Here's Why You Need To Visit The Montreux Jazz Festival In Switzerland

Montreux Jazz is the best festival of its kind in Switzerland, if not the world. Held every summer in the beautiful town of Montreux, which sits on the edge of Lake Geneva, the Montreux Jazz Festival spans two weeks and brings the best of the world’s music to one place. Here’s why you should give it a visit.

The venue

Montreux lives and breathes music. Some of the world’s greats have patronized the town; Freddie Mercury and Queen wrote and recorded the bulk of their albums here and Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke on the Water’ was inspired by fire tearing through a Frank Zappa concert here. You’ll see statues of some of the greats scattered throughout the streets. The town’s setting is also perfect, sandwiched between Lake Geneva and the surrounding Alps. If you want to escape the festival for a few days, you’ll find there’s plenty to do in Montreux.

Queen, and many other big names, recorded some of their best music in Montreux

Its pedigree

Its eclectic mix

Sure, there’s a whole lot of jazz going on. But each year’s line-up features a mix of rap, blues, reggae, rock and well, you get the point. There’s a little bit of everything for every taste and style. So, even if you’re not a jazz and blues aficionado, you’re almost guaranteed to find something you like. And if you don’t, you can always go for a dip in the lake.

Come for the jazz, stay for everything else

It’s open to all

There are three paid venues at the festival: the Auditorium Stravinski, Montreux Jazz Club and the Montreux Jazz Lab. But since its founding in 1967, there have been plenty of free shows, allowing young talents to showcase their skills to a new audience. Free venues are scattered throughout the town each year so you can save a few bucks and hear something new all at once.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.