Lake Lure: A Local’s Guide to Life on Switzerland’s Lakes 

Switzerland often conjures up images of mountain ranges, excellent chocolate, and lush slopes surrounding the country’s many, many lakes – around 1,500 of them, in fact.  

In the summer months, travelers flock to the lakes to enjoy their crystal-clear glacial waters and stunning views, but how would a local suggest getting the most out of Switzerland’s lakes? We spent some time with Carl, an Insight Vacations Travel Director and this week’s Insightful destination expert, to find out. As someone who has worked throughout the Alps for 35 years (he’s even met Roger Federer), he inspired this week’s Insightful travel trivia questions – keep an eye out for clues to this week’s quiz questions. 

Lake Lure 

Switzerland’s lakes have long been a life source. Evidence has been found of life on Swiss lake shores as far back as 4000 BCE, with lake-dwellers constructing wooden stilt houses on posts during the Stone and Bronze Ages.  

But lake lore goes back even further than that. Swiss legend has it that the Celtic giant, Gargantua, needed to quench his thirst on his way to Italy. As the Rhône was too narrow to drink from, he began to dig with his hands. The mound of earth left on the bank of the river formed Mount Salève, and the hole he dug became Lake Geneva. 

According to another legend, after three angels had passed through Geneva, bestowing its beauty upon it, each angel shed a tear which became three lakes: Lake Geneva, Lake Bourget and Lake Annecy. These ancient tales highlight a close affinity that Swiss people feel to their stunning surroundings, though nowadays the lakes draw a different kind of legend – celebrities. 

Switzerland’s lakes haven’t just charmed locals over the years, but many famous faces too. “If you go down to the Bay Area of Lake Geneva, people from Ernest Hemingway to Phil Collins, Audrey Hepburn and Charlie Chaplin have lived there,” says Carl. He calls it the international part of Switzerland. “On our tours, we go to Charlie Chaplin’s house, a beautiful manor overlooking the lake.”  

Freddie Mercury also lived in lakeside apartments in the shoreline town in Montreux in the late 1980s until a few weeks before his death in 1991. Allegedly he told his friend, the opera singer Montserrat Caballé: “If you want peace of mind, come to Montreux.”

Fan favorites and hidden gems 

“Lake Lucerne is certainly the most famous because it’s the starting point of Switzerland,” says Carl. That might seem contradictory, seeing as Lucerne is in the heart of the country, but he clarifies: “The four states that founded Switzerland were on four different bays of Lake Lucerne.” 

Less ancient legend and more political history, this goes back to the formation of the Federal Charter in August 1291, Switzerland’s oldest constitutional document. In this ancient pact, the valley communities of Central Switzerland, Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden formed an alliance to better defend themselves against any foreign attacks. “The shape of the four original bays across the lake is like the cross that you find in the Swiss flag,” says Carl, though he adds: “That’s a little bit of fantasy!” 

Lake Geneva is the largest, while Lake Lugano is known for its celebrity sightings (George Clooney on his Harley-Davidson is just one).  But there’s one thing all Swiss lakes are known for: their crystal-clear purity. “We [the Swiss] regard ourselves as being the water fountain of Europe,” says Carl. “Whatever we put into the water comes out down below.” 

All the lakes in Switzerland have drinking water quality – not a single drop of untreated gray or black water goes back into the system. “There is this wonderful town on the French side of Lake Geneva called Evian. That usually rings a bell for the same kind of mineral water!”   

But forgetting the big hitters, where would an expert like Carl recommend to get off the beaten track? “Lake Constance, shared by Austria, Switzerland and Germany, has wonderful wineries, great lake shores, wonderful fresh water, and an island with a botanical garden. So that’s a real hidden gem.”  

Internationally renowned 

“I think it’s very interesting that Swiss lakes have internationally renowned villages and cities on the lake shore,” says Carl. The relationship between lakes and the Swiss people began with the lakes providing cheap and easy transportation, but now it’s less about trade and more about culture, he explains. “Nowadays, a city like Lucerne has a wonderful modern concert and convention hall on the lakeside.”

It’s here that Lucerne hosts its big city festival in the summer, where Carl even personally ran into Sir Simon Rattle (former music director of the London Symphony Orchestra) feeding the swans on the lake.  

Lake Zurich is a prime example of how “people live with the lake,” Carl explains. The lake is right in the middle of town, which is what makes the real difference. “The same applies for Lugano, Locarno, Lake Maggiore – all these cities are right on the lake, and regional centers on their own.” Many cultural events and festivals are held on the banks of the lake and make use of the lake front with open-air events and concert halls, he says. Just last year, Bob Dylan performed at the renowned Montreux Jazz Festival, the second-largest annual jazz festival in the world (though Carl didn’t quite manage to bag a ticket – they sold out in 30 seconds).

While much of the land on Swiss lake shores is privately owned, Carl explains that there are many wonderful public swimming pools too. In the center of Zurich during the summer, a pool is constructed and fenced off with fresh water from the lake. There are both free and ticketed options to swim in the lake, but if they do pay “people swim and have coffee and dinners in their entrance fee,” Carl explains.  

But how do locals use Switzerland’s lakes outside of the warm summer months? In style, that’s for sure. “The Lake of St. Moritz freezes over in winter, with a polo tournament on the frozen lake and a Veuve Clicquot champagne bar in the middle on the ice.” But most of the large lakes don’t freeze over completely, so you can still take scenic, frosty boat rides out and enjoy a different kind of view out of season. 

“There are year-round activities on the lakes,” says Carl. “During the summer people are swimming, sailing and boating, and during fall and spring there are more cultural activities.” These festivals go well into October and November, making use of the temperate Swiss weather reaching highs of 21°C (70°F) in September. 

Switzerland’s Lakes on Insight Vacations 

The magic and beauty of Switzerland is all the more special in person. Don’t let the photos do the talking – come and see these magical lakesides for yourself on an Insight Vacations tour.

On our Glorious Switzerland guided tour, you’ll visit the charming town of Montreux, while visiting Chillon Castle on the western bay of Lake Geneva, immortalized by Lord Byron’s ‘Prisoner of Chillon’. Or take one of our Optional Experiences, a private boat over to Isola Bella, the most famous island on Lake Maggiore complete with a guided tour of the privately-owned palace with a Local Expert. And who could forget an exceptional dinner at Restaurant Seeblick, overlooking views of Lake Lucerne? All this – and more – awaits on an Insight Vacations trip to Switzerland, with incredible Travel Directors like Carl to show you all the sights and insights.

To see the charm of Switzerland’s lakes in ‘Business Class’ style, discover our premium tours to Switzerland, and test your lakeside knowledge in this week’s Insightful Travel Trivia.