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Duck House

Duck House
© Interhome
Type
Private residence
Address
Bord du lac, Clarens

Not open to visitors, but available to rent

Freddie Mercury rented this lakeside house in Clarens during his stays in Montreux. Queen nicknamed it the “Duck House” because of the wooden ducks the owner had scattered throughout the house. Freddie stayed here on several occasions, in the years when Queen were recording at the Casino. The house appears on the cover of “Made in Heaven”. It is today a private property: it cannot be visited, but it can be rented. The “Rencontres & Inspiration” trail records one detail of those stays: the band members regularly went water-skiing on Lake Geneva, from this shore.

The Duck House, Freddie Mercury's house of ducks

A 1970s villa, a musicians' retreat

Built in the 1970s, the villa is closely linked to the history of the recording studios of the Vaud Riviera: several musicians found refuge and inspiration here, among them Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Boy George and Freddie Mercury.

The house has five rooms and a garden of eighteen hundred square metres. Its boathouse is known the world over: it is the one seen on the cover of Queen's last album, “Made in Heaven”. Much of the furniture is original and dates from the 1970s, that is from the band's first stays.

  • Queen at the Duck House, the lakeside villa in Clarens (1979).
  • Queen leaning on the little boathouse of the Duck House, in Clarens (1979): the one seen on the cover of “Made in Heaven”.
  • Freddie Mercury, arms raised, on the little lakeside boathouse of the Duck House, the Clarens villa he rented.
  • Freddie Mercury in a leather cap, in front of the Duck House, in 1979.
  • Freddie Mercury with the swans, in front of the Duck House, in 1979.
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Queen at the Duck House, the lakeside villa in Clarens (1979).

The house today: a holiday rental

The Duck House cannot be visited, but it can be rented: the house is offered as a holiday let by the agency Interhome. The photos below, supplied by Interhome, show the wood-panelled interior and the grounds, with the chalet on stilts at the water's edge.

“The house has contributed a lot to the history of music, ‘It's a kind of magic!’ We are delighted to be able to offer this gem to our guests from all over the world,” says Roger Müller, Country Manager of Interhome Switzerland, who wants the house to remain “a place of rest and joy of life, as in the past”.

  • The property seen from the lake: the chalet on stilts, the 1960s concrete wing and the boathouse.
  • The wooden chalet on stilts, right at the water's edge, with its terrace facing Lake Geneva.
  • The boathouse and its dinghy, at the foot of the concrete wing: this is the one seen on the cover of “Made in Heaven”.
  • The modernist concrete wing, opening onto the wooded grounds.
  • From the property, the view opens onto the lake and the Dents-du-Midi.
  • The wood-panelled living room, with its carousel horse.
  • The large wood-panelled living room and its fireplace, extending into the dining room.
  • The fireside corner, with more ducks set on the chest of drawers.
  • The decorative ducks that earned the house its nickname, the “Duck House”.
  • The dining room and its large round table.
  • The table laid in front of the picture window, opening onto the garden, the chalet and the mountains.
  • The kitchen, with its original 1970s wood and tiles.
  • A bedroom opening onto the lake.
  • A hat stand in the entrance: the house has kept its objects from the past.
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The property seen from the lake: the chalet on stilts, the 1960s concrete wing and the boathouse.© Interhome

The boathouse on the album cover

The villa has five rooms and an 1800-square-metre garden at the water’s edge. Its boathouse is known worldwide: it appears on the cover of Queen’s last album.

Much of the furniture is still the original 1970s pieces — the very ones the band knew during their first stays. The house can now be rented through Interhome.

Freddie Mercury enjoyed his time there, but he eventually wanted something more permanent than a rented house: that is when he bought his flat at Les Tourelles. Other musicians have stayed there too, among them Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Boy George.

  • The Duck House boathouse appears on the cover of “Made in Heaven” (1995).
The Duck House boathouse appears on the cover of “Made in Heaven” (1995).© Queen Productions Ltd.

Related artists :Freddie MercuryQueenEmerson, Lake & PalmerBoy George

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