The picturesque town of Cully sits on the north bank of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) among the terraced vineyards of the Lavaux, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Every year in April, it hosts the Cully Jazz Festival, a more local and genuine jazz affair than the giant in neighbouring Montreux.

It is a really cool and somewhat quintessential local experience to sit on the banks of the lake with a bottle of wine, listening to live (and for the most part free!) jazz music, watching the sun set behind the Alps. There are rather too many teenagers with plastic bags of beer, but they’re easy to ignore if you focus on the stunning view in front of your.

We caught a Friday night performance and took the opportunity to stay overnight, mostly to have an excuse to lunch at l’Auberge du Raisin. In the centre of town, the institution oozes old world charm, very traditional French in setting and cuisine even though we are technically in Swissland. It has a massive dining room, attached to the hotel, with a lovely terrace but alas, no lake view. By all accounts the food is commendable, even though it was suspiciously empty on a fine Saturday during the festival. But apparently April is not peak season for Lavaux tourism so that might explain that.

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