820.

MONTREUX

MONTREUX Photo Gallery

Maybe You Like Them Too

About The Author

editor

Leave a Reply