Swiss Riviera walk: from Montreux to Lutry, passing palm trees, Belle Époque hotels, vineyards and mountain views with cafés and photo stops along the way.
Falling for the Swiss Riviera
I’m in love with the Riviera.
Not the slightly brash, ostentatious one where film stars jostle and pout on the red carpet — I’m in love with its altogether more sophisticated cousin… the Swiss Riviera.
So, where’s the magic?
It’s right here.
🚶The Route At a Glance
Distance: 18 km
Time: 5-6 hours relaxed pace
Difficulty: Easy-moderate (it’s the distance, not hills)
Start: Montreux quays
Finish: Lutry station
Best for: Scenic walking, cafés, photography, architecture
Refreshment: Montreux · Clarens · Vevey · Lutry
Accessibility: Flat, suitable for all fitness levels, buggy friendly
Getting back: Trains to Montreux run roughly every 30 minutes, so you can bail out and shorten the walk at several points along the route.
Take with you: Comfortable shoes, a sun hat and sunscreen — it gets surprisingly warm by the lake — and a water bottle for the Lavaux section.
The magic is in the mountains that rise straight from the lake, in the crystal clear mountain water, the eerie siren calls of the paddle-steamers and the faded glory of the honey coloured villas.
With the glittering waters of Lac Léman and the French Alps beyond, backed by the Rochers- de-Naye, this is scenery on an epic scale.
But there’s more than just a great view.
The Swiss Riviera Walk
There’s something special in the air here.
Something that has drawn people to this particular spot for centuries.
Rousseau, Byron, Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway wrote here. Turner and Courbet painted here. Freddy Mercury and David Bowie made music here.
For one day let’s set the usual Montreux aside.
We’ll leave the busiest spots behind for palm-lined promenades, elegant lakeside towns and some of the quieter corners of the Swiss Riviera.
And along the way I can promise you coffee and cake, plenty of pauses to drink in the view and — best of all — an apéro waiting at the end.
Why don’t we start early and beat the crowds?
Where to from here?
Let’s walk west towards Lutry, where the Riviera gradually gives way to vineyards tumbling down to the water’s edge.
Stop 1 – Quais de Montreux
We’ll start at the famous Freddie Mercury statue, fist raised to the lake, in front of the market hall.
Freddie lived and worked in Montreux for many years, relishing the peace he found here. Fans still leave flowers and little tributes at the foot of the statue.
It’s a good place to pause for a moment — but today we’re walking on.
Palm trees probably aren’t the first thing you’d associate with Switzerland.
But thanks to its own micro-climate, the Swiss Riviera has a sunny, Mediterranean feel that seems slightly at odds with the Alps towering behind it.
Heading west we pass rose gardens and the grand Belle Époque hotels of Montreux. Their yellow awnings give a light, bright twist to all that imperial grandeur.
I love this stretch of the Swiss Riviera walk — it feels like a mini open-air sculpture garden.
See how many bronze sculptures of composers and animals you can spot hidden among the flower beds.
And the cherry on top? The little yachts moored just offshore. If you only take one photo on this whole walk, take it here.
📸 Photo Stop
Quai de Montreux, near the Belle Époque hotel strip — boats moored offshore, mountains behind. Best light: morning
Stop 2 – Coffee stop: Clarens
Strolling on, we reach Clarens. It feels much quieter here.
The soft colours of the Belle Epoque villas and their slightly overgrown gardens give the place a more laid back feel than Montreux.
Clarens has attracted artists and writers for centuries.
Byron arrived in 1816, supposedly travelling with a well-thumbed copy of Rousseau’s La Nouvelle Heloise, curious to see the landscape that had inspired the hugely popular novel.
In a way, he was one of Europe’s very first tourists. I love that 200 years later, you can still clearly recognise the places these writers spoke about. It’s like sharing a secret.
Anyway, enough culture — let’s talk tea!
☕Tea-Room Leduc
Rue du Grammont just off the promenade
Hours: Tue-Fri 7:00 – 14:00 · Sat 7:00 – 12:00
Closed Monday
The smell of fresh coffee hits you at the door — worth the small detour for a pastry before heading on.
Stop 3 Villa ‘Le Lac’, Corseaux
Mention Le Corbusier to almost any architect and their eyes light up. One of the pioneers of modern architecture, his influence can be seen all over the world.
This tiny house, Villa ‘Le Lac’, sits right on the promenade.
From the outside it’s surprisingly modest — a long low white building with ribbon-like windows and almost no decoration at all.
Inside though, it’s painted with vibrant colours that soften the clean lines. It’s furnished in a way that I’d describe as… spartan. But then again, I do like a bit of sparkle.
This little house turned out to be more influential than it first appears. It became an early expression of many of Le Corbusier’s later ideas.
Is it worth a visit? Mmm… perhaps, if architecture or interior design is your thing — or if you want to impress the next architect you meet.
🏛️Villa ‘Le Lac’
Visits Saturdays and Sundays, 14:00 – 17:00
Stop 4 ·La Tour-de-Peilz
From here onwards, the Swiss Riviera walk becomes quieter.
We pass the 13th century Savoy castle sitting directly on the waterfront, its towers reflected in the lake. The castle was once home to the William Beckford, author of the Gothic novel ‘Vathek’.
Back in the day Beckford was described as ‘the richest man in Britain’. He was also wildly eccentric and no stranger to scandal.
To escape the press and his critics, he relocated to Switzerland where he continued to host lavish balls and parties.
Today the castle is the Swiss Museum of Games — which somehow feels appropriate.
This is also where the Riviera begins to change. There are fewer visitors, more locals and maybe a glimpse of everyday Switzerland.
The scenery, though, is every bit as beautiful and the breeze from the lake just as refreshing.
🏰Château de la Tour-de-Peilz
Now home to the Swiss Museum of Games
Stop 5: Vevey
The giant fork
If all this walking is making you feel hungry, you’re in exactly the right place.
Rising out of the water like a giant exclamation mark is an 8-metre (26 feet) stainless-steel fork.
It was installed as part of a temporary exhibition, but the locals loved it so much that it’s stayed.
The fork is one of the Riviera’s most photographed landmarks. On misty days, with snow-dusted mountains behind it, you can see why.
Vevey is also home to Nestlé and the Alimentarium, Nestlé’s food museum. It would be fair to say that Switzerland has a thing about good food.
And chocolate is no exception. I was surprised to discover that milk chocolate was invented right here in Vevey by Daniel Peter and Nestlé.
🍴The Giant Fork
8 metres / 26 feet, stainless steel — installed as a temporary art piece, never removed.
Best photographed on a misty day, mountains behind.
Place du Marché
Beyond the fork, one of the most striking things about Vevey is Place du Marché —one of Switzerland’s largest arcaded squares, opening directly onto the lake.
On Tuesdays and Saturdays, the market fills with local produce, flowers and artisans stalls.
On Saturday mornings you can buy wine by the glass from local producers and sip as you shop.
Every 20 – 25 years the Marché in Vevey hosts the extraordinary the Fête des Vignerons — a huge celebration with music, wine and hundreds of performers.
The best bit is buying a small glass (wine is often served in very small glasses in Switzerland) and filling it as many times as you like from the various stands — which I think rather defeats the point of the small glass.
Vevey has always drawn people in.
Charlie Chaplin lived for 25 years just outside Vevey, at Corsier-sur-Vevey. His former home, Manoir de Ban, is now a Hollywood style ‘studio experience’ showcasing his life’s work.
Before modern transport, women from Haute Savoie used to row across Lac Léman to buy and sell goods in Vevey before rowing home again the same day.
Much more exhausting than our Swiss Riviera walk.
🍷 Place du Marché
Market days: Tues & Sat mornings (cheese, charcuterie, fresh produce, flowers, artisans)
Fête des Vignerons: held roughly every 20-25 years.
Lunch in Vevey
Please tell me it’s lunchtime! Time to rest our feet and soak up a little local life.
I’ve got two good lunch options for you, both just a few minutes from the lake
🐟Café – Restaurant du Port
Rue d’Italie — lake fish (perch and fera), large sunny terrace, unpretentious and reasonably priced.
Hours: Daily June – August · Sept-May closed Mondays ( last orders 15:00)
🍷 Gueuleton Vevey
Rue du Léman — fish from the lake, sharing platters, Vaudois charcuterie and local Chasselas by the glass.
Tip: check prices before booking
Sounds delicious… although I suspect I’ll skip the sharing bit.
Stop 6: Into the Lavaux vineyards
Leaving Vevey behind, the character of the walk changes almost without you noticing.
The cafés and busy promenades fade into the sweeping terraces of one of Switzerland’s most famous landscapes.
The Lavaux vineyards are among the steepest vineyards in the world. Luckily we don’t have to climb them today on our Swiss Riviera walk.
One of my favourite facts about Lavaux is that it’s known as the ‘land of the three suns’.
The vineyards are warmed not only by the sun overhead but also by its reflection from Lake Geneva and by the heat stored in the dry stone terrace walls.
It’s a unique combination that helps produce exceptional wines here — particularly the light refreshing Chasselas that you’ll find everywhere.
If you have the time, wander up into one of the little wine villages.
Behind the heavy wooden doors you’ll often see the wine presses and depending on the season, local winemakers hard at work.
🍇Lavaux Vineyards
Over 10,000 terraces · 400 km of dry stone walls
UNESCO World Heritage landscape
Known locally as the ‘land of the three suns’
Signature grape: Chasselas
I’ll be honest, by this stage my feet are beginning to remind me I’ve been walking for several hours.
On a warm day this stretch can feel surprisingly long — but keep going, we’re almost there.
The first glimpse of Lutry’s little harbour is a welcome sight and the promise of a cold drink is all the motivation we need.
Stop 7: Lutry
And here we are — at the end of our walk, with its little ports, waterside cafés and stunning views.
And, unofficially at least, the end of the Swiss Riviera.
The palms and Belle Epoque villas give way to the sweeping vineyards of Lavaux and to Lausanne further along.
Those are adventures for another day.
📖 Keep Exploring
Heading to Lausanne next? Read ‘Lausanne — a City of Athletes’
Curious about the vineyards? Read ‘Lavaux — A Stairway to Heaven’.
In the meantime, let’s take a moment to look back along the full sweep of the Riviera.
We did it!
Eighteen kilometres of the Swiss Riviera walk, along one of Europe’s most beautiful lakefronts. And now all that remains is the reward.
Apéro: Les Copains d’Abord
Les Copains d’Abord is known as the best bar on the Lutry quai.
It serves craft beer, local wine and tapas right beside the water.
There’s nothing quite like that feeling that you’ve earned your glass of wine — or your Aperol — after a day’s walking.
This is our chance to wind down, look through our photos and reflect on life on the Swiss Riviera.
And the best part? The train back to Montreux is only 5 minutes away.
Photo Credit: Vevey Market Hall: Photo by Jmh2o, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo credit: Tour de Peilz: Patrick Nouhailler’s
