Exploring Vevey from the Modern Times Hotel
The other weekend we explored the beautiful area of Vevey. It meant travelling over the “Röstigraben” into a very different part of Switzerland with a different landscape and of course a different language, French. As our base we stayed at the Modern Times Hotel, a hotel dedicated to the world of Charlie Chaplin and located just a couple of kilometres from the “Chaplin’s World by Grevin” museum.
Location
Initially you might be surprised about the hotel’s location as it is not in the city itself, but just off the motorway and a few minutes walk from the nearest train station, Château-d’Hauteville. However, it is surprisingly convenient for visiting all the prime sight seeing locations in the beautiful area of Vaud and is only 3 km from the shores of Lake Geneva.
Modern 4* Hotel
Opened in 2016 and named after one of Chaplin’s most successful films, the hotel is a sleek, modern 4 star hotel, with 138 rooms. The bedrooms are well designed with modern facilities including flat screen TVs, good quality free wifi, Nespresso coffee machines and good bathrooms.
We stayed in a standard room with a shower, but the deluxe rooms and suites also offer bathtubs too and the studios offer kitchinettes. The rooms are light and bright and tastefully furnished in clean neutral tones and the staff were helpful and friendly.
Chaplin Memorabilia
As you can imagine there are tributes to the actor and comedian throughout, beginning with the statue on the bench outside the hotel, but it’s all in a subtle rather than over the top way. The hotel is ideal for families as well as couples and individuals, and is also very popular with companies, boasting excellent conference facilities.
Outside there is a terrace with a beautiful garden, a pond and views over the fields with local sheep. A fitness room is located in the basement and there is a stylish bar and comfortable lounge area just in front of the restaurant.
When you leave the hotel and visit the town of Vevey itself, you see evidence of Charlie Chaplin on the walls of numerous buildings, like the one below.
Restaurant and Open Grill
The restaurant is equipped with an open grill, and their delicious steaks are the house speciality.
For dinner we sat at the stunning large wooden “table d’hôte” to enjoy ours after a wine tasting of local Neyroud wines from the nearby Lavaux valley on the terrace outside.
From starter to dessert the food was delicious and the dining room where you can also enjoy a copious buffet breakfast, is airy and light.
There are so many thing to do and to visit in Vevey that you may find you will need to come back for a second visit. We had an action packed weekend and stay tuned for posts on the places we visited in separate articles to follow.
Chaplin’s World
We visited the Chaplin’s World Museum and his actual residence where he lived for 25 years, which was totally fascinating and full of interesting souvenirs from the past with many original furnishings and fittings as well as lots of personal memorabilia.
For lunch we headed to the Saturday Market in Vevey and had a stroll along the prom taking in the famous “Fork” statue in front of the Alimentaion Museum.
Paddle Steamer Boat Ride on Lac Léman
A very pleasant boat ride from Vevey with a paddle steamer along Lac Léman takes you to the stunning Chateau de Chillon.
There is so much to explore inside the castle that you really need more than half a day to do it justice.
Chateau de Chillon
The spectacular Chateau de Chillon is apparently the most visited historic monument in Switzerland and a true gem. There is so much to explore within the castle walls and the views from above are amazing.
Fondue Dinner at the Restaurant Les Pléiades
We returned to the Hotel Modern Times to freshen up then rounded off the day by taking a short walk to the train station and a direct ride to the end station, Les Pléiades. We enjoyed a fondue dinner at the summit restaurant as the sun set over the lake, with stunning views of the Montreux Riviera.
NEST Museum
On Sunday we visited the NEST museum which is highly interactive and fascinating for young and old alike and after a wonderful brunch in the museum we headed back to Zurich late afternoon.
Places to Explore From the Hotel Modern Times
Some of the top excursions you can easily make from Hotel Modern Times are listed below – just click the link for more information.
- Chaplin’s World 1 km
- Alimentarium 1.8km
- NEST Museum of Nestlé
- Montreux Casino 8 km
- Train station Montreux 2 km
- Musée National Suisse de l’audiovisuel 9 km
- Chillon Castle 9 km
- Mont Pèlerin 5 km
- Les Pleiades Mountain 0 km
- Lac Léman – Lake Geneva 4 km
- Rochers de Naye Mountain 15 km
- The Lavaux Vineyards
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Modern Times and found it to be an excellent base for exploring the area. You may be interested to know that according to one of the major hotel booking sites, the hotel is the “most booked 4 star hotel in Vevey”.
Getting There
It operates a 24 hour front desk and the nearest airport is Geneva International Airport. Vevey is easily accessible by train, but if you do decide to go by car make sure you set off from Zurich before 3pm on Friday afternoon. We left it a bit late and got caught in the Zurich weekend exodus – so next time we’ll let the train take the strain!
Modern Times Hotel
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All photos by Christina Fryer
We were invited to stay at the Hotel Modern Times but all views are entirely our own.
For more information about events and things to do in Zurich and beyond please see our Home Page or our What’s On Page and for regular updates subscribe to the blog.
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