MONTREUX - GETTING AROUND
Montreux isn`t a huge city, so it is pretty easy to get around on foot. There are some hills, especially as you head away from the lake shore towards the Old Town. The train station on Avenue des Alpes is within walking distance of most sights that you will want to visit.
By Bus
There are a couple of bus lines in and around
Montreux, operated by the company VMCV. Their website is
however only available in French.
Most visitors to Montreux will not have to do anything beyond
take the number 1 bus that runs up and down Montreux`s main street and takes
you to the Montreux`s sister town of Vevey (the area is often referred to as
Montreux-Vevey due to the proximity of the two). One thing to note is that the
streets in Montreux are rarely straight, and street names may change at every
bend in the road. For example, Grand Rue turns into Avenue du Casino at
Rue du Quai/Rue de la Paix and Avenue des Alpes will turn into Avenue Nestle.
From the Montreux train station the mountain train goes to Gruyeres
and Interlaken, passing by some amazing sky station like Gtaad. In summer or in
winter, this trip is really beautiful; with the train you have a panoramic view
of the mountains, the nature, rivers, and in winter, the glaciers.
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. Note: The trains on the Rochers-de-Naye line stop
running to and from the top around 6:00 pm but they will shut down early if the
weather`s bad.
The MOB
operates not only local, stopping, trains but a regular service of panoramic trains
with coaches having large picture windows and glass sections reaching into the
roof, great for the views. Twice a day the line runs a classic service
using either original coaches built before World War One or some built later to
the same design, a throwback 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. 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.
Generally
speaking, anything heading North and/or East of Montreux will lead to some
combination of charming Swiss villages, such as Château d`Oex and
stunningg 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.
Take a cruise on the unique Belle Epoque paddle steamers and discover Lavaux from Lake Beneva. Visit www.cgn.ch for more information.