If you’re looking for a fun family getaway, the Montreux Riviera in western Switzerland is a great choice. We did two fabulous hikes among the famous narcissus flowers, checking off a top item off our Swiss bucket list. We rode a cogwheel train to Rochers de Naye, the highest point overlooking Montreux at just over 2000m, with panorama views across the lake.
We did the classic hike through the impressive Lavaux vineyard terraces, worked for 40 generations producing the much loved wine of this region. We relaxed on the ferry, enjoying the scenery the easy way. We ate all our meals lakeside, soaking in the warm sun of this region and lingering on every pink sunset over the water. We even jumped in the lake for a brisk swim – not quite summer yet, but very soon!
So many memories in just one weekend, just what our family needed to kick off another fabulous Swiss summer. Keep reading for all the details and tips to help your family have the best time in the Montreux Riviera.
This trip was a paid collaboration with Montreux Riviera tourism.
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Where is Montreux?
Montreux is a town in western Switzerland on the eastern shoreline of Lac Leman (aka Lake Geneva). It is surrounded by many mountain peaks and a long view down the lake. Montreux is famous for its annual Jazz festival, which is happily happening again in 2021.
How to get to Montreux?
Montreux is easily accessible by car or train from all parts of Switzerland.
By car: From the A9 freeway, take exit 15 and drive into the center of town. There are several parking garages in Montreux, three on Rue de la Gare near the center of town. You can see how many spots are available on www.parkings-riviera.ch. If you plan to travel by train during your visit, you can use the SBB P+Rail parking at the train station. Show your train ticket at the ticket office to validate your parking ticket for a discount.
Driving time: 1hr from Bern, 1hr20 from Geneva, 1hr30 from Interlaken or Brig, 2hr20 from Basel, 2hr30 from Zurich
By train: Take a train to the Montreux train station, which has frequent connections to Lausanne. Many hotels are within walking distance of the train station.
Travel time: 1hr from Geneva, 1hr30 from Bern or Brig, 2hr15 from Interlaken, 2hr45 from Basel or Zürich
Golden Pass train
If you are looking for a special journey, you can travel to Montreux on the Golden Pass Line. This train route connects Luzern – Interlaken – Zweisimmen – Montreux. The section from Zweisimmen to Montreux has retro “Belle Epoque” train cars in 1930’s style with big panorama windows so you can enjoy the mountain scenery. More info at www.goldenpassline.ch
Getting around Montreux
You can easily use public transportation to reach the hikes and attractions in the Montreux area. So you don’t really need to use your car during your stay.
Most accommodations will give you a free Montreux Riviera Card, which gives you free public transportation in the Montreux/Vevey area and discounts on many activities. For example, the card gives you 30% discount on the mountain trains to Rocher-de-Naye, Les Pleiades, & Sonloup. You get a 50% discount on museums like Chillon Castle, Chaplin’s World and the Alimentarium food museum.
Our weekend activities in Montreux Riviera
Rocher-de-Naye 2000m – Highest point in the region
We started our trip by riding up a vintage cogwheel mountain train to the highest point overlooking Montreux at 2040m. It takes the train 55 mins to travel from Montreux to the top, with fantastic views the whole ride. In late May, there was still snow at the top but we still wandered around, catching fantastic views over the cliffs down to Lac Leman. If you have a Montreux Riviera card from your hotel, you get a big discount on your journey, only CHF 26.50 round trip.
At the top, there are two restaurants (one built into the side of the cliffs), multiple viewpoints, alpine flower garden, and marmot enclosures where you can observe these adorable animals. We think this is a must-do outing for any visit to the Montreux Riviera.
Prime hiking season starts in late June and continues through mid-October. Next time we’ll try the panorama trail down the west side of the mountain, about 2hr30 to the Haut de Caux station.
See my Rochers de Naye post for more details.
Narcissus flower trail, Haut-de-Caux with lake views
On our way down from Rochers de Naye, we got off at the Haut de Caux stop to search for narcissus flowers, which bloom from late May to early June. After much debate, we did a 6.5 km trail that looped through an enormous narcissus field with millions of flowers across a hill with views down to the lake and mountains. Heaven!
The trails are not well signed in this area, so I have a trail map and detailed instructions in my post to help you out. Since this trail is not as popular as other narcissus trails around here, you’ll have a bit more peace & quiet along the way.
See details for the Narcissus Flower Trail, Haut de Caux
Lavaux vineyard hike
This hike is a classic, walking through the UNESCO protected terraced vineyards along Lake Geneva. Along the way, you have panorama views of the lake and surrounding mountains and can taste some local wines.
We did a version of Route 113 – Terrasses de Lavaux, walking about 11km through the vineyards from St Saphorin to Lutry. In my post, I have shorter, easier versions for families with younger children.
We did a slight detour to the lakeside for lunch and even jumped in the water for a short swim. So dreamy!
It’s easy to customize this trail to meet your group’s needs. You could bike the trail or even take a tourist train.
See details in my Terrasses de Lavaux hike.
Boat ride on Lac Leman
No matter what your plans are, you should incorporate a boat ride into your itinerary. It’s a relaxing way to enjoy the scenery and you get a different perspective of the landscape you explored by foot. We rode the boat from the end of our vineyard hike in Lutry to Chillon Castle near Montreux, about 1hr20.
The boat has both open-air and indoor seating. Pay a bit extra for 1st class to sit on the upper deck with some lounge chairs.
The boats between Vevey – Montreux – Chillon are 30% discount with your Montreux Riviera card. See CGN website for details on routes and tickets.
Chateux Chillon
We ended our day at Chillon castle, one of the most picturesque castles in Switzerland.
You get a brochure to accompany your self-guided tour through 36 rooms. There are also various touchscreens in some of the rooms with more info and mini films in English.
They offer a free activity booklet for children (in EN, DE, FR), keeping them busy searching for information and hidden clues around the castle. You can see booklet on their website.
Entrance fee: The castle tour costs CHF 13.50/adult, CHF 4/children aged 6-16. Family pass is CHF 35 for 2 adults and up to 5 children. 50% discount with the Montreux Riviera card.
Getting There: Chillon Castle is a short train or bus ride from Montreux, covered by the Montreux Riviera card available free from your accommodation. You can take bus 201 from anywhere along the main street in Montreux to the Veytaux, château de Chillon bus stop, a 10 min ride. The castle is adjacent to the bus stop. Or from the Montreux train station, take the S2 train to Veytaux, château de Chillon train station, a 4 min ride, then a 500m walk along the lake to the castle.
Practical info: There is an indoor picnic area with vending machines inside the castle. There are lockers to store valuables during your visit. The castle is not suitable for strollers, as there are lots of stairs throughout the castle. There is a place to park strollers near the entrance. The gift shop has castle dress up clothes for children and lots of fun castle-related children’s books in English.
Get more information about visiting Chateux Chillon
Les Pléiades Narcissus Trail
On our last day, we went to the Les Pléiades mountain near Montreux to see even more narcissus flowers. This area has the most blooms and the easiest to visit, especially for families. You can drive all the way to the trail or ride a mountain train there.
We did the gorgeous 5.45 km loop through several enormous narcissus fields with mountain backdrops. In my post, I also have shorter, easier options for families with small children.
Without fences around the flowers, you can easily take great pictures with them and picnic near them. But please do not walk in the fields outside of the footpaths. These flowers are endangered and need our protection.
Les Pléiades is probably the most popular narcissus trail in this region, for good reason. But this means on sunny weekends, it’s best to go early, especially if you want to get good parking spot.
Get a trail map, tips and more details in my Les Pléiades hike post
Our hotel stay at Eurotel Montreux
We really enjoyed our stay at the Eurotel Montreux in the center of Montreux, right on lake. From our 14th floor balcony, we had amazing views of the town, lake and mountains, especially at sunset.
I loved that we could step out of our hotel directly onto the boardwalk and immediately be part of the happy weekend vibe. Nothing better than strolling and chatting along the water.
Our room was spacious and comfortable, a really nice place to stay.
We particularly enjoyed our dinners at their Safran restaurant, sitting right next to the water watching the sunset. The food was pretty, creative and delicious like this Caprese “Stracciatella” with the sweetest tomatoes, fresh and sun-dried, mixed with creamy burrata – so good!
Our kids loved the elaborate ice cream sundaes for dessert, while I indulged in caramel cheesecake and chocolate mousse with olive oil ice cream (surprisingly yum). The breakfast buffet was generous with lots of variety (and happily lots of warm croissants and pain au chocolat for my kids).
Last thoughts
I couldn’t have dreamed up a better spring weekend for our family. Montreux was such a fun destination, with so much variety and beauty in our various activities. I still have so much more on my Montreux to-do list, we’ll just have to go back.
2 responses
Hi
We will be traveling from Zermatt via Spiez to catch the Golden Pass train to Montreux on 5/28 and 5/29 and staying at. We will reach around noon and drop off the luggage at the hotel or can keep it at the hotel. I do have some idea of what we want to see but not sure in what order or how should we break the 2 days we should do so we can cover most of it. We will have a Swiss travel pass so please guide us if these places are near the train/bus/boat station. Please help.
Chillon castle
Gruyères town/cheese factory tour(Any recommendations for lunch/dinner place)
Lavaux vineyard terrace (Any winery recommendation?)
Lausanne Olympic museum (pass by)
Downtown Geneva (Any recommendations for lunch/dinner place)
Jet d’eau
flower clock
UN office from outside
Charly Chaplin Museum
Vevey town (pass by in boat)
Watch valley
Sounds like a fun trip. You might find it helpful to search for these locations on Google Maps so you can see how far apart they are. Without doing that work myself, I can quickly say Chillon Castle is very close to Montreux, about 10 mins by bus. Lausanne is about a 30 min train ride. Vevey about 15 mins. Geneva about 1h. I suggest looking up the rest on Google Maps and calculating the distances/time by train. Have fun!