Chaplin’s World answers one of the easiest questions in Montreux: where do you take a visitor who has already seen the castle and the vineyards? Twenty minutes along the lake at Corsier-sur-Vevey stands the Manoir de Ban, the house where Charlie Chaplin lived the last quarter of his life, and beside it a museum built across the same grounds that has become one of the most visited attractions on the Vaud Riviera.
Short answer: Chaplin’s World is the museum and former family home of Charlie Chaplin at Route de Fenil 2, Corsier-sur-Vevey, roughly 7 km from Montreux. Train to Vevey (6–8 minutes), then bus 212 up to Corsier — or the A9 motorway to the Vevey exit and a ten-minute drive. Allow two and a half hours on site. The Manoir de Ban, where Chaplin lived from 1953 until his death in 1977, is the heart of the visit.[1]
On this page
Chaplin’s World opened on 17 April 2016 in the Manoir de Ban at Corsier-sur-Vevey — the house on the hillside overlooking the Lavaux and Lake Geneva where Charlie Chaplin lived from 1953 until his death in 1977. Source: Wikipedia, “Chaplin’s World” and “Charlie Chaplin”.
What you actually visit
Chaplin’s World is two experiences on one estate. The first is the Manoir de Ban itself: the neoclassical house above the vineyards, kept as a family home rather than as a shrine, with the drawing room, the dining room and Chaplin’s study left much as the family used them, plus photographs, letters and personal objects that make the Hollywood years feel surprisingly local.
The second is the studio wing, built in the grounds and deliberately staged like a film set. You walk through reconstructed scenes from The Kid, Modern Times and The Great Dictator, with original props, costumes and editing equipment, and a gallery that explains how a man who left London as a child performer ended up writing, directing and scoring his own films from a house in the Vaud countryside.
The grounds are part of the visit: a park of old trees, a kitchen garden and long views down to the lake and across to the Alps. Budget two to two and a half hours if you read the panels; ninety minutes if you move quickly. The site is largely step-free in the studio and park, while the Manoir has a lift.
Getting there from Montreux
This is one of the rare Riviera outings that works perfectly without a car. Montreux and Vevey sit six to eight minutes apart on the same lakeside railway line, with trains roughly every ten to fifteen minutes. From Vevey station, bus 212 (VMCV) climbs to Corsier-sur-Vevey and stops within a few minutes’ walk of the museum entrance; taxis from Vevey station take about ten minutes for a short fare.
By car, follow the A9 towards Lausanne and leave at the Vevey exit, then follow signs for Corsier-sur-Vevey and Chaplin’s World; parking is paid and fills up on Sunday afternoons and in school holidays. Cyclists can ride the lakeside road from Montreux to Vevey and then take the climb through Corseaux, which adds a proper gradient but rewards you with the vineyard terraces of the Lavaux on the way back.
If you are building a full day, note that the same Vevey station is the gateway to the Aletsch Glacier line along the Rhône and, in the other direction, to the Lavaux wine terraces. Chaplin’s World is the short, low-effort half of a Riviera day — keep it for the morning when the light on the lake is at its best.
Tickets, hours and what to book
| Item | Practical detail |
|---|---|
| Opening | Daily, year round; the last admission is roughly ninety minutes before closing |
| Time needed | 2 to 2.5 hours |
| Access from Montreux | Train to Vevey (6–8 min) + bus 212; or 15 min by car |
| Discounts | Reduced rate for holders of the Montreux Riviera Card and for families |
| Booking | Timed tickets online are cheaper and skip the queue in high season |
Check the current prices and opening hours on the official site before you travel, because the museum adjusts both seasonally and family, student and senior rates change. If your hotel or apartment hands you a Montreux Riviera Card, take it: it gives a reduced rate on admission. Tickets bought online are timed, which matters in July and August, when the car park and the entrance both fill early.
When to go
Chaplin’s World is largely indoors, which makes it the most reliable poor-weather outing within reach of Montreux: on a rainy day the studio wing is a better bet than any mountain railway, and the Manoir keeps you dry while you wait. For the park and the lake views, aim for a clear morning between April and October, when the terraces below the house are green or gold and the Alps are sharp across the water.
Crowd management is simple. Weekday mornings in spring and autumn are quiet. July and August afternoons are the busiest window of the year, and the first hour after opening is always the calmest. December is busier with the Montreux Christmas market traffic, but the museum itself stays calm in the mornings.
The rest of Chaplin’s Vevey
Chaplin’s World is the centrepiece, but the town below is part of the story. On the Quai Perdonnet, a few minutes from Vevey station, the bronze figure of the Tramp stands with his back to the lake, one of the most photographed statues in Switzerland. The Alimentarium, on the lakeshore, covers food and nutrition in a way that works for children, and the Grande Place hosts a market on Tuesday and Saturday mornings.
Two more Chaplin connections are worth knowing. The cemetery at Corsier-sur-Vevey holds his grave, and the house he lived in is the one you visit — so the village, not just the museum, is the site. And because Vevey sits at the mouth of the Lavaux, the terraced vineyards between Lausanne and Montreux are a twenty-minute train ride away and make an obvious pairing with a morning at the Manoir.
For contrast between two very different Swiss days out, our Bern old town guide shows what the arcaded capital looks like on the same trip, and the fondue guide covers what to eat when you get back to the Riviera in the evening.
Stay on the Riviera
RivieraHost manages furnished apartments in Montreux and the surrounding villages — lakeside addresses, fifteen minutes from Vevey and the Manoir de Ban.
See our apartmentsFrequently asked questions
How do I get from Montreux to Chaplin's World?
Take the train from Montreux to Vevey (6 to 8 minutes), then bus 212 towards Corsier-sur-Vevey, which stops close to the museum entrance at Route de Fenil 2. By car it is about 15 minutes on the A9 motorway to the Vevey exit and then up the hill; there is paid parking next to the site. Allow two and a half hours for the visit itself.
Is Chaplin's World worth visiting?
Yes, if you care about film or about the Riviera's recent history: it is the only place where you can walk through Charlie Chaplin's own house and, in the adjoining studio, the sets of The Kid, Modern Times and The Great Dictator. It suits families and cinephiles better than it suits travellers looking for a quick photo stop, and it is the single strongest rainy-day option near Montreux.
Where is Charlie Chaplin buried?
Charlie Chaplin died at Corsier-sur-Vevey on Christmas Day 1977 and is buried in the cemetery of Corsier-sur-Vevey, a few minutes' walk from the Manoir de Ban. His grave is a plain headstone and is not part of the museum visit; the statue people photograph is the bronze Tramp on the Vevey lakefront.
Can I combine Chaplin's World with Vevey in one day?
Easily. Chaplin's World occupies a morning or an afternoon, and Vevey station is only a few minutes away, so the Alimentarium food museum, the Grand Place market and the Tramp statue on the Quai Perdonnet all fit around it. Add the Lavaux terraces by train on the way back and you have a full Riviera day without a car.
Sources
- Chaplin’s World — official visitor information: chaplinsworld.com/en/practical-information (address, access by bus 212, opening hours).
- Wikipedia, “Chaplin’s World” — opening on 17 April 2016 after fifteen years of development: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplin’s_World.
- Wikipedia, “Charlie Chaplin” — Manoir de Ban as his final home: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin.
- Montreux Riviera — Chaplin’s World one-day pass and Riviera Card reductions: montreuxriviera.com.
Base yourself in Montreux
RivieraHost’s apartments sit steps from the lake — with kitchens, more space and better value than a hotel for families and groups. Every one is right on this guide’s doorstep.