Montreux

The city of Montreux is at the other end of Lake Geneva. Montreux is a resort town, with a nice lakefront and a casino, the one best sight lies just to the south.

Chillon Castle is built on a small island not much more than a large rock) on the edge of Lake Geneva. This is one of Europe's best and most interesting castles. Although it doesn't have prominent high towers and turrets that you might think of when you think of a castle, it has all sorts of interesting things to see on the inside - grand rooms with old furnishings, dungeons and prisons, defensive walls with loopholes for defense by bow, and the obligatory keep (highly defended central tower) and central courtyards. It began in the middle ages, with several enlargements and revisions over the centuries.

This is the Grand Hall in the castle, the columns you see are 13th century oak, the fireplace is 15th century (note the white cross above the fireplace, the same white cross that's part of Switzerland's flag today).

This picture shows Bonivard's Prison in the lower part of the castle, named for Bonivard who was held prisoner here, chained to the 5th pillar for 4 years. The poet Byron carved his name on the 3rd pillar. Also down here are a crypt, former arms storehouses, secret passages, a chapel, and evidence of modifications (doorways that have been closed off, etc.) and remnants of earlier structures that were either changed or destroyed in an earthquake in 1584.