Montreux

To get from Interlaken to Montreux, we took the fantastic Golden Pass Express. In another example of superb Swiss engineering, the route consists of 60 km on metric gauge track and 53 km on standard gauge track but you don’t have to change trains. The train has two sets of bogies and it switches between the two automatically! This was a beautiful trip through lush landscapes.

Freddie Mercury lived here for his final years and Queen recorded albums at the local Mountain Studios which they had purchased. The nearby Château de Chillon is also local landmark. Portions of it date back to the 11th century. Its strategic location guards the passage which allows access north towards Germany and France, and south through the Rhone Valley to Italy.