Lausanne travel guide

Lausanne, Switzerland

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Lausanne

Introduction

Lausanne is the capital and largest city of the Swiss canton of Vaud, set on the shores of Lake Geneva about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps. It is a hilly city, looking across the water toward the French town of Évian-les-Bains, and it lies roughly 52 kilometres northeast of Geneva, the nearest major city. Known as the Olympic capital, it is also where the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland convenes, though it is not the national capital.

Before you go

Lausanne is a French-speaking city, and while it is very international, English is not as widely spoken as in Geneva — you may struggle to communicate with the average person on the street. Most service-sector employees speak a little English, and younger Swiss tend to have a high level of it (among the older generation, German is often stronger), so you will have little trouble getting around with just English. The city is home to the International Olympic Committee and two major universities, and its large student population gives it a lively nightlife and arts scene centred on the Flon district. You'll find quality restaurants and two dozen museums of note, including the Olympic Museum and the offbeat Collection de l'Art Brut, and architecture buffs will find the best-preserved Gothic cathedral in Switzerland at the top of the town.

For orientation, the districts of most interest to a visitor are the Cité, the Ville Marché and the port of Ouchy, with the Flon — now a nightclub and shopping district — in between, and the sleepy Sous Gare district just under the train station, which has some of the best cafés in town. Ouchy, once a fishing village, serves as the port on Lac Léman; its views of the lake and the Alps and its cooler air in summer make it popular in the warmer months, and it is where the Olympic Museum is located. If you feel up for a hike, it's worth spending a few hours in the woods of Sauvabelin, above and north of the Hermitage. The Lausanne Tourism Office has desks at the main station and in Ouchy, where it shares space with the M2 station; staff there can almost always place you in a hotel in your price range even at the very last minute, and they offer a free city map and a wide assortment of printed materials in English as well as French, German and Italian.

Getting there

Most travellers reach Lausanne by air through Geneva airport, which is served by almost all European carriers and by a handful of direct trans-Atlantic flights; from the US you will otherwise change planes at your airline's hub. Trains connect Geneva Airport with Lausanne's CFF station in about three-quarters of an hour, running at least twice an hour apart from the small hours. Zurich airport is an alternative, with more frequent trans-Atlantic service, mainly via Swiss.

The Swiss Federal Rail system links Lausanne with Geneva, Zürich HB, Bern, Lucerne, Neuchatel, St. Gallen, Brig, Biel and points in between, with trains roughly every half-hour through the day. Every train from elsewhere in Switzerland to Geneva passes through Lausanne, and frequent local trains mean a connection to or from Geneva on average every fifteen minutes in the daytime; fast direct IC trains take just over half an hour from Geneva, while locals stopping at small stations can take almost an hour. There are also direct trains from Paris Gare de Lyon on the TGV, from Venice, and from Milan, plus night trains from Rome and Venice. Swiss train tickets are expensive, so buy them in advance online for discounted prices. International buses arrive daily from Spain, France and major Central European cities, often passing through Geneva or Basel first. Boats also ply the Swiss and French shores of Lake Geneva, with several daily ferries from Evian, Montreux, Geneva and many smaller lakeside towns; most ferries are scenic trips rather than the fastest way around, and on a clear day the boat from Geneva is worth the time.

Getting around

Lausanne is built on a steep slope above Lake Geneva, and that shape defines how you move through it: the centre sits on a hillside, the lakeshore at Ouchy lies far below, and the northern suburbs climb higher still. It pays to know which level you are on and where you want to end up, or you can find yourself well above or below the street you were aiming for. Walking works well in the centre, where the largely car-free streets begin right across from the main railway station with Rue du Petit-Chêne, leading up to Place St. François in the old town; from there pedestrian streets continue to the Flon quarter with its bars, clubs and restaurants, to the shopping streets between Place St. François and Place de la Riponne, and to the old city near the cathedral. Keep the hills in mind, though — many streets look deceptively easy on a map, and the gradients can be a real challenge, especially for visitors with reduced mobility. The M2 covers much of the steepest ground and is a good alternative to walking those stretches.

Where to stay

Most of Lausanne's hotels fall in the mid-price range, with a handful of luxury addresses and a few budget options rounding things out. For cheap sleeps, look to a small bed and breakfast on Avenue de Tivoli with a relaxed atmosphere, a casual hotel near the university and sporting complexes aimed at younger travellers, or a guest house set in a 19th-century town house near the CFF railway station that puts you within easy reach of the centre.

Mid-range choices cluster in and around the old town, handy for the Flon gallery and nightclub district: a cute little hotel on Rue Grand St-Jean with friendly staff and free Wi-Fi, a traditional inn on Place Palud with a handful of remodelled rooms in an utterly central location, and a well-kept hotel at the far end of pont Bessières from the Cathedral with magnificent views. Near the station you'll find a hotel a short walk from the historic quarter with its own grill restaurant serving locally sourced steaks, grilled meats and fondue, while down at Ouchy on the waterfront a Swiss hospitality name offers good value and several restaurants, including one with fusion dishes and a notable selection of California wines. At the top end, a freshly renovated castle across from the Ouchy metro station trades on its Alpine views, a stylish five-star next to park Montbenon overlooks the lake and mountains and holds a Michelin-starred restaurant among its three dining rooms, and the Beau-Rivage Palace opposite the castle stands as the city's most luxurious stay.

Food & drink

Lausanne makes it easy to eat well on a budget. The train station has several grocery stores open daily until late, and Aldi at the back of the station below track 9 is a good-value alternative. If you're near the port of Ouchy, there are two groceries open every day: Migros near the Mövenpick Hotel and a Coop Pronto just uphill from the Château d'Ouchy. For a picnic, head to the Crêt de Montriond: go below the railways, take the stairs to the main avenue, turn left, and you'll see a green hill about the size of a five-storey building in front of you. If you have a valid student ID, many budget and even some mid-range restaurants offer a reduced-price student menu.

For cheap eats, P'tit Bar on Rue Louis-Curtat seats around a dozen people at a tiny shared table and serves lunch only — salads in summer and soup in winter. Tibits, at the west end of platform 1 in the train station, is a fully vegetarian buffet with made-to-order options and local wine, set in the restored old Buffet de la Gare. In the car-free old town, Crêperie de la Chandeleur serves crêpes in a homey Breton atmosphere and has toys to keep children amused. Holy Cow! on Rue Cheneau de Bourg is known for its burgers, including the "Elvis Blue Cheese". For sandwiches, try La Croquignole on Rue de l'Ale or Le Charlot on Rue Pichard, and La Mosaïque on Avenue d'Ouchy serves Ethiopian cuisine. Mid-range options include Léonardo on the Esplanade du Flon for health-focused Italian, the family-run Sicily for southern Italian specialities, Café de Grancy for a full dinner menu with vegetarian options, and Pinte-Besson on Rue de l'Ale, the oldest restaurant in Lausanne, for classic Swiss cooking. For a splurge, Le Club in the Flon valley serves upscale Italian, MYO offers sushi and fusion with lake and alpine views, and la Table d'Edgard in the Lausanne Palais Hotel is known for inventive cooking and attentive service.

What to see and do

Lausanne rewards wandering as much as museum-going. The old town is larger than most in Swiss cities, a car-free expanse of cobbled streets and nooks you can spend days exploring; from the railway station you can ride the metro up to Flon, Riponne or Bessières, or climb the steep hill on foot. On Wednesdays and Saturdays the whole car-free area turns into a vast farmers market. After the shops close, the streets fill with restaurants, cafés and nightclubs, and at Place Central the old town meets the Flon nightclub and gallery district. Above it all sits Notre Dame cathedral, architecturally interesting with its small towers and windows; the view from the tower is well worth the climb, and even the square outside gives you a fine panorama of the city and surroundings. A watchman still calls the hours there through the night, a tradition dating back to 1405. North of the centre, the Sauvabelin Forest has a freely accessible tower with views over the lake, the Alps and the Jura, and you can descend to the centre through the park of the Fondation de l'Hermitage.

At Ouchy, step out of the metro and the lakefront opens up in front of you, with the Alps beyond on a clear day, plus restaurants, bars and the Château d'Ouchy. The Olympic Museum sits here too, its sculpture garden overlooking the lake open to all. The Collection de l'Art Brut is a must-see, its works by untrained artists by turns delightful, amazing, baffling and irritating. The Palais de Rumine, an Italian Renaissance-style building that is younger than it looks, houses five museums covering everything from fine arts to natural history, while the Musée Historique holds maps, images and documents tracing Lausanne and the Lake Geneva region, including a hand-crafted diorama of the 16th-century city. The Musée de l'Elysée is a world-class photography museum in a splendid park, Mudac covers design and contemporary applied arts, and the Fondation de l'Hermitage, a former banker's residence in its own wooded space above the old town, hosts travelling international art exhibitions. Farther out, the Musée Romain displays architectural finds from the Roman settlement across the road, where walls and a forum remain, and Aquatis gathers fish, reptiles and amphibians in a large freshwater aquarium-vivarium. For live performance, the Métropole books dance, world music, pop and jazz, the Arsenic specialises in avant-garde theatre and performance art, and the Théâtre Boulimie is the sanctuary of Swiss humour. Football fans can catch Lausanne Sport at Stade de la Tuilière or Stade Lausanne Ouchy at La Pontaise.

When to go

Lausanne sees rain or snow on roughly a third of the year, so it pays to plan for wet weather whenever you visit. May is the wettest month, with rain on about twelve days and the highest monthly precipitation of the year; expect frequent wet spells and keep indoor options in reserve. February is comparatively dry, with precipitation on fewer days and the lowest monthly total, giving you the best odds of drier days, though winter cold can still bring snow.

Three days in Lausanne

Day one: Start in the centre of Lausanne, where the medieval Cité and Ville Marché quarter give you the Gothic cathedral and the old town's layered streets. From there, walk down through the Flon district, the city's nightlife and shopping quarter, and continue to Ouchy on the shore of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman). The Lausanne Tourism Office can help you orient yourself, and trains connect the main stations, including Sous Gare, if you prefer not to walk back uphill.

Day two: Give the day to the Olympic Museum and its collection, which traces the history of the Olympic movement and the International Olympic Committee's presence in the city. In the afternoon, visit the Collection de l'Art Brut. Both sit within reach of the lakefront, so you can round off the day with a walk along Lac Léman.

Day three: Head for Sauvabelin and the Hermitage for green space and views over the city and the lake. On a clear day the Alps and the Jura Mountains frame the scene. If time allows, look in on the Federal Supreme Court, Switzerland's highest court, before returning to the centre for a last stroll through the old town.

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