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Music plays a huge part in our lives and our travels. Whenever we enter a country, some song or artist alwayssprings to mind about the location we’re visit ing. When it came to Montreux, we knew that Montreux had one of themost beautif ul waterf ront walks in Europe along Lake Geneva.We knew that Montreux was an excellent location tobase ourselves to explore the terraced vineyards of Lavaux or to hop over to Medieval town of Gruyere. What wedidn’t know that it had such a colourf ul history in music.

Montreux and its Musical LegacyYou are here: Home » Europe » Switzerland » Montreux and its Musical Legacy

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Lake Geneva from the Montreux Promenade

Montreux and Music

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The Montreux Riviera Viewed from Lavaux Wine Terraces

Montreux has a long musical history and today it hosts the Montreux World Music Festival. The second largestannual f estival in the world second only to the Montreal Jazz Festival. (who knew?) Artists such as Miles Davis,Santana, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan have perf ormed at the f estival, but what we’re here to talk about isRock and Roll!

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Graffiti at the Bandstand on the Promenade

Smoke on the WaterIt was the f irst song I ever learned on the guitar. One Christmas I was given an acoustic guitar as a gif t and Iremember my brother Jim putting it on his lap. He played f our notes. A f our note blues scale that goes down in thehistory of music as one of the most memorable guitar rif f of all t ime.

Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” tells of the events of the Montreux Casino burning down in 1971. It was duringa Frank Zappa concert when a f an shot a f lare gun at the stage. Deep purple was recording an album at a mobilestudio attached to the Casino which just happened to be owned by the Rolling Stones. As Deep Purple watched theblaze f rom their hotel room, they noticed smoke spreading out over the waters of Lake Geneva. And the rest is

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history.

The New Montreux Casino

Freddie Mercury, Musical Legacy Years ago, I remember watching a biography on Freddie Mercury where it said that he spent much of his f inal daysin Switzerland. Litt le did I know it was Montreux. I can understand why Mercury chose this location, it is magical. Itwas in 1978 when Queen bought the legendary Mountain Studios and recorded such iconic songs as UnderPressure with David Bowie and the Show Must go On f rom Innuendo; The last album released while Freddie wasalive. Their f inal album Made in Heaven, f eaturing Mercury was also recorded and mixed in 1993, two years af ter hisuntimely death.

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Freddie Mercury strikes a pose in Montreux over Lake Geneva

There is an iconic statue on the promenade paying homage to Mercury as he strikes a pose over Lake Geneva. It isthis vision that comes to mind whenever we picture him singing. A true perf ormer and f ront man, nobody couldcompare to his presence and power on stage and to this day, I can’t think of anyone who comes close.

The Plaque on the statue states “He appreciated the kindness and the discretion of the townspeople and Montreauxbecame a haven for him. His second home and setting for his final work”

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Zanzibar’s Music Connection

A stop at Freddie Mercury's Restaurant in Zanzibar, Tanzania

Our Freddie pilgrimage had started bef ore our trip to Montreaux. In 2008 af ter our climb to the summit of MountKilimanjaro, we f lew to Zanzibar to relax on it ’s sandy white beaches while being captivated by it ’s turquois waters.Freddie Mercury was born on the island and we made a point to visit a f ew of his old haunts listed in our guidebook. The most notable stop was the Freddie Mercury bar. Af ter three months in Af rica, there was nothing betterthan walking into a waterf ront bar, sipping a cold beer and listening to one of our f avourite rock bands of all t ime.

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Back to Montreux

Our Hotel, Grand Hotel Suisse Majestic

Montreux is beautif ul. Staying at the Grand Hotel Suisse Majestic was like staying in a palace and the f ondue atCaveau des Vignerons was the best we’ve ever had, but when we look back we’ll always think about the importantrole that Montreux has played in Music history and continues to do so. The Montreux Music Festival is heldannually in Early July.

We were in Switzerland representing Expedia.com at the Adventure Travel World Summit andshowing you everything Switzerland. When visit ing Montreux make a stop at the ChillonCastle, Take a walk along the promenade, catch a train or drive out to the wine terraces a

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Twe e tTwe e t Submit 6 Responses to Montreux and its Musical Legacy

Great post! I loved hearing about the history of Montreux and music. I was familiar with the Montreux JazzFestival and Smoke on the Water, but I had forgotten about Freddie living there. I just love him. Wonderfulto read the quote on the plaque “He appreciated the kindness and the discretion of the townspeople…”that’s great. thanks for sharing such great stories on Montreux!

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yes, Montreux and the entire region is very rich in all sorts of music festivals along the year. There is thePaleo Festival near Nyon, there is the Cully Jazz Festival near Lausanne usually in Spring if I rememberwell. But Montreux indeed is the diamond of the crown!

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I need to make a visit to the Montreux music festival sometime soon. The opening two lines of this postare so true. Having traveled across five continents, I have attached a plethora of songs to destinations andam always happy to hear them – no matter how good or bad – as they evoke so many memories.

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Lisa@iLiveWhereIamOctober 18, 2012 at 1:11 pm Reply

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