Jazzy Montreux Dear International Living Reader, "Brilliantly dark blue Leman, spotted white and black with sails and boats…it shone before our eyes almost on three sides. On the opposite shore the green Savoy mountains rose abrubtly, with little white houses at their base. Near the red vines in the dark green thicket of fruit trees was Montreux, its graceful church standing halfway down the slope." Approaching Montreux by boat, the scene can't have changed much since Leo Tolstoy described his visit to Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) and the Swiss Riviera in the 1850s. It's still heart-stoppingly gorgeous. Below needle-spired village churches, terrace after terrace of vines clings to the hillsides. First planted by 13th-century monks, the grapes are still harvested in the traditional way--by hand. Montreux itself is very reminiscent of Nice on the French Riviera--the main street beside the lake is studded with elegant hotels and fin de siecle townhouses. I'm told that for most of the year it's staid and fairly quiet--but that's not the case at the moment. The town is in the final throes of the annual summer Jazz Festival. The waterfront is jammed with festival goers, stalls selling printed teeshirts (though I don't know what Bob Marley has to with a jazz festival), ethnic jewelry, henna tattoos, CDs, and the usual paraphernalia you get at festivals throughout Europe. Can't hear any jazz, but maybe the musicians are still all in their beds--some sessions go on until dawn. Steenie Harvey
Roving Euro-editor, International Living P.S. According to Christiane of CGS Immobiliere, foreigners without Swiss residence permits can buy property in Montreux (and neighboring Vevey). Either one apartment or a chalet of up to 2,200 square feet. But don't expect to pick up anything for a song--jazz or otherwise. Montreux has such tremendous cachet, that an 1,100-square-foot apartment with views of the lake and Alps will set you back around 490,000 Swiss francs ($350,000). In the suburb of Terrinet-Montreux, a 560-square-foot apartment is on the market for $198,000. | 
