Thank you to Montreux-Vevey Tourism and Rail Europe for hosting me. As always, all opinions and recommendations are my own. This post also contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
We had such a great time in Montreux. Switzerland is just beyond beautiful and Montreux truly helped define that experience! We only had three days, but there is so much to do here that you could stay a lot longer! These are my Five Bucket List Items…the best things to do in Montreux, Switzerland!Best Things to Do in Montreux
1. Chillon Castle
We started our first morning with Château de Chillon or Chillon Castle.
Located on a rock island in Montreux, the castle dates back to the 12th century. I tried my hardest to find the significance of 1585 and surprisingly could not!
I loved all the doorways, unique window seats, and the outdoor courtyard with the cute fountain…
as well as the arches in the rooms, the outdoor hallways, and the colorful crests. I always love a good cannon barrel pic too. 😉
The exterior of the castle and what I called the “checkered” room (for lack of the correct word) were interesting. The chapel was pretty too. However, my favorite had to be the “windows to the world”…
and most definitely the views from the top of the castle. They were absolutely stunning!
Chillon Castle is the historic site most visited in Switzerland. It was even visited by such famous people as Dickens, Hemingway and Victor Hugo! Definitely, put it on your bucket list!
2. Walk The Lake Trail
The views are gorgeous.
I even saw my favorite tropical flower the hibiscus! This was a nice surprise because this isn’t the first place that comes to mind when I think of hibiscus. However, Switzerland can do flowers. Exceptionally well. As in better than anywhere else I’ve seen!
You can also walk along the boardwalk in Vevey.
The flower and tree-lined trail go for miles…
or just sit down on one of the many benches and take in the calming view of the lake and Alps.
You never know what you might find. A fork in the water…
or an anchor by the shore. This made me think of all the Marines, Navy, and the Coast Guard. Thank you all for your service, especially my cousin who is a member of the US Coast Guard!
Stay for a Vevey sunset. Each one is unique!
You might also like: WHERE TO STAY AND EAT: THE BEST OF MONTREUX
3. Tour Vevey
After walking the boardwalk, you can see the marina on the way into town…
and pass by beautiful houses. I wonder if it’s just easy to maintain flowers here…because they are making it look effortless and I know from personal experience that it is, in fact, NOT effortless!
When you get into town, there are quaint streets with buildings of endless personality and color.
I truly want to meet the people behind this flower maintenance thing. I feel like they should teach classes. Maybe they do? 😉
4. Rochers de Naye
Take a day trip to Rochers de Naye. At an altitude of 6,700 ft (2,042 m) above sea level, it sits 984 feet (300 m) above Montreux and takes about an hour to arrive there via cogwheel train. Don’t forget to use your Swiss Travel Pass!
You can see Chillon Castle on the left. The white, triangular-shaped building to the right of the castle? That’s our hotel, the Eurotel Montreux. If you are looking for a fabulous place to stay, I highly recommend it!
If, however, you want to spend a night up in the Alps, an interesting feature of Rochers de Naye is its original Mongolian Yurts. I don’t think I could pull this off, but I’m highly impressed with anyone who can!
There is even a Love Yurt for that special occasion.
The cute marmots might even pop up to say hi! They live in Marmot’s Paradise, an animal park where kids can learn about all different kinds of marmots.
5. Be A Chocolatier
We got to make our own chocolate cows during our class with Läderach. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience!
Before we began, we got to hone our chocolate-tasting skills. We learned how to recognize flavors originating from all over the world!
Then, we got down to business…my own workstation complete with the Läderach apron I got to keep. 🙂
I have a newfound respect for what goes into this process. It wasn’t easy…
but I thought they turned out pretty cute! Stop in to try Läderach chocolate and take the class. It’s my favorite in Switzerland!
A Few Other Suggestions
These are activities that either weren’t happening at the time we were in Montreux/Vevey or for which we ran out of time, but I would love to go back and do them!
The famous Montreux Jazz Festival occurs every summer.
Vevey is home to the Nestlé international headquarters. Their building is the large, gray one with the green glass to the right in the above photo. They had just recently opened their new museum, The Nest when we were there.
Vevey had also recently opened Chaplin’s World. If you are a Charlie Chaplin fan, this might be of interest! Aren’t these chocolates by Läderach the cutest?
As you can see, there is plenty to do in this gorgeous lakeside town. Make sure you put these best things to do in Montreux on your Switzerland itinerary!
Have you been to Montreux? What were your favorite things to do there? Let me know below!
‘Til next time…
Trimm Travels,
I love Montreux and think it’s one of the most picturesque towns in Switzerland. I met a guy once who grew up in the Chateau Chillon, his parents where the caretakers there for many years and they lived inside the castle.
Hi Nina-Oh my goodness, how interesting! I can’t imagine growing up there! It is a beautiful area though. Thanks for sharing and ready 🙂
This is one of our favourite areas when we road trip through Switzerland to get to the South of France or Northern Italy. We do stop off in the towns but we love the villages and out of the way places by the lake. We prefer the eastern end, so anywhere near Chillon Castle as its a lot quieter but for eating out etc, anywhere near the bigger towns. We like Geneva but its a big, expensive city at the end of the day and toooooo touristy. 😀 Montreux for us is sitting by the lake in the summer and having ice cream and just looking around the stunning scenery. So hope one day we can buy a house around here. 😀
Hi, Danik-I totally agree with the Chillon Castle end of Montreux. But I just love it there period. It’s so calming and the lake views and food are just fantastic! Geneva is a big city and Switzerland is expensive but I love it there too. And ooh, a house in Switzerland would be 😍😍!! Thanks for reading!😊