Montreux Christmas Markets

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Grand-Rue 24 Case postale 1401, Montreux, Switzerland CH-1820

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The view of the market from the big wheel Photo - Montreux Christmas Markets, Montreux, Switzerland

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Festive fun

by jipp05

CA1 1LA, England, United Kingdom

January 21, 2013

Best of IgoUgo When staying in Geneva just before Christmas we decided to have a day trip to Montreux to visit the Christmas market as the one in Geneva was absolutely pitiful and consisted of about 5 different stalls. It really was pathetic and not Chritsmassy in ...Read more When staying in Geneva just before Christmas we decided to have a day trip to Montreux to visit the Christmas market as the one in Geneva was absolutely pitiful and consisted of about 5 different stalls. It really was pathetic and not Chritsmassy in the slightest. I had read on the internet that the one in Montreux was much larger and was becoming larger and better every year so I thought that it was worth the visit.

We got the train from Geneva which cost about £22 each and took just over an hour each way. The trains were comfortable and regular so I personally didn’t mind the travel time between the two cities.

We arrived in Montreux in the early afternoon and as soon as we came out of the train station and walked down the steps to the lake front we could see the Christmas market and what we could see was impressive as it looked like it was extensive and the location on the lake shores of Lake Geneva was stunning. As we had the whole day in Montreux we decided to visit the Chateau de Chillion first and save the Christmas Market until it was dark when all the lights would be on and it would be looking much more festive.

We arrived back at the Christmas Market at around about 5:30 and by this time the market was in full swing and was really busy. There was loads of stalls and I would estimate somewhere in the region of about 150 to 200. They were all wooden and definitely looked the part. The only thing missing was some snow to make the whole scene more festive.

Unfortunately most of the items on offer at the stalls wasn’t particularly festive. A lot of the stalls were selling hand crafted items but there was also a lot of them selling mass produced junk. The majority of the stalls however we’re food and drink stalls. I wasn’t overly bothered by the fact that most of the items for sale were a bit rubbish as I hadn’t really come to buy handmade decorations etc. and was really just there to soak up the festive atmosphere and spend some time eating some local food and drinking mulled wine at the stalls.

We spent a good 3 or 4 hours wandering the market stopping at different stalls along the way to pick up some mulled wine or cider to warm us up or having something to eat and sitting by the lake listening to the water lap. The market really is in a stunning location and although being by the lake means there is less chance of snow it still managed to evoke a festive feeling which of course had a lot to do with the Christmas lights that were everywhere along the market.

The lights were pretty but nowhere near as good as some of the other markets I have visited such as the one in Copenhagen but this market is younger and I imagine that it will continue to improve every year. Although a lot of the items on sale were absolutely rubbish there were a good few stalls that had some beautiful items for sale but of course this being Switzerland don’t expect any bargains as everything was expensive and anything worth buying doubly so.

There was loads of bar areas but there was a really nice one that was housed in a large wooden hut and had an open fire in the middle of it which was a welcome relief from the cold outside. This hut also had an amazing atmosphere with everyone inside in really good spirits. There were also huts where you could sit down and eat instead of just having food to walk with. One of these was a fondue hut and this looked really cosy and also had an open fire though we didn’t actually sample the fondue here.

One thing that I did notice was that there seemed to be quite a lot of English and American people here as we could hear them talking while we were walking about. I knew the market was becoming more popular every year but I had thought it might have been a little bit too out of the way to have attracted a lot of foreigners. With the amount of English and Americans at the market I would have assumed that more people would have been able to speak English but unlike in Geneva where nearly everyone we encountered spoke perfect English at the Montreux Christmas Markets the people on the stalls were less proficient with English. This wasn’t a major problem as we could make ourselves understood but it was a bit of a shock after having been in Geneva.

I am not sure that I would visit the Montreux Christmas Markets again though I did enjoy my visit and would recommend that you go if you are in the area. The reason that I don’t think I would visit again is that there are so many better Christmas Markets to visit and with this one being so out of the way you need to really make a special point of visiting it and I don’t think that I personally would be willing to do that again. It was lovely and I enjoyed my visit but next year I think I shall be visiting one in Germany again where they really just seem to get it right every time.
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Festive fun