Memorials & tributes

Parc Jean Villard-Gilles

Type

Public park

Address

Rue du Torrent, Clarens

This public park in Clarens honours Jean Villard, known as Gilles (1895-1982), a songwriter and poet born in Montreux. A founding figure of French-Swiss song, he wrote “Les Trois Cloches”, popularised by Édith Piaf and Les Compagnons de la Chanson, as well as “La Venoge”, an ode that became a Vaudois emblem. A cabaret pioneer with his duos Gilles et Julien and then Gilles et Urfer, he paved the way for all French-language song in French-speaking Switzerland. The park that bears his name offers a green pause a stone’s throw from the Clarens quays.

Related artists :Jean Villard-Gilles