A Swiss weekend o fromance and all that jazz
ARRIVING by train at Montreux along the shore of Lake Geneva, it is hard to suppress a smile of pure pleasure. Blue waters of the lake to our right, vineyards to our left, snow-capped mountains in the distance.
Montreux is a wonderful mixture of playful and the stately. It is a festival town. The annual jazz festival in early July is worldfamous. Lionel Richie, Lady Gaga and Emeli Sandé are all performing there this year.
The Montreux Palace Hotel, where we are staying, is a palatial building in the great European tradition, with highceilinged rooms and wide, sweeping corridors. It was here In 1936 that a treaty deciding the future of the Dardanelles was thrashed out.
The diners on the terrace are grinning all over their faces.
Perhaps their eye has been caught by the note on the menu explaining that the head chef has just been crowned World Risotto Champion. Cocktails in Funky Claude’s Bar are followed by live music in the Montreux Jazz Cafe, surrounded by photos of Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and other luminaries.
The Montreux Palace is a good base for exploring an intriguing region. On the Saturday we visit the medieval Chateau de Chillon, a spectacular lakeside fortress, with swans gliding below the battlements. Those who have been here before include Lord Byron, who carved his name on a pillar in the dungeon, which inspired one of his bestknown poems, The Prisoner Of Chillon.
After that, it is on to wine-tasting at one of the many vineyards overlooking the lake, before stopping for lunch at the pretty market town of Lutry and taking the boat back to Montreux.
The next morning, we take the train up into the mountains, past huge pine trees, meadows of wild flowers, shyly grazing goats, old wooden chalets with neat stacks of firewood in the porch.
A solitary para-glider sails overhead without a care in the world. Then we gasp as we catch sight of two climbers inching their way up a sheer rock face, while crows circle above.
At the summit, there are still snow-caked paths to scrabble up before we can enjoy panoramic views of the Alps. An appropriately spectacular finale to a memorable weekend.