Fairmont Le Montreux Palace

The Casino Barrière de Montreux rolls out the red carpet to welcome visitors to a world of fantasy, dreams and pleasure on the shores of Lake Geneva. Located on the shores of Lake Geneva, the Casino Barrière welcomes its guests amid luxurious surroundings decorated with a panoramic view of the lake and the Alps. With an area of 10,000 m2 reserved for entertainment, the Casino offers: three elegant restaurants, two bars, terraces, 24 gaming tables and 377 slot machines, shops, a superb swimming pool as well as a poker room and jackpots. Creative cuisine and fine service are on the menu at the casino’s 3 restaurants: Le Récital, with panorama and fine dining, Le Saxo, French, Italian and Swiss cuisine with a jazzy decor and one of the most beautiful terraces in the region; l’Entracte, with fast and varied cuisine.

The Panoramic-Express is a part of the famous Golden Pass Line from Montreux to Lucerne. The golden-colored, elegant trains take passengers from the banks of Lake Geneva via the famous resort town of Gstaad to Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland. Montreux, located on Lake Geneva and protected by 2,000-meter-high mountain peaks, is famous for its mild climate and subtropical vegetation. This is where the Panoramic-Express starts. The Express's streamlined golden cars on narrow-gauge tracks offer superb views and ride uphill via Gstaad to Zweisimmen. The continuation of the journey on normal gauge rails requires a change of trains. To facilitate this change, the trains from Montreux and Interlaken stop at the same platform. The journey continues through the Simmen Valley (Simmental), past richly decorated, characteristic farmhouses and through the pristine mountain world to Lake Thun and to the well-known resort town of Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland.

A unique museum dedicated to the legendary band Queen fascinates rock music fans and all those who want to become fans. An exhibition on the work of Queen in the 1970s has been staged in the world-famous Montreux Mountain Studios at Casino Barrière Montreux, where the band created a major portion of their most successful albums. The exhibits include numerous memorabilia, such as the handwritten original versions of the songs or instruments. The centerpiece of the exhibition is the original sound studio that was used by the band and where Freddie Mercury recorded his last songs.

“Nothing is impossible for dreamers.” This motto drives an evolving Festival. Steeped in a rich heritage, the Montreux Jazz Festival is being lovingly polished like a treasured LP. On the A- side: three paying venues with their own specific personalities. On the B-side: a selection of free events, fully remastered for this edition. The Auditorium Stravinski is a giant of a venue with a peerless reputation. Bearing the patina of countless legendary artists, this auditorium exudes emotion on a massive scale. A veritable anthology factory, this master stage still echoes with the voices of David Bowie, James Brown, B.B. King, Keith Jarrett, Carlos Santana, Etta James, Patti Smith, Massive Attack, Björk, Radiohead, Leonard Cohen, Deep Purple, or Prince. If these walls could talk... The Montreux Jazz Lab is an entirely new platform, interactive and in your face. A heady mix of audiovisual experiments, with newcomers, artists engaged in comebacks, and even groups making buzz all around the planet smashing into each other like high-energy particles. Edgy concerts and incredible artists: the Lab concocts new crossover formulas to test on a curious audience. Add a little heat, and the chemistry goes wild, as the Lab transforms into a test-tube for electronic music late into the night. Up close and personal with the artists. Claude Nobs wanted to bring old-school class to the Festival with an authentic listening experience. The brand-new Montreux Jazz Club is the touchstone of the Festival, where music lovers and purists come for an absolutely unique musical experience. Showcasing major talents, songwriters, as well as the next generation of jazz (among others...), the Club provides impeccable service to guests and instruments alike in an intimate, cozy atmosphere. And when an improvised jam starts up, there’s no closing down the Club... Trains, boats and more, these “home-made” classics of music in motion, both figuratively and literally, transport musical discovery beyond four walls. Free events are the flipside of the Festival. Free stages, free clubbing, free workshops: the variety is endless! Enjoy the thrill of the crowd surrounded by one of the most spectacular natural backdrops on Earth!

From the shores of Lake Geneva to the surrounding mountains, Festive Montreux (Montreux Noël) offers a great many activities in conjunction with the traditional Christmas Market. For a whole month the Christmas Market delights the round about 420,000 visitors and offers them a warm and hospitable welcome. A visit to the house of the real Father Christmas on the Rocher-de-Naye, a tour of discovery through an authentic Christmas village in Caux, a medieval market and a fairytale festival behind the lofty walls of legendary Chillon Castle: festive Montreux has a lot to offer in addition to the traditional Christmas Market.

A singular panoramic view awaits: over the Swiss and French Alps from Eiger to Mont-Blanc and further to Lake Geneva. At 2000 metres a.s.l., visitors enjoy delightful hikes, observe marmot species from three continents and look at hundreds of plants from around the world. A particular highlight is the chance to spend the night in an original Mongolian love yurt (nomad-type tent). The railway up to Rochers-de-Naye operates year-round – even during winter. Actually, Father Christmas himself resides on this 2000 metres mountain in December.

From St. Saphorin in a diverse route going uphill and downhill through the vines to Lutry. Indeed, it is on the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces where bon vivants get into top gear. Covering 800 hectares, Lavaux is the largest contiguous vineyard region in Switzerland, and its daringly constructed hillside terraces have been protected by UNESCO since 2007. Right at the start of this tour, the medieval St. Saphorin with its narrow alleys and characteristic winegrowers' houses from the 16th to 19th centuries is worth a visit. The town's original church steeple still adorns many wine labels today. It is said that the Auberge de l'Onde, an establishment that can look back at a centuries-old tradition of hospitality, and where local delicacies are served on three floors, is worth sinning for. To carelessly pass by wine cellars and traditional pubs would be a crime. After all, those who want to experience the scenery with all the senses should also taste it. And after a glass of Chasselas the dynamic uphills and downhills of the trail to Lutry are twice as much fun. On some days of the week the "Lavaux Express" is ready to comfortably transport tired hikers through the World Heritage Region, as is the "Lavaux-Panoramic" train, which takes hikers through the same region.

Chillon Castle is located on a rock on the banks of Lake Geneva. The water castle is the most visited historic building in Switzerland. For nearly four centuries Chillon was the residence and profitable toll station of the Counts of Savoy. The rock island between Lake Geneva and the steep looming mountains was inhabited even in prehistoric times. For hundreds of years the passage of ships on Lake Geneva and the important land route to the St. Bernhard Pass was controlled from this island. Chillon belonged to the Counts of Savoy from the 12th to the 16th century, then the inhabitants of Bern conquered the water castle, and subsequently the inhabitants of Vaud prevailed. It’s possible to rent the castle for various events. From the Castle, you can reach Montreux (by boat, by bus or on foot), where you can admire ten mile of sheltered bays, bordered with flower-lined promenades, exotic plants and palm trees. More than 350,000 guests visit Chillon per year. They view the wall paintings from the 14th century, the subterranean vaults, parade halls and the bedroom (which has been preserved in its original form) dating to the time of Bernese rule. The entire complex consists of 25 buildings and three courtyards, protected by two circular walls.