Lausanne is a city with it all: a historic medieval quarter, quality grub, locally produced wines, a rummage-worthy Saturday market and views over Lake Geneva so staggering you could fill a weekend staring at it. While there are no direct flights from the UK it’s easy to get here thanks to a train connection that runs from Geneva airport along the north side of the lake, delivering you into the centre of the southwestern Swiss city in less than 50 minutes.
The capital of the French-speaking canton of Vaud — France is just over the lake — Lausanne is the home of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Museum. No matter your sporting prowess, you’ll leave feeling a little more athletic after navigating the city’s steep hills.
Lausanne has a youthful, fun-loving population that sets it apart from other Swiss cities. Zurich may be known for banking, Geneva for the UN and Basel for pharmaceuticals, but Lausanne’s USP is warmth. Switzerland’s hospitality university (the EHL Hospitality Business School) is based here, and it shows. Whether you’re spending a couple of francs on a morning coffee or going for a wallet-busting nine-course tasting menu, service is always welcoming.
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Lausanne’s medieval quarterAlamy
48 hours in Lausanne — at a glance
Day 1
Morning: Sauvabelin Tower and Fondation de L’Hermitage
Lunch: Le Nabi
Afternoon: Plateforme 10
Drink: La Générale
Evening: Pully-Plage
Dinner: Jacques Restaurant
Day 2
Morning: Lavaux and Domaine Croix Duplex
Lunch: Tout un Monde
Afternoon: Boat trip and pedalo or the Olympic Museum
Drink: The Great Escape or the Sweet Sage
Evening: Cathedral and nightwatchman
Dinner: Le Vieux-Lausanne
The Fondation de L’Hermitage is in a 19th-century villaroman pixmotion
What to see and do
Although it is squeezed between the Alps and the Jura mountains Lausanne has peaks of its own, and a walk up to the Sauvabelin Tower in the north of the city is a high point. The tower has 150 helix-like wooden stairs, and from the top are views south towards Mont Blanc and east to the toothy ridges of the Dent de Jaman (free). Afterwards weave downhill through the forest towards the Fondation de L’Hermitage, an art gallery in an elegant 19th-century villa, home to revolving seasonal exhibitions across four floors (£20; fondation-hermitage.ch).
Plateforme 10 is Lausanne’s trio of art museums in two new buildings behind the train station: the MCBA (Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts Lausanne), Photo Élysée and Mudac (Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts). Don’t miss the MCBA’s permanent collection, with its gorgeous oil works from French-speaking artists. Photo Élysée has guest exhibitions, now showcasing film and stills from the Brooklyn artist Tyler Mitchell, as well as a selection of sports photography that includes unpublished images from the 1936 Berlin Olympics and shots by Annie Leibovitz (£23; plateforme10.ch).
Pully-Plage is a family-friendly collection of three lakeside swimming pools open until 8.30pm in the summer. There is also a designated Lake Geneva swimming area with a lifeguard — the lake can get choppy, so this is reassuring for the open-water novice. The pool has changing rooms and a café but bring your own towels (£6; piscines.pully.ch).
A ten-minute train ride from the centre to Grandvaux will bring you to the steep lakeside slopes of Lavaux, Lausanne’s Unesco-listed winemaking area. Hardly any of the good stuff is exported, so there’s no option other than to enjoy it in the moment. The best place to do that is Domaine Croix Duplex, a few minutes downhill from the station, where Maude Vogel, the third generation of family winemaker, offers 90-minute tours and tastings of the vineyard’s award-winning white chasselas on the terrace (tastings from £20; croix-duplex.ch).
If it’s sunny you’ll want to get on, or into, Lake Geneva. From the pier at Cully take the CGN boat service back to Lausanne’s Ouchy pier — a first-class ticket gives access to the top deck, where there’s a bar with deckchairs from which you can admire the vineyard views (£13; cgn.ch). When you get to Ouchy continue the on-the-water fun by hiring a pedalo. And be sure to bring your swimmers — Cousin Bateaux Location Ouchy has boats with waterslides that you can hire, allowing you to hurtle directly into the water (£14 for 30 minutes; bateaux-location-ouchy.ch). Need a wet weather plan? The Olympic Museum is a ten-minute walk from the pier and tells the story of the Games from ancient to modern times (£19; olympics.com/museum).
La Cité, the medieval heart of town, makes for a glorious walk. There’s a food market on Saturday mornings and the city’s animated clock on Place de la Palud presents an hourly display based on local history — no matter if the story is incomprehensible, the moving figurines are charming. Come nightfall, look out for one of the most unique things about Lausanne: a nightwatchman whose job it is to protect the city from fire. For the past 600 years someone has been on duty at the cathedral tower, announcing his reassuring presence on the hour between 10pm and 2am, with the call “C’est le guet, il a sonné dix, il a sonné dix”. Today it’s the job of Alexandre Schmid.
Have a tour and wine tasting at Domaine Croix Duplexfabricedavit.com
Where to eat and drink
Le Nabi
This easygoing modern café in the arts district serves an internationally themed brunch until 2.30pm, with Turkish eggs, hummus bagels, and raclette on toast topped with an egg. Get here early for a table on the wooden benches outside (mains from £13; mensa-ethica.ch/le-nabi).
La Générale
Head east to the waterfront at Pully by bus or train and you’ll find Lausanners having afternoon drinks at this popular spot in the tiny park facing the lake (although watch out for the mini-trains for kids that chug along the tracks). There are local Boxer beers and a decent selection of local wines (cocktails from £9; lagenerale.ch).
Have local beers and decent wines at La Générale DVPHOTOGRAPHE.com
Jacques Restaurant
Jacques Restaurant in Lausanne’s old town, headed up by the chef-owner Jacques Allisson, has some of the most delicately presented food you’ll encounter. Artichoke hearts and whitefish in a bright crayfish sauce were on the menu for our visit, but the line-up changes twice a week (mains from £42; jacques-restaurant.ch).
Jacques Restaurant is headed up by the chef-owner Jacques AllissonCamille Chikly
Tout un Monde
Occupying a 13th-century church in the tiny village of Cully, 40 minutes downhill from Grandvaux, Tout un Monde has lake views as impressive as the food served on its glorious suntrap terrace. Admire the work-of-art menus, which feature sketches from the owners Celine and Johann Gsponer, before tucking into dishes made with ingredients from hyper-local producers such as Alain Schmid, a fly fisher from St Suplice in the west of Lausanne, and wines produced steps away (mains £25; toutunmonde.ch).
Tout un Monde is downhill from GrandvauxElisabeth Fransdonk
The Great Escape
This laid-back pub in the city centre spills out onto a terrace overlooked by a serious statue of the 19th-century Vaud politician Louis Ruchonnet. It serves pinot noirs from Cully, and Valaisanne pale ales in addition to classic lagers (wine from £6; the-great.ch). For coffee and exquisite pastries, the Sweet Sage serves citron meringues that look like artfully fashioned daisies (cakes £8.50; thesweetsage.com).
Le Vieux-Lausanne
The details are spot on at Le Vieux-Lausanne on the edge of the old town: butter under a little cloche, the bill in an old cigar case and hexagonal water glasses. The cooking is top-drawer too, with enormous Swiss Angus beef steaks, whole roasted poussin, courgette flowers and veal chops. There’s a pretty terrace with vistas downhill to the lake too (mains from £35; vieux-lausanne.ch).
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Where to stay
Hôtel de la Paix
Traditional style in the old town
Less than five minutes from Bessières metro station and close to the cathedral and old town, this hotel opened in 1910 and remains family-run. The cheapest double rooms are compact but have some of the most affordable rates in town, while the lovely suites have balconies and views of the lake or town. There’s a first-floor terrace bar too (B&B doubles from £158; hoteldelapaix.net).
Hotel des Voyageurs
A room at the modern Hotel des VoyageursPierre Raphoz
Modern boutique close to the station
On Rue Grand-Saint Jean, a pedestrianised road behind the train station, this is a laid-back modern hotel in a 19th-century building. There are five room categories, from cosy doubles to suites, with a decent continental breakfast buffet and a small gym (B&B doubles from £193; voyageurs.ch).
Royal Savoy Hotel & Spa
Royal Savoy Hotel & Spa was built in 1909Royal Savoy Lausanne
Luxurious lake views with a pool
Outside, it’s all Rapunzel-worthy turrets and pleasing symmetry at this hotel dating from 1909. Inside, the 196 rooms have been done out in a modern style with walk-in showers, Aromatherapy Associates smellies and chic yellow awnings over the balconies. Original stained-glass windows were retained in the 2015 refurb, but the pièce de résistance is the purpose-built spa with an indoor/outoor pool and thermal area. Dinner at the Brasserie du Royal is highly recommended for a super selection of seafood, while the Sky Lounge bar has the best lake views of any watering hole in town (B&B doubles from £324; royalsavoylausanne.com).
Getting there and around
You can fly to Geneva with easyJet from airports including Gatwick, Liverpool, Bristol and Manchester (easyjet.com), and there are regular trains from the airport to Lausanne Gare. All hotel guests are issued with a Lausanne Transport Card, which offers free public transport in the city, including bus, train and metro.
Visit responsibly
Lausanne rarely feels crowded, even during the height of summer, but the off-peak, cooler months of April, May, September and October are good times to go. Lausanne’s train connections make extending a trip to explore other cities, including Geneva and Bern, a doddle. A Swiss Travel Pass offers unlimited travel across the country by train and bus (three days from £229; travelswitzerland.com).
Laura Jackson was a guest of Lausanne Tourism (lausanne-tourisme.ch) and Travel Switzerland (travelswitzerland.com)
Have you visited Lausanne? Please share any tips we’ve missed in the comments