Town of Montreux

A brief history of the development of tourism in the Montreux region

It was during the 19th century that the Montreux region came to be blessed with a wonderful future. Whereas once it was just comprised of a number of small wine-growing villages, in a few decades it became a tourist destination of great renown. The first "travellers" followed in the footsteps of Rousseau and Byron, finding accommodation only with local people or in small boarding houses.

The diversity of the lake and mountain sites offered "travellers" many opportunities for relaxation. Tourist brochures quickly began to sing the praises of the mild climate and its therapeutic health benefits. Even doctors began to prescribe trips to the region on "medical" grounds. Consequently, an increasing number of people flocked to Montreux keen to try a grape or whey cure, a pure air bath or thermal treatment.

From the middle of the 19th century, the face of Montreux changed. Some key figures in the local area, having understood the region's "natural" potential, decided to benefit from it by offering this influx of visitors somewhere to stay and the services to meet their needs. Due to this, in 1842 a boat carrying tourists docked at Rouvenaz for the first time, then the railway line reached Montreux in 1861 and this was followed by an entire series of technological and innovative achievements such as the tramway and the funicular. The tone was thus set and hotels were built at a frenetic rate. Driven by rivalry, they were increasingly attractive and luxurious and offered ever more modern and specialised technologies. The hotel owners constantly reinvested their profits to offer tourists greater comfort.

Between then and the First World War Montreux was transformed from a rural area into a major tourist hub where the "smart set" liked to lounge. French, Russian and English tourists and the bourgeoisie from around the world have contributed to the economic development and history of Montreux.

All the historical information, texts and images come from the Montreux Archives and the Swiss Hotel Archives.