Vevey is a small town on the northern shore of Lake Geneva, wedged between Lausanne and Montreux. It has been the headquarters of Nestle since 1867 and the place where Charlie Chaplin spent the last 25 years of his life — a bronze statue of the tramp sits on the lakefront promenade, and Chaplin's World, a museum in his former mansion above town, is one of the main attractions.
The old town centre is compact and pleasant, with a large market square (the Grande Place) that hosts one of Switzerland's best open-air markets on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The lakefront walk to Montreux is flat, scenic, and takes about an hour. The Alimentarium, a museum of food funded by Nestle, is more interesting than it sounds — and the giant fork planted in the lake just offshore is its calling card. Every 20 years or so the town hosts the Fete des Vignerons, a wine festival that dates back to the 18th century and is listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.