Montreux
A Riviera resort where a jazz festival named after a genre it soon outgrew has run every July since 1967.
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Montreux sits in a sheltered bend of Lake Geneva where the climate is mild enough for palms and magnolias along a promenade several kilometres long. The Montreux Jazz Festival, founded by Claude Nobs in 1967, quickly stopped being only about jazz and became one of the major European music events; its archive of recorded concerts is on the UNESCO Memory of the World register. Queen bought Mountain Studios here and recorded through the 1980s; Freddie Mercury's statue stands on the quay and a small exhibition occupies the studio. Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water describes the 1971 casino fire during a Zappa concert, which happened in front of them across the water.
What you actually see
- A July music festival since 1967 - its concert archive on the UNESCO register.
- The Mercury statue and studio - Queen's Montreux base on the quay.
- A palm-lined promenade - several kilometres along a mild lake bend.
- The Smoke on the Water fire - the 1971 casino blaze the song describes.
When to go
April to October; July for the festival. Two days.
Honest expectations
Festival fortnight fills the region and prices rise sharply; many events are ticketed and sell out. Outside it the town is quiet and rather elderly in feel. The lakefront is built up. Parking is difficult.
Nearby
Chillon castle is along the shore; Vevey and the Lavaux terraces are west.
What to pack for Montreux
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.