Menuhin Festival Gstaad: A Summer Concert Evening

In August 1957 Yehudi Menuhin, Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears and Maurice Gendron gave two concerts in the Mauritius church in Saanen. That was the start of the Menuhin Festival Gstaad: about seven weeks of concerts each summer, in village churches and a 1,816-seat tent in Gstaad. It is a music festival, not a wine festival. The tent has a bar, and the festival's catering partners include Champagne Laurent-Perrier, the Gstaad wine merchant Le Caveau de Bacchus and Mosterei Möhl, which says it makes apple juices and cider. You can walk Menuhin's words along the Saane to the founding church, then book a seat for 16 July to 4 September 2027.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Walk Menuhin's Words to the Founding Church Adventure · Free

   Free, all year: a riverside walk from Gstaad to the church where it began.

   On 4 and 6 August 1957 Yehudi Menuhin, Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears and Maurice Gendron gave two concerts in the Mauritius church in Saanen, and the festival began.

   Where: start at the Kapälliplatz in Gstaad, by the St. Niklaus-Kapelle.

   What: walk the Yehudi Menuhin Philosophenweg, 3.64 km and about 1 hour, along the Saane to the church in Saanen. Each panel pairs a Menuhin quote with one from a philosopher; choose the one you would keep. If the church door is open, look up: the year 1604 at the top of the nave marks the year the medieval paintings were whitewashed. They were uncovered in 1927.

   How: free, all year.

   Backup: Saanen station is 243 m from the church for the train back to Gstaad; on concert evenings the church doors open 30 minutes before the music.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Read His Letters in the Salt House History · Price: low · Optional

   The Yehudi Menuhin Museum, a short walk from the church.

   Where: the Yehudi Menuhin Museum in the Menuhin Center, Chalet Salzhüsi, Dorfstrasse 61, Saanen, 228 m from the church.

   What: letters, original documents, rare photographs, artworks and video on Menuhin and the festival. Find the year Saanen made him an honorary burgher: 1970.

   How: tickets from the Saanen tourist office; adults CHF 7, under 18 free. Open Monday to Friday 8.00–12.00 and 13.30–17.30, Saturday 8.00–12.00, closed Sunday.

   Backup: on a Sunday, walk the Philosophenweg instead.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Book Your Door: the Tent or the Church Adventure · Price: moderate

   Chamber music where it began, or an orchestra night in the tent.

   The 71st Menuhin Festival Gstaad runs from 16 July to 4 September 2027. Sales open on 15 December 2026; the full programme is published in December.

   Where: choose your door: chamber music in the 722-seat Kirche Saanen, where it began, or an orchestra night in the 1,816-seat Festival-Zelt Gstaad on Sportzentrumstrasse.

   What: book on menuhin.ch, by phone on +41 33 748 81 82, or at the tourist offices in Gstaad, Saanen and Schönried. The festival advises buying at least a few days ahead.

   How: in 2026, seats in the Saanen church cost CHF 40 to 170 and in the tent CHF 70 to 170; under 25s paid CHF 10 at the evening box office if seats were left.

   Backup: if your concert is sold out, try a Saturday matinée in the Kapelle Gstaad (CHF 30 in 2026) or a free academy concert, reserved through the ticketing.

   Log Memory
4. 4 Raise a Glass or a Juice Before the Music Wine · Price: low · Optional

   What is really poured around a concert.

   Where: the bar in the Festival-Zelt Gstaad, on a tent evening.

   What: the bar takes cards. The festival's catering and hospitality partners include Champagne Laurent-Perrier, the Gstaad wine merchant Le Caveau de Bacchus, Mosterei Möhl and Allegra Passugger. Ask for a juice if you prefer: it is as fitting a toast as a glass of wine.

   How: drink before the music; church concerts mostly run without an interval.

   Backup: buy a bottle at Bacchus Gstaad, Promenade 38 (autumn hours Tuesday to Saturday). If the festival repeats its Eggli dinner evenings (CHF 65 in 2026, drinks extra), dinner on the mountain comes before the concert.

   Log Memory
5. 5 Take Your Seat, Then Take the Photo Adventure · Price: moderate

   The concert, and the memory of it.

   Where: the door you booked: the tent on Sportzentrumstrasse in Gstaad, or the Mauritius church in Saanen.

   What: doors open 30 minutes before the concert; late entry is limited and not refunded. Bring your own seat cushion for the pews. In 2026 most evening concerts began at 19:30.

   How: after the last note, photograph the tent or the church with your ticket: the memory of an evening where the music was the point.

   Backup: coming by car to the tent, use the free shuttle bus from the Wispile valley-station car park on tent nights.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• The festival office is in Saanen, at Dorfstrasse 60. Tickets are sold on menuhin.ch, on +41 33 748 81 82 and at the tourist offices in Gstaad, Saanen and Schönried.

• Church concerts mostly run without an interval. For a drink with the music, choose a tent evening: the bar there takes cards.

• Bring a seat cushion for the church pews: the festival says not every venue can guarantee enough.

• Under 25? Last-minute seats cost CHF 10 at the evening box office, if any are left.