Montreux

Montreux occupies the most sheltered curve of Lake Geneva, a Riviera in the shadow of the Alps where palm trees grow at the foot of snowfields. The town gave refuge to Nabokov, who lived out his years at the Montreux Palace, and to Freddie Mercury, whose statue still faces the water. Each July, the Montreux Jazz Festival transforms the quais into the most elegant stage in music — Miles Davis, Aretha, Prince all played here. Above the town climb the Lavaux vineyards, terraced by monks a thousand years ago, now protected by UNESCO. The elite come for the festival, the mildness, and a beauty that asks for nothing in return.

From Geneva, the hour-long drive is among the loveliest in Europe. Your chauffeur takes the A1 to Lausanne, then the A9 as it rises above the Lavaux terraces — vineyards stepping down to the water in green and gold, the Savoy Alps across the lake, Chillon appearing ahead like a promise. The Rolls-Royce Phantom suits this coastline: festival evenings reward a certain presence. During Jazz Festival weeks he has secured the approaches in advance, timing your arrival between sets, the artists' entrance confirmed where access permits. A stop among the vines at Saint-Saphorin can be arranged for the return. The lake does the rest of the work.

The Fairmont Le Montreux Palace has anchored the quais since 1906 — ask for a lake-facing suite and the Belle Époque does the rest. Walk to the Château de Chillon early, before the crowds, when the castle stands alone on its rock in the morning light. In Lavaux, a private tasting of Chasselas among the terraces; in town, a table at the festival's quieter venues once the headline set empties. Vineyard, stage, water: the rhythm establishes itself within a day. Your chauffeur learns it faster than you do. When you leave, Montreux remains exactly where it was — which is precisely its gift.