When visiting Lausanne and Montreux which town do you prefer? We will visit each but wondering about a home base and if you have lodging recommendations that would be a bonus. Things we plan to do are the Olympic museum, Chateau de Chillon, maybe a day trip Charonix and possibly a day trip to Annecy.

Hi tidy,

In one of your posts, you say you're going in late May/early June -- is that still correct? And what is your price preference for hotels, and for how many people?

If so, that won't matter much for these destinations.

But, anyway, I strongly prefer Montreux, but then I'm just not a city person. Lausanne has all the traffic, energy, and vibe of a city, if that's your thing. In Lausanne, the lakefront is at Ouchy, which is about 2km from the rest of the town; you can either walk it (uphill) or take the metro.

Montreux is a smaller town, though with a strong resort vibe. The lakefront is really long, stretching from Villeneuve (other side of Chillon) to and past Chillon, to Montreux, and almost to Vevey, about 11km. That's my favorite thing about Montreux.

If you'd like to compromise, you could choose Vevey, which sits between Montreux & Lausanne. It's less of a resort and more of a residential town, and it has a wonderful old town with winding, tangled streets right next to the lake.

I stay in apartments there these days, but the 3-star Hostellerie Bon Rivage in La Tour-de-Peilz (suburb of Vevey between Vevey & Montreux) is on my list of places to stay. It sits right on the lake and right at a bus stop. It would be maybe a 15-minute walk to the train station.

Your hosts will give you a Riviera Card making the busses free, and bus #201 runs from Vevey to Montreux to Chillon and to Villeneuve, so that makes either Montreux or Vevey like one large-ish town.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Lausanne is, as was stated, a larger city and with all the things that come eith that. We have usually stayed in the Beau Rivage Palace which is basically on the lakefront in Ouchy. We take the Metro (hotels give a Metro pass)in and out of the main parts of town.

Montreux is smaller but with plenty of big hotels and would be perhaps closer to things you really want to do. Different vibe than Lausanne IMO.

I didnt' stay in Lausanne but didn't particularly care for Montreux, thought it was just a seedy little town with high hotel prices. So I agree with others, depends what kind of place you want, big city or not.

I prefer Montreux over Lausanne, no doubt. Loved Hotel Masson in Montreux-Veytaux, close to castle Chillon. Vevey is another very good option.

Good questions. Usually we do not like a big town so I will consider what you each have said before deciding. Now about price range...I never know how to answer that until I have an idea what the costs are. We (there are 2 of us)do not need luxury. Location is very important to us and of course clean but I think we will find that in most of Switzerland. We had friends that stayed in a really upscale hotel in Montreux. I guess usually around $800 a night and they were able to negotiate a room for $250. Does it sound feasible to still negotiate prices since we will be there the very end of May? I think we will not make reservation ahead of time because we want flexibility to change our itinerary because of weather. Do you think that is okay to make reservations ahead of time, (I might add this is really difficult for me as I usually make all accommodations ahead of time)

If I ever go back to that area, I'd opt for Vevey. I enjoyed Lausanne and found much to enjoy there, but then I like cities; I did not think it the most charming of the cities I visited in Switzerland. I found Montreux a bit more touristy than I would have liked, although the convenience to places like the Chateau Chillon and Rochers de Naye was a decided advantage. JMO.

Hi again,

Yes, it's reasonable to hit the Montreux-Vevey-Lausanne area without reservations in late May. What you can do is go to the Tourist Information booth in town, and they'll find you a room. That service is free to you. If any of the hotels are having a deal, they'll snag it for you. I used this service once in the summertime, and they found me a room -- though up in the old town.

In Montreux, the TI booth is on the lakefront a few steps from the pier. In Vevey, I think it's at the train station.

Have fun!

s

I am not sure you are going to be able to negotiate, or bargain if that's what you really mean, a price directly but you could try. I think your best bet would be to look at the various engines such as booking.com or venere.com which properties use to move what they feel might be unsold inventory.

Hi Tidy

Hubby and I stayed in Lausanne last year for 5 nights as a base in Switzerland and thought it a good location. It's definitely bigger than Montreux. We stayed at the Ibis Lausanne for $185AUD a night (inc brekky) which we thought a bargain for Switzerland. It's pretty basic, but clean and functional. It also inc a free travel card for within the city (the hotel was approx a 10min tram ride to the water and only a 5 min walk to the centre with shops and restaurants).

We visited Monterux one day and it was gorgeous, as was Chillon. We sat at a cafe on the Lake one day after visiting Chillon and it was breathtaking.

If you get the chance visit the Lauvaux wine region and take the train around the vineyards.

We found Lausanne central for our day trips to Geneva, Gruyere/Broc and even Lucerne one day.

I don't think you can go wrong with either location. Happy planning.