Montreux

Geneva Cointrin International Airport (GVA ^IATA) is the closest major airport to Montreux, and serves direct flights from most major European hubs, as well as a few cities in Canada and the United States, North Africa, and the Middle East. From Geneva, it's a little more than an hour by car, and less than an hour by train.

The railway station in Geneva is connected to Geneva International Airport. From the arrivals hall turn left (inside the building) and you will walk through a shopping mall where the railway platforms are one floor below.

Montreux is served by direct rail services from Geneva, Lausanne, Visp and Brig, and is easily accessible via rail connection from almost anywhere else in Switzerland. See Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) site for timetable info.

🌍 Montreux Gare, Avenue des Alpes 45. (updated Oct 2018)

The Montreux–Oberland Bernois railway (MOB) is one of the longest established of the Swiss narrow gauge railways and runs from platforms 5 and 6 of the town's main line station to Zweisimmen via the resort town of Les Avants, Montbovon, Château-d'OEx, Saanen and Gstaad. The company, which operates 1/3 of the Golden Pass route to Lucerne along with the BLS and the Zentralbahn brought under its sales banner, the cog-wheel Montreux - Glion - Rochers-de-Naye Railway and its associated funicular from nearby Territet, the Les Avants - Sonloup funicular and the lines of the former CEV from Vevey into the hills.

The trains on the Rochers-de-Naye line stop running to and from the top around 18:00 but they'll shut down early if the weather's bad, so don't count on one to carry you out of a sudden early evening rainstorm.

The MOB operates local, stopping, trains and a regular service of panoramic trains with coaches having large picture windows and glass sections reaching into the roof, which are great for the views. Twice a day the line runs a classic service using either original coaches built before World War I or some built later to the same design, a throw back to the days of the Orient Express. First and Second class fares, single and return, are available on all trains with no extra charge for the panorama or classic trains. Well worth the ride and a cup of tea or coffee in the buffet car.

The best deal to date has to be the Jazz Train, which runs on various days throughout the Jazz Festival (see above). The train goes from Montreux to Gstaad, and you can buy tickets for three of the carriages, where jazz bands play live during the journey. Once in Gstaad there is an opportunity to sample some local products and pretend to be a millionaire (Gstaad is that kind of place) before a return trip with more live jazz.

Pretty much anything heading north and/or east of Montreux will lead to some combination of charming Swiss villages, such as Château d'Oex and invigorating Swiss landscapes. Despite the heavy Golden Pass advertising scheme, most of the visitors are small groups of locals, not the hordes of tourists you'll find in nearby, but hard to get to Chamonix or Interlaken. Many of the mountain-top restaurants double as 'buvettes' - something between a refugee hut and a hotel - where you can stay the night, often for much less than you'd pay for a lakeside hostel.

The waterfront and the old town are best accessed by foot. If you like to take a little longer walk, the castle is a few kilometers southeast from the city center along the shore of Lake Geneva. From the old town you can walk uphill to the waterfall Les Gorges du Chauderon.

There are a couple of bus lines in and around Montreux, operated by the company VMCV. Their website is however only available in French.

The mountains around Hauts-de-Montreux are threaded with forest trails, isolated villages, caves, grottos, and wildlife. Any of the train stops will lead to several hiking options. For a real hiker's hike, tackle the four hour, 1000-metre climb from Caux to 🌍 Rochers-De-Naye peak (2045 m above sea level). Saner folks might want to get off at 🌍 Dent-De-Jaman station, just below the peak (1875 m above sea level), where you can enjoy the views and fresh air without the huffing and puffing. You can walk the trails up there which are not difficult, one being across to The Alpine garden which is very beautiful with nearly 800 varieties of plants and flowers.

• 🌍 Marmots' Paradise. Rochers-De-Naye is home to an odd little compound called "Marmots' Paradise" where marmots from all over the world live in an observable system of underground burrows. 
• 🌍 Via Ferrata Rochers-De-Naye. (updated Oct 2018)
• Another option is to go to Vevey & take funicular to 🌍 mont Pelerin or a train to 🌍 Les Pleiades. From Les Pleiades, enjoy the amazing views including the majestuous Mont-Blanc.
• Go to Chexbres and walk to Cully to discover the "à pic" scenery of Lavaux vineyards.

• 🌍 Coop Pronto grocery store (a few yards to the right of the exit to the railway station). 08:00 - 22:00. Offers a range of sandwiches and salads. (updated Oct 2018)
• 🌍 Forum shopping mall, Place du Marché 6B (walk about 10 minutes into the town centre: straight ahead out of the railway station and down steps to the lake front, then turn left), ☏ +41 21 966 40 20. M-F 08:00–20:00, Sa 08:00–19:00, Su 10:00–19:00. There are two supermarkets (Migros and Denner) selling sandwiches. (updated Oct 2018)
• If you turn left as you leave the débarcadère (where you get of the boats) you will see a small outdoor café selling drinks and Mövenpick ice creams. If you buy something there you can sit under the spreading vine that shelters the café from the sun and watch the world go by. As long as it's not too busy you can sit there as long as you like - drinks and ice creams are about Fr. 3.50 each.

• 🌍 Le Palais Oriental, Quai Ernest Ansermet 6, ☏ +41 21 963 12 71. Unique architecture and beautiful terrace 
• 🌍 The Museum, Rue de la Gare 40, ☏ +41 21 963 16 62, restaurant@museum-montreux.ch. 
• 🌍 Restaurant au Parc, Grand'Rue, 38, ☏ +41 21 963 31 57. 11:30-14:00 and 18:00-22:00. 
• 🌍 La Rouvenaz, Rue du Marche 1, ☏ +41 21 963 27 36. (updated Oct 2018)
• 🌍 Dolce - Ristorante Bar Pizzeria, Place Du Marché 6 (at the corner of Grand Rue and Rue du Quay, officially in the Forum shopping center), ☏ +41 21 963 0965. The main fare is (delicious) pizza but you can also enjoy other kinds of Italian foods, or just an ice cream or a drink. Both indoor and outdoor seating. 
• 🌍 Safran, Grand rue 81 (Centre of Montreux on the promenade), ☏ +41 219662222, info@eurotelriviera.ch. 10:00–23:00. Authentic yet creative cuisine. Fantastic terrace located right on the lake shore. Very nice atmosphere inside the restaurant. from €16. 

• 🌍 Le Pont de Brent. North of Montreux, in the village of Brent. Before Gérard Rabaey retired, it had 3 Michelin stars. It still has two. (updated Jan 2017)
• 🌍 La Terrasse du Petit Palais., Avenue Claude Nobs 2, ☏ +41 21 962 12 00. (updated Jan 2017)
• 🌍 Le deck Baron Tavernier. In Chexbres, follow the motorway towards Lausanne. (updated Jan 2017)
• 🌍 L'Auberge de L'Onde. In St Saphorin, near the lake west of Montreux. (updated Jan 2017)

• 🌍 Hôtel-Restaurant de la Rouvenaz, Rue du Marché 1, ☏ +41 21 963 27 36, fax: +41 21 963 43 94, rouvenaz@bluewin.ch. The Italian restaurant in this family-owned hotel seems to get more attention than the building, however accommodations are an inexpensive bet near the city center. Groups of up to 24 can rent out the entire place. 

• 🌍 Golf-Hôtel René Capt, Rue de Bon-Port 35, ☏ +41 21 966 25 25, fax: +41 21 963 03 52, golf-hotel@montreux.ch. Charming Belle Epoque-style hotel is outside the city center but close to the lakeside promenade. 
• 🌍 Hotel Masson, Rue Bonivard 5, ☏ +41 21 966 00 44, fax: +41 21 966 00 36, hotelmasson@bluewin.ch. Billing itself as the oldest hotel in Montreux dating from 1829, the Masson offers proximity to the lake and the outdoors, but is a bit of a hike from the city center. The location is a bit of a hike from town though near the Château de Chillon. 
• 🌍 Hôtel Bon-Port, Rue du Théâtre 4bis, ☏ +41 21 962 80 70, fax: +41 21 962 80 79, bon-port@bluewin.ch. Quiet hotel that is only a few minutes walk from the city center. Unlike many of the hotels in Montreux, the Bon-Port doesn't have lake or mountain views, however it makes up for this with an extra-friendly staff and pleasant ambiance. 
• 🌍 Villa Toscane, Rue du Lac 2-8, ☏ +41 21 966 88 88, fax: +41 21 966 88 00, info@villatoscane.ch. Charming Art Nouveau-style villa next to the lake. The hotel sits about 1 km from the city center and 2 km from the railway station. You can access free amenities such as a business center and spa in the Royal Plaza across the street. 
• 🌍 Grand Hotel Excelsior, Rue Bon Port 27, ☏ +41 21 966 57 57, fax: +41 21 966 57 58, info@hotelexcelsiormontreux.com. Victorian-style four-star that overlooks the Swiss Alps and Lake Geneva. It sits about 2 km from the city center, but offers a variety of spa and wellness facilities on site. 
• 🌍 Hotel Eurotel Montreux, Grand Rue 81, Montreux, ☏ +41 21 966 22 22, sales@eurotelriviera.ch. All rooms lake view, you are only 5 meters from the lake. 

• 🌍 Le Montreux Palace, Grand Rue 100, ☏ +41 21 962 12 12, fax: +41 21 962 17 17, montreux@fairmont.com. A Belle Epoque-style building constructed in 1906, this renovated hotel is part of the Fairmont group (previously owned by Raffles), offers the usual 5-star amenities, and overlooks Lake Geneva. 
• 🌍 Suisse-Majestic, Avenue des Alpes 45, ☏ +41 21 966 33 33, fax: +41 21 966 33 00, hotel@suisse-majestic.ch. In a town of very fancy hotels the Suisse-Majestic stands out at least for its fine location. Also it's a four-star and as such not nearly as expensive as the five-stars further down the list, so given that it receives rave reviews this makes the Majestic a great value. 
• 🌍 Mirador Kempski, 1801 Mont-Pèlerin, ☏ +41 21 925 11 11, fax: +41 21 925 11 12, reception@mirador.ch. A chateux-like hotel sitting in the foothills above Vevey and Montreux. 
• 🌍 Royal Plaza, Grand-Rue 97, ☏ +41 21 962 50 50, fax: +41 21 962 51 51, info@royalplaza.ch. This renovated hotel sits right on the shores of Lake Geneva and can offer you 5-star views of the "Swiss Riviera" - if you manage to get a room on that side of the hotel.