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| Travel Tip June 08 |
| For long haul flights consider asking for Exit seats especially if you have longer legs. You are also usually near the toilet. |
Travel Home > Directory > Destinations > Europe > Switzerland > Montreux
Montreux. Pop. 22897. Currency Swiss franc (CHF). Language French. Time Zone GMT + 1 hour. Most convenient airport - Geneva. Best Time to go – both a summer and winter resort. Montreux is located on the north-east shore of Lake Geneva on the way to the Simplon Pass. The area is in an important wine producing region and is known for it’s grand hotels attracting tourists from other parts of Europe and North America. The town is famous for The Montreux Jazz Festival, which has been held annually in July since 1967. It was also home to Mountain Studios, a recording studio owned by the rock band Queen from 1979 until 1993. Every Christmas Montreux hosts an excellent Christmas market for several weeks over the holiday period. The main road through the town (Grand' Rue) and the lakeside path are lined with wooden chalets where you can find anything to buy from local wine (free tasting sometimes on offer) to chocolates (of course) and local crafts.
Montreux Skier and Winter Sports Hotels Reservation Le Montreux Palace Hotel Eurotel Riviera Hotel Golf Hotel Rene Capt Eden au Lac Hotel Royal Plaza Montreux Hotel Helvetie Hotel Montreux Travel and Tourism.
Le Montreux Palace Hotel, is a 5 star hotel with 235 rooms. Known as the Pearl of the Swiss Riviera, this turn of the 20th century hotel oozes sumptuous elegance. It was built in 1906 in a mix of styles with a heavy Art Nouveau leaning. The standard rooms are bathed in a combination of red, yellow, and beige fabrics, dark timber furniture, and thick red carpet. Most rooms come with two twin beds and some with a king bed.
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland. In 1967, the first Montreux Jazz Festival opened its doors. The festival was held at Montreux Casino. It lasted for three days and featured almost exclusively jazz artists. The highlights of this era were Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Evans, Nina Simone, Jan Garbarek, and Ella Fitzgerald.
The Chillon Castle (Château de Chillon) is located on the shore of Lake Geneva near Montreux, Switzerland. The castle consists of 25 independent buildings that were gradually connected and now form a single whole.
Montreux lies on the north east shore of Lake Geneva at the fork in the Roman road from Italy over the Simplon Pass, where the roads to the Roman capital of Aventicum and the road into Gaul through Besançon separated. This made it an important settlement already in Roman times. Deep Purple made Montreux famous with their song "Smoke on the Water", which tells the events of 1971, when a Frank Zappa fan with a flare gun set the Montreux Casino on fire.
Mostly known for its world-famous month-long Jazz Festival (a bit of a misnomer: you're just as likely to catch David Bowie or Beck as, say Steve Coleman), Montreux is well worth a wander through, if only to get to the scenic Château de Chillon or to get to Hauts de Montreux.
