Montreux's market runs along the lakefront promenade under the palms with the Savoy Alps opposite — around 150 chalets, mulled wine, and a Father Christmas who crosses above the market on a wire with a sleigh several times a day.
Two attachments distinguish it from any other Swiss market. A cog railway climbs to Rochers-de-Naye at 2,000 metres where Father Christmas keeps a cave; and a funicular runs up to Caux, where a medieval Christmas village is staged with period crafts.
No attendance figure is collected in this pass.
It runs from late November to 24 December. Montreux is on the main Simplon line, and the Riviera vaudoise is far quieter in December than in July, which makes this one of the easier Swiss Christmas markets to visit.
PlanningA month-long window to Christmas Eve; a cable car runs to a medieval village above the lake.