Visit Santa at the top of a Swiss mountain

For a special Christmas experience, take the kids to Montreux and visit Santa at the top of Rochers de Naye (2049m). First, you ride a cogwheel train up the mountain with beautiful views of the lake and Swiss alps on all sides. At the top, you walk through a long tunnel lined with twinkle lights to reach Santa’s grotto, where Santa greets families and smiles for the camera.

Children get a little 1-1 time with Santa, to personally deliver their wish lists and chat with the jolly man. You can snap as many photos as you like and optionally purchase a professional photo done by the elves. Children get a small gift and stamped certificate proving they met the “real” Santa. Afterwards, you can go outside to play in the snow and enjoy the panorama views across Montreux Riviera.

This outing is a bit expensive, mostly because of the mountain train. But for many families, it’s worth it, creating magical Christmas memories that last for years. Keep reading for all the logistics and tips for your visit.

Note: This visit was arranged by Montreux tourism as part of a press trip, helping me gather more info and tips for our loyal readers.

Tickets

You must have a special ticket for this Santa train, not just a regular train ticket. The ticket includes your train journey and entrance to Santa house, where children can meet Santa. In 2019, it costs CHF 19/child aged 6+ and CHF 39/adult. Children under 6 are free. Discounts for those with a GA pass but no discount for SBB Half-fare or Junior cards. On Thursdays, the ticket price is discounted.

Tickets must be booked in advance, way in advance for the weekends. Tickets usually go on sale in October and then you can reserve tickets online on this website: www.mob.ch. 

There are 120 spots for each time slot. You choose three times on a specific day, then they give you what is available. You can also reserve and pay by credit card by telephone here: +41 21 989 81 90 (this is a tourist service, they speak English).

You must pick up your tickets at the Montreux train station, so leave yourself a little time to do that. I thought it was a little confusing to find this, so I’ll tell you how. The MOB ticket office is separate from the main SBB ticket counter. From the street outside the train station, go up the first escalator to the hall below the train tracks. Walk to the Kiosk cafe at the end of that hall. At the back of the cafe, you’ll see the MOB Goldenpass ticket counter. You can pick up and pay for your Santa train tickets here.

Getting to Santa’s Grotto

Note: In 2019, there is a special offer of 50% off train travel to Montreux for the Christmas market.

The cogwheel mountain train to Rochers de Naye leaves from a special track at the Montreux Gare train station in the center of town. If you are arriving in Montreux by train, go to the MOB Goldenpass ticket office in the train station and pick up your Santa tickets. Then change tracks to board the mountain train.

If you are arriving by car, it’s more complicated. On weekends during market season, traffic is restricted in Montreux. When you get off the highway, you’ll be diverted to parking areas outside the city (usually free to park). Then you can take a shuttle for CHF 5 into Montreux. Alternatively, you could park at a nearby train station, like Vevey and take the train into town.

On weekdays, it’s possible to park in Montreux in various car parks. The website cartoriviera.ch has a list of many parking areas, prices, hours and the currently available spots. These parking areas are closest to the market:

• Place du Marché
• Parking de la gare at train station
• Parking La Paix

Train ride up the mountain

You reach the Santa grotto by riding a cogwheel train up to Rochers-de-Naye at 2049m. This train starts at the Montreux train station and takes about 40mins to climb the mountain, the view getting prettier and prettier the more you climb. Because it’s a long ride, you may need some activities and snacks to keep small children happy. We noticed that the train is very well heated, we were super hot. So just be aware that you might need to unbundle your children. 

There are no reserved seats on the train, so best to get there a little early to make finding a seat together a bit easier. Children under 6 ride free, but that also means they need to sit on your lap to make room for other passengers that have paid for a seat.

Because the train twists back and forth up the mountain, you’ll get great views of the lake and mountains on both sides of the train, it doesn’t matter where you sit. 

Timetable

There is a train every hour leaving from 9:17 to 15:17.  Once you are at the top, you can spend as long as you like. If you see Santa right away, you can probably catch the next train down and only stay up an hour. But I think 2 hours is more realistic so you don’t have to hurry and have time to also play in the snow, have a treat at the restaurant and enjoy the view. 

Waiting for Santa

Each train is limited to 120 passengers, which means about 30-40 families arrive at the same time. So there will be a line to see Santa, but usually not more than 30 minutes for the last people in line. There are a few other activities to do at the top. So if you are not first in line, we recommend doing those activities first, then getting in line for Santa a bit before the next train arrives. 

With your tickets, each child receives a little stamp card, which can be stamped at three location: the rabbits near where the train lets off, Santa’s sleeping quarters (upstairs near the restaurant) and Santa’s office in the grotto. Once the child receives all the stamps, they can turn in the card at the restaurant for a small prize.

To reach Santa, you walk through a very long tunnel lit with Christmas lights, which makes the visit more exciting. However, it is also dark and sometimes the lights flash, which could be scary for some children. So just be aware.

Santa visit

In the grotto, Santa sits on a throne chair where each child/family can have a turn to have a little chat with Santa. Many children brought letters for Santa, which I thought was adorable and definitely recommended. With many children waiting, Santa doesn’t have time to listen to a long poem, a tradition for many Swiss children. So if you children want to recite something, make it short.

The main Santa speaks English. But sometimes for the first two time slots, there is a French-speaking Santa that doesn’t speak great English. So if English is a priority, better to go at mid-day or afternoon.

Santa Photos

You are welcome to take photos as your children visit with Santa. An official photographer will also take a photo of your children/family with Santa, which can be optionally purchased for CHF 16. If you are wondering where my kids are, I was there with a friend collecting info for you all.

Santa gift

After visiting Santa, children go into Santa’s office, where one of his helpers give the children a stamped certificate saying they met Santa and a bag with small stuffed animal (it was a reindeer when we were there, but could be something else), chocolate and fresh fruit. This room is super cute with all sorts of fun details to look at.

Facilities

There is a toilet just outside the Santa room, so you can easily take children while waiting in line without walking all the way back through the tunnel to the restaurant. There are more toilets near the train station. Upstairs there is a restaurant where you can get snacks or a full meal. There are also tables near the train where you can picnic. You can’t use your stroller up here. They ask you to leave your strollers near the train and not take them into the tunnel that leads to Santa. 

Enjoy the view

Don’t forget to explore outside and enjoy the panorama view. There was snow when we went, but that isn’t always the case. 

Most families stayed near the buildings shown below and made snowmen and threw snowballs. We walked along the ridge a bit to get a better view. Be careful, we were slipping on ice and sinking in deep snow.

Is it worth it?

I got this question from many readers. In short, I would say yes. I think there is something special about making a journey up a whole mountain to visit Santa that makes small children feel that they have met the real Santa Claus. The Santa grotto at the top is really cute and being able to get a photo opp with Santa is great, since this is not common in Switzerland. Plus you are on top of a gorgeous mountain, which is nice even without the Santa visit. I wish I knew about this when my kids were little.

I got positive feedback from several parents. One mom said:

“I can only speak for my family, but it was a super magical experience! When we got home, my kids told all their friends that they met the real Santa and they are still talking about it 3 years later… worth every penny!”

“We went with another family for a weekend at the Montreux Christmas market and went up the mountain to see Père Noël. The sun shining at the top of that mountain was like being on top of the earth. I will never forget it!”

This is an expensive outing just to see Santa, especially since you can see him for free at a local hut in many villages. However, consider that the price includes a beautiful mountain train ride, which normally costs CHF 70/adult and CHF 35/child. So actually going up to visit Santa is less expensive than riding this mountain train at other times during the year.

A couple parents sent messages saying that although they liked it, they thought it was too expensive for what you get. They expected more activities like perhaps a craft with the elves. I’ve tried to be really clear about what you get from this experience. But you’ll need to decide if it’s worth it for your family.

Where to eat?

Instead of eating at the restaurant at the top, we rode down the mountain and stopped at the Haut-de-Caux middle station to eat the Le Coucou restaurant, which we loved.

The interior of this restaurant looks exactly what you think a Swiss restaurant should look like: open fire, lots of beautiful wood, lots of rustic details, vintage travel posters. I wanted to move in and never leave.

The menu focuses on high quality local products, favoring Swiss specialties but with that French flair that permeates the west side of Switzerland. I had the wild menu and the tallest tarte tatin I’ve ever seen. We also started with a local cheese platter. Everything was delicious.

It’s nice but not too fancy. The prices are average Swiss and we saw a few families there at lunchtime, a couple using high chairs. Best to make a reservation and coordinate with the train schedule that only runs once an hour (both going up the mountain and going down). Note that if you are not going to Santa’s grotto, the Montreux Riviera card (free if you stay in a local hotel) covers the mountain train to get here.

Have you been here?

If you’ve been here, let me know what you think and whether you think it’s worth it.

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