Geneva & the West - Discover Switzerland: Experience the Best of Switzerland - page 168

SWISS RIVIERA
Stretching east to Villeneuve, the Swiss Riviera rivals its French counterpart as a magnet
for the rich and famous. Magnificent belle époque paddle steamers cruise the lake as they
did in 1910, treating passengers to a banquet of gourmet views and paparazzi glimpses of
otherwise-hidden lakeside properties, while panoramic trains saunter from the shore to
Swiss-perfect mountain scenes. All this barely an hour's drive from Alpine ski spots, in a
climate so mild that palm trees and other subtropical flora flourish.

Vevey
POP 18,600
Lakeside Vevey exudes a certain understated swankiness with its tiny but perfect Old
Town, lakeside central square and promenades, stylish dining, unusual museums and treas-
ure trove of little boutiques made for post-lunch browsing. Don't miss Charlie Chaplin, sig-
nature 'little tramp' cane in hand, posing on the waterfront.

Sights

ALIMENTARIUM
( 021 924 41 11; www.alimentarium.ch ; Quai Perdonnet; adult/child Sfr12/free, audioguide Sfr6;
10am-5pm Tue-Fri, to 6pm Sat & Sun) Nestlé's headquarters have been in Vevey since 1814,
hence its presence in the form of this museum dedicated to nutrition and all things edible,
past and present. Boring it is not. Its displays are clearly meant to entertain as well as in-
form, starting with the gigantic silver fork that sticks out of the water in front of the
lakeside mansion (great picnic spot thanks to the handful of wooden chairs screwed into the
rocks here on the lakeshore). End with a healthy lunch in the museum restaurant (lunch
Sfr18;

| Museum

noon-1.30pm Tue-Sun mid-Jul-mid-Sep) .

Eating & Drinking

LE LITTÉRAIRE $
( www.cafe-litteraire.ch ; Quai Perdonnet 33; 9am-9pm; ) Take the local town library, add a
trendy cafe with ceiling-to-floor windows facing the lake and an idyllic summertime ter-

| Cafe