Montreux & Vevey

Why naming both Montreux and Vevey together in a single page and not separate them? It is because these two small cities (or big towns) are like Siamese twins linked by a bus route. Both have their shares of attractions though I feel Montreux is like the older brother.

From Berne to Montreux requires a transit at Lausanne. As there was a special personnel to help me, it was not a problem though the transit had to be done in a flash. Trains in Switzerland really wait for no one.

Problem occurred when I reached Montreux. I searched high and low for my hotel but to no avail. I had someone called the hotel and was told it was near the train station. It was only after asking for directions for the second time that I realised the hotel I booked was in Vevey, not Montreux!

Finding help in Montreux wasn't easy as the people didn't speak much English. I even had a guy walked past me, ignoring my request for directions. Nonetheless, things turned out well when finally a kind lady who spoke English brought me to a bus station to take bus service number 1 to Vevey.

The bus ride was short but I still arrived at the hotel at around three-thirty. The hotel manager reminded me that it was Sunday and the restaurants would close around 8pm. So if I was not to go hungry for the night, I had to have my dinner early.

I left the hotel at around 5pm. Failing to find the station for bus service number 2 which would go around Vevey, I walked to the old town district. There I found a Middle-Eastern restaurant named Aladin. Not wanting to risk hunger, I ordered a mixed grill full of meat and vegetable as well as "tea with the flower-of-orange". It was one of the best meal I ever had throughout the entire of my trip.

Then I wandered around the old town district after sunset until a kind soul offered to accompany me back to my hotel.

More pictures of Montreux in the later part of this blog post.

18th Oct:

I tried and failed again to take the #2 bus service as the bus driver was talking about some contraints with the wheelchair and bus in French. He also couldn't understand what I wanted so I gave up on the idea.

It was a cold morning. I arrived at the Musée suisse du Jeu (Swiss Museum of Games) only to find out that all museums closed on Mondays. I decided to visit it the following day before I left Vevey. The one place I could visit that day was the Château de Chillon.

The Château de Chillon is a 16th Century castle/fort that has been converted into a tourist attraction complete with a restaurant inside. As like all castles are, its builders did not have wheelchair-accessibility in mind and nothing can be done today without 'hurting' it. The lady at the ticket counter reminded me that it wouldn't be worth it for me to enter.

With so much of the daylight for me to burn, I challenged myself to wheel all the way back to Montreux, taking the lakeside pathway. The signpost indicated it would take about an hour to reach Montreux but I estimated I would take at least twice as long. Fortunately there weren't any steep slopes to manoeuvre against.

Casino de Montreux was said to be the first casino in Switzerland and it showed. It's small and the decor's aged. I played a few rounds of roulette and left with the smallest winning chip as souvenir.

I wanted to take the tram up the Swiss Alps but was advised not to due to the bad weather. I am wishing now for a chance to go back and try again.

More pictures available here and here.

Note:

• Staying in Montreux and Vevey as tourists entitled you to free public transport. The hotel will give you a card to carry around when you sight-see.