Top activities for summer days in Montreux

Montreux in 48 hours: Your essential itinerary

Mon­treux offers a wide range of activ­i­ties on Lake Gene­va – from a hike up the Rochers-de-Naye and through Lavaux to stand-up pad­dle­board­ing and a bicy­cle tour along the shore. Dis­cov­er the best activ­i­ties in Mon­treux for an unfor­get­table short trip. In the morn­ing the prom­e­nade and the lake are still rel­a­tive­ly emp­ty. I try a dif­fer­ent activ­i­ty every morn­ing!

First morning activity: a long run by the lake

Very few peo­ple are out and about when I start my run. Pass­ing works of art and beau­ti­ful­ly land­scaped flowerbeds, I jog around two kilo­me­tres towards the cen­tre of Mon­treux to the famous Fred­die Mer­cury stat­ue. The mari­na is anoth­er three kilo­me­tres away. The path is flat and pleas­ant, with Lake Gene­va and the moun­tains always in view in the back­ground. What a start to the day.

Second morning activity: a ride to Villeneuve

First in the morn­ing, I hire a bicy­cle from recep­tion for four hours. Today, I want to head in the oth­er direc­tion to Chillon Cas­tle. I take advan­tage of the ear­ly hour to get a pho­to at this cool pho­to stop with­out the crowds. Then it’s a leisure­ly 30-minute ride to Vil­leneuve.

Third morning activity: stand-up paddleboarding to Chillon Castle

Today I’ll head out onto the water on a stand-up pad­dle­board, which I also hire direct­ly from the youth hos­tel. The water is nice and calm in the morn­ing and I have a clear goal: Chillon Cas­tle. I reach it in just 20 min­utes.

The bot­tom line: In the morn­ing, Lake Gene­va and the prom­e­nade have their very own charm and exude a unique sense of calm. Recharged by this pos­i­tive ener­gy, every day begins on the right note.

Cogwheel railway or a hike to the Rochers-de-Naye?

I choose a com­bi­na­tion. The Mon­treux – Glion – Rochers-de-Naye cog­wheel rail­way is one of the most spec­tac­u­lar moun­tain rail­ways in Switzer­land. I ride up to the penul­ti­mate sta­tion “Caux,” hik­ing the remain­ing 500 metres in alti­tude to the sum­mit. Thanks to Switzer­land­Mo­bil­i­ty and the Swiss Hik­ing Trails, the two-hour trail is easy to find. I keep stop­ping to mar­vel at the incred­i­ble views. On the sum­mit is the La Ram­ber­tia Alpine Gar­den, one of the high­est gar­dens in Europe. It goes with­out say­ing that I also stroll around here and admire the 1,000 or so alpine plant species.

By the way, if you aren’t big on hik­ing, you can opt for the “rail-only” expe­ri­ence – the views of the lake and moun­tains are just as impres­sive.

Tip: Arrive at Mon­treux sta­tion a few min­utes ear­li­er in high sea­son to secure a win­dow seat.

Vineyard hike through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lavaux with an exciting guided tour

We meet our tour guide named Gun­di in Vevey and head to Chexbres, in the heart of Lavaux, togeth­er. Gun­di has lived in the area for over 50 years, knows every wine­grow­er, every grape vari­ety and has count­less sto­ries about the region.

We spend two hours strolling along the Grand Crus Route to Epess­es, vis­it­ing two small vine­yards. At Domaine Bovy, we sam­ple a very fine Chas­se­las in the wine cel­lar. In the gar­den of Mari­na Bovard, we savour a deli­cious and cool epess­es. There are plen­ty of oppor­tu­ni­ties to stop by oth­er winer­ies and enjoy a tast­ing.

By the way, this route is also part of the his­toric Via Fran­ci­ge­na pil­grim­age trail. That’s what Jan tells us, who has been mak­ing his way from Utrecht to Rome for four weeks.

Tip: With­out our charm­ing guide, we wouldn’t have received all the excit­ing details and infor­ma­tion about the beau­ti­ful vine­yard region. It’s worth it!

Restaurants with a view

The three-course menu at the youth hos­tel is not only afford­able (CHF 19.50 for adults) but also extreme­ly yum­my. I take advan­tage of the balmy sum­mer evening and enjoy the tasty sal­ad, cous­cous with oven-baked veg­eta­bles, shepherd’s cheese cream and a straw­ber­ry mousse on the small ter­race.

On the sec­ond evening, I decide to grab din­ner at this lit­tle gem right by, or bet­ter yet, on the water: Restau­rant Coco Mama. Just a few min­utes’ walk from Mon­treux, I get a super friend­ly wel­come. They have a huge selec­tion of East Asian del­i­ca­cies: I go for ceviche and prawns. Tip: Make sure to book a table in advance!

There’s so much more to dis­cov­er and expe­ri­ence on the Mon­treux Riv­iera: The pret­ty town of Vevey, a boat trip on the lake, a vis­it to the Char­lie Chap­lin Muse­um or the Fred­die Mer­cury Muse­um and much more.

This vis­it is far too short, but one thing’s for cer­tain: I’ll be back.