Swish Riviera
The Swiss city of Montreux, which was home to Charlie Chaplin and Freddie Mercury, still weaves its Alpine magic
The Montreux Riviera was ripe with
the colours of fall. To my left, the Unesco Lavaux Vineyards, planted by monks
in the 12th century, were awash in an autumnal palette of ochre, auburn,
burgundy. Behind me glistened Lake Geneva bluer than Paul Newman’s eyes. In the
distance, the Swiss-French Alps, crowned with swirls of vanilla, hunkered into
the deep blue sky.
French-speaking Montreux — located
in Switzerland’s south-western cantonment of Vaud — has always enjoyed a
rock-star cachet among the rich and famous. The city’s most famous resident,
American actor Charlie Chaplin, was so smitten that he spent 25 years at Manoir
de Ban during his self-imposed exile in Switzerland. He and his wife are buried
at the Corsier-sur-Vevey cemetery.
Writers Vladimir Nabokov and
Ernest Hemingway frequented Montreux. Nearby Villeneuve welcomed Mahatma Gandhi
and Victor Hugo.
Many musicians have burnished
Montreux’s international status. Wagner, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky were here,
not to forget Freddie Mercury who recorded one hit album after another with his
band Queen at Mountain Studios in Montreux Casino. Performances by BB King, Ray
Charles, Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald at the Montreux Jazz Festival are the
stuff of legend.
To get a feel of Old Town, I
ambled around its narrow cobblestone alleys with my guide Joanna Reeves. The
streets flaunted ornate Belle Epoque buildings. Quaint trams and cars purred
about like satisfied felines around 17th and 18th century mansions.
As we reached Montreux’s
flower-bedecked promenade — that extends 13 km along Lake Geneva’s shore —
Reeves explained that it links Montreux to Vevey.
“It goes right up to Chillon
Castle. Many houses along the lakeside road, including the magnificent Fairmont
Le Montreux Palace (now a hotel), date from the grand Belle Epoque era,” she
said.
We enjoyed breathtaking Alpine
views, inhaling air perfumed with the heady scent of pines and cypresses. As we
continued strolling, crunching pine cones underfoot, Reeves explained that the
city’s micro climate nurtured a diverse landscape that sprouted everything from
palms to grapes. Pointing to the parcelled 2,000-acre Lavaux vineyards, she
said it was one of the largest in Switzerland. “They host 14 charming villages
and are threaded with trails dotted with wine cellars where you can stop and
try delicious local wines,” she said.
Soon we were at the Town Centre
where an elegant, covered market, brimming with fresh produce, was redolent
with aromas. In Montreux, as elsewhere in Switzerland, food was taken very
seriously.
Just outside the market loomed a
three-metre-tall statue of Freddie Mercury. Year round, fresh flowers adorned
the feet of this sculpture. Created by Czech sculptor Irena Sedlecká, it
celebrated Mercury as a “lover of life, singer of songs”.
From 1979 until his death in 1991,
the artist lived in a lakeside chalet in Clarens.
Château de Chillon was where I
peeled back layers of Montreux’s history. My first thought, as we drove closer
to the Disney-esque castle — perched on a private island abutting Lake Geneva —
was that I had travelled through time and was now part of a vintage painting.
Think stony ramparts, formal halls and a chapel with 14th century murals.
Built by the powerful Duke of
Savoy who lived in it until the 16th century, the castle was also the setting
of Lord Byron’s epic poem “The Prisoner of Chillon”. “When Byron visited the
castle,” Reeves explained, “it was still a prison. He was only able to visit
the lower part where he carved his name into the stone on one of the pillars
which can still be seen today.”
After that, we took a cogwheel
train that huffed and puffed its way up a steep gradient to the summit of
Rochers de Naye. The trip would take 55 minutes to reach the summit from where
you can soak in the stunning panoramas of Switzerland. However, scrunched for
time, we disembarked midway — at Glion — where we were booked for dinner at Le
Bellevue, a finedining restaurant run by the students of Glion Institute of
Higher Education. The restaurant had views so impressive that I struggled to
focus on the food. We began with a first course of sole fillets with caviar and
lemon, parsley infusions, potatoes and sour cream. Up next were roe medallions
smoked with thyme and juniper, cranberries and spiral potatoes. We wrapped up
with a dessert of hot and cold vanilla black figs with citrus fruit, lime
sorbet and basil. Long after I left Montreux, the flavours danced on my palate.
Neeta Lal
HOW TO REACH:
There are no direct flights to Montreux from India. Fly to
Geneva from where Montreux is 90 minutes by train
WHERE TO STAY:
From five-star hotels to bed & breakfasts, there are many
accommodation options that can best be explored online; rates vary during
seasons. Book in advance
WHERE TO STAY:
Montreux’s weather is good for year-round travel. While in
summers you can go cruising on Lake Geneva and visit local wineries, winters are
perfect for skiing and other snow sports
ETM 3FEB19
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