Vevey is a small town located on the shores of the beautiful Lake Geneva in Switzerland, very close to the city of Montreux. It’s otherwise and more famously known as the “ Pearls of the Swiss Riviera” because of its breathtaking vista of the Swiss Alpine Mountains and also because of its mild climate.
Vevey is famous for its fitness policies which include making bicycles available for pedestrians and tourists. A good portion of the town is filled with pedestrian and bicycle pathways and a lot of activities related to fitness can be observed in these streets.
Vevey houses several tourists every year and conducts some activities for them varying from leisure to culture. The landscapes of Vevey offer picturesque views starting from the vineyards at the top running to Lake Geneva.
1. Chaplin’s World by Grevin
This museum and statue were constructed in April 2016 in memory of one of the greatest showmen, Charlie Chaplin, at the former Chaplin Home, The Manoir de Ban in Vevey, Switzerland.
The structure is located at the heart of a ten-acre serene landscape and provides a beautiful sight of the Alpines and Lake Geneva. Every room has memoirs of Chaplin’s life and speaks about their family and lifestyle for itself. There are sets established within the house of movies such as “City Lights” and “ Modern Times” where tourists are allowed to venture.
2. Swiss Camera Museum
This museum established and opened in 1979 displays a wide range of cameras through the decades; from camera obscures to magic lanterns to digital cameras. They display a lot of photographs from the time the first camera was invented to photos taken from the latest cameras; each photograph telling different stories through the decades.
Some photos tell stories about inventors who left their legacies behind in the field of photography. This museum collects a lot of donations due to it attracting a huge amount of tourists every year and hence is maintained very well. Other than the permanent exhibition, a lot of other temporary exhibitions take place in this museum.
3. Alimentarium Food Museum
This museum is located on the shores of Lake Geneva and explores all the aspects there ever is in the field of human food. They cover all aspects of the kinds of food, from its history to nutrition and culture.
This museum attracts tourists of all age groups and holds exhibitions from time to time. It aims at being an educational and interactive journey from the entrance of the museum until the exit and makes the visitors experience the flavors of life with a lot of emotions. Three new areas to the exhibition were recently added involving food and its production methods, culture and beliefs around food, and a very educational aspect on the human digestive system.
4. La Fourchette – The Big Fork
This giant fork has been embedded into the lake bed of Lake Geneva since 2007. It weighs around 929 pounds and is about 26 feet high, which is at the scale of King Kong. It was declared as the world’s tallest fork made out of stainless steel and has thus become a town symbol. This installation was created by Jean Pierre Zauge in 1995 in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Alimentarium, the food museum, and became the major attraction for tourists in the town.
5. Vevey Promenade
A promenade designed specifically for relaxation at the shore of Lake Geneva, providing a picturesque view of the lake and the Alpines. It’s lined by trees and a large number of people can be seen taking evening strolls around the promenade. Some of the town’s museums are lined up along the promenade with very tiny parks in the middle. A bronze Charlie Chaplin statue stands tall along with The Big Fork embedded on the lake.
6. Musee Jenisch Vevey
This small museum houses prints and art from ancient Swiss and International artists from the 16th to the 21st century. The works of the famous Viennese artist Oskar Kokoschka can be found in this museum. This museum is also an example of beautiful neoclassical architecture and artists such as Picasso, Durer, Hodler, and many more have their artwork exhibited here.
7. Funicular Vevey – Mont – Pelerin
This funicular takes the visitors through the vineyards of the town climbing to a height of 810m. On top of this is the picturesque village of Mont Pelerin which overlooks the Vevey Promenade, Lake Geneva, and The Alps. It also has a 65m tall watchtower about 45 minutes away from the village which gives better vistas of the town below.
8. Boat Tour
A boat tour is one of the best ways to explore the town of Vevey, with the Alpines in the enveloping Lake Geneva and the vineyards in the background.
9. Villa Le Lac
This lakehouse was the first project designed by the well known Swiss architect, Le Corbusier on the shores of Lake Geneva for his parents. It was declared as a World Heritage Site in the year 2016 and was among the first one out of 17 structures of his included by UNESCO.
10. Swiss Museum of Games
This museum is dedicated solely to the preservation and research of vintage games. It is located on the shore of Lake Geneva along with other museums. One of the oldest and most unique in Europe, it has a collection of 10,000 different games.
11. Ascenseur Plein Ciel
The watchtower 65m high at the top of the village Mont Pelerin is the Ascenseur Plein Ciel overlooking the Alpines. Lake Geneva and the Jura in Vevey.
12. Musee Blonay – Chamby
Another museum is located at a distance of 6km from the town, where one can see a wide range of vintage steam-engine trains making it fun for all age groups. This museum also offers rides at certain times on any of the trains.
