The darkroom
A live demonstration of how the image inverts.
Odrade123 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jules Verne Times Two — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jules Verne Times Two — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jules Verne Times Two — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Swiss Camera Museum in the heart of Vevey tells the story of photography from its beginnings to the digital age: from the **camera obscura** painters used centuries ago, through nineteenth-century daguerreotypes, to Leica, Kodak and Polaroid, and on to digital and the mobile phone — across more than a thousand devices displayed over four floors. Its strength is that it is **operational rather than silent**: interactive sections let you try the principles yourself — a real darkroom showing how the image inverts, experiments with lenses and light, and photo stations. For the amateur photographer it is an enjoyable lesson in how what they do became possible. It occupies a building on the Grande Place beside Vevey's other museums (history and fine arts), and its entry fee is relatively low. An hour to ninety minutes rounding out a Vevey day — and free on the first weekend of every month.
A live demonstration of how the image inverts.
Two centuries of technology over four floors.
Grande Place 99, 1800 Vevey
Château de l'AileA nineteenth-century château on the Lake Geneva waterfront in Vevey, right at th2 minutes walk4.3
Alimentarium Food MuseumThe Alimentarium is **the world's first museum devoted entirely to food**, opene4 minutes walk4.0
VeveyVevey is an elegant town on Lake Geneva six minutes by train from Montreux, and 12 minutes walk
Swiss Museum of GamesThe Swiss Museum of Games occupies a **thirteenth-century castle** on the shore 15 minutes walk4.3
Chaplin's WorldIn the Manoir de Ban above Vevey — the house where Charlie Chaplin lived his las24 minutes walk4.9Three within steps: the **Alimentarium** (food) is the most famous and the best for families and children; the **Camera Museum** for photographers and technology lovers, at a low fee; and the **Vevey History Museum** in a small castle for those interested in the region's past. On a single day: the Alimentarium plus the quay walk and the fork is enough. For a photographer: add the Camera Museum.