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Interesting Facts
- The famous Montreux Jazz Festival has more to do with popular music in general than it does with jazz. You can still catch greats like Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau, Cassandra Wilson, Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, but they're joined by artists from a wide spectrum of additional genres.
- Montreux and Vevey combined only have 22,000 inhabitants, although the number rises to 81,000 if you include the surrounding areas.
- Lake Geneva is actually called by its Roman name, Lac Léman. But it's also known by Lacus Lemanus, Lac de Lausanne, Lac de Genève, Lac d'Ouchy and Genfersee. It covers 582 square kilometers (224 square miles) and reaches 372 meters deep (1220 feet).
- The Buffet de la Gare, on the train station's platform, is where Hemingway set part of his "Homage to Switzerland."
- Montreux is where Henri Nestlé, famous for his chocolate, created the first milk formula for infants.
- Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Tchaikovsky`s Concert for Violin were both composed in Montreux.
- Deep Purple's iconic 1972 song "Smoke on the Water" was written when the band witnessed Montreux's casino burning down. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention lost all their equipment in the fire; they're mentioned in the lyrics.
- Mary Shelley, who wrote "Frankenstein" in nearby Geneva, took an extended boat tour of the lake and almost drowned off St Gingolph. Lord Byron wrote "The Prisoner of Chillon" after visiting the castle with Shelley.
- Hans Christian Andersen wrote "The Ice Maiden" in Montreux; Noel Coward, Audrey Hepburn, Graham Greene, Charlie Chaplin and Vladimir Nabokov all lived in or near Montreux.
- The larger-than-life statue of Freddie Mercury that watches over the lake is in honor of the time the Queen lead singer spent in the town during his final years.
