Homes, hotels & restaurants
Gstaad
- Type
- Mountain resort
- Address
- 3780 Gstaad, Oberland bernois
Gstaad is not on the Riviera, but it is its natural extension: the Montreux Oberland Bernois (MOB) train climbs there directly from Montreux, a ninety-minute panoramic journey through the Lavaux vineyards, the Pays-d’Enhaut and the Oberland passes. It is this line, rather than the motorway, that explains why visitors to Montreux so often end up in this Bernese resort, and why artists staying by the lake made a habit of it.
Gstaad, at the end of the panoramic line
Ninety minutes by train from Montreux
The MOB line leaves Montreux station, climbs above the lake within minutes and runs on towards Les Avants, Château-d’Œx and Saanen before reaching Gstaad. The journey, operated today under the GoldenPass name, has become an attraction in itself.
That is what sets Gstaad apart from Zurich or Geneva, far further away: from Montreux the resort is a day trip, just as Lausanne is, half an hour by train in the other direction.
Chalet Ariel and the Gstaad Palace
Elizabeth Taylor bought Chalet Ariel here in 1962; it became her European base and the place where she saw in the New Year. She kept it until her death in 2011.
It was in that chalet that Michael Jackson took refuge from 27 September to 2 October 1993, the day after his concert in Tenerife, in the middle of the Dangerous Tour. He was also a familiar face at the Gstaad Palace, the grand hotel overlooking the resort: in 2006 he offered to buy the whole of it.
David Bowie and his wife Iman also stayed in Gstaad, in early 1993. The singer, who was then living on the Riviera at the Clos des Mésanges in Blonay, knew the resort well.
Early January 1993: David Bowie and Iman
In early January 1993 David Bowie spent a few days in Gstaad with his wife Iman, whom he had married in Lausanne the year before.
He was then living at the Château du Signal in Lausanne. Gstaad was one of the few places where he was spotted: the daily 24 heures recalls that he was seen “now and then at the market on Saturday morning or on the ski slopes of Gstaad”.
The documentary “David Bowie’s Secret Friend”, devoted to his Geneva friend Sandro Sursock, reveals another visit: at his friend’s request, Bowie agreed to go to a private party in Gstaad, among guests he did not know (watson).
Related artists :Michael JacksonDavid Bowie