Mercury in Montreux

Today in Globetrotting Grandpa we have a guest post from my friend David. David visited Montreux, Switzerland that was the home away from home for the band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury.  The group loved Montreux, Switzerland and recorded seven albums there. The band’s studio is now a museum honoring Queen, and the city has a magnificent statue of Mercury down by the shores of Lake Geneva.  

The Mountain Studios in Montreux were a favorite recording studio for the band. The recorded seven albums there between 1979 and 1996 including their last album “Made in Heaven.” The recording studio is now a museum called “Queen: The Experience” Much effort has been made in keeping the studio the same as the band would have used and there is also memorabilia from the group including costumes, gold records, and some hand-written lyrics.

There is a tribute wall where fans from all over the world leave messages for the band. Some are in English, but there are also Italian, German, and Spanish messages as well.

Here’s the kicker: the museum is free! I’ve been to Graceland, Liverpool, Paisley Park in Minneapolis and the Abba Museum all of which charged a pretty high fee to see their respective exhibits so this is very nice. A donation is requested but well worth giving something especially if you are a Queen fan. The exhibit is located inside a casino and you will need your passport to get in there, but you would most likely be carrying that anyway. The casino and museum are on the promenade not far from Mercury’s statue. If you are a pop culture movie fan, about three or four miles from Montreux is Vevay which was the home of Charlie Chaplin and has a statue of the tramp and a nice exhibit there too. Thanks for reading cheers, David.