Rising up from Lake Geneva, Lausanne has prime views of the French Alps beyond.<\/p>\n
Credit: REGIS COLOMBO\/diapo.ch<\/p>\n
You might know the Swiss city of Lausanne<\/a> best as the Olympic Capital. You may be aware too that it enjoys stunning views of the French Alps across Lake Geneva. Among French-speaking cities, however, this capital of the canton of Vaud may not be big on your travel radar just yet. Some big new cultural openings and urban developments should change that fast.<\/p>\n With its various quartiers from the lakeshore to the upper old town spread over plenty of hills like a mini-San Francisco, you\u2019ll appreciate the city\u2019s excellent metro system. Built on an esplanade right next to the Gare de Lausanne, the main train station, and with tracks still visible from its days as the railyard repair shop, the ambitious new Plateforme 10<\/a> arts district is exciting news for museum fans. Each of its three major institutions that have opened in recent years merits several hours, so take your time. <\/p>\n Portuguese architectural studio Aires Mateus\u2019s white concrete cube, whose long slit of windows zigzagging across the fa\u00e7ade plays with the light throughout the day and evening, holds Photo Elys\u00e9e and MUDAC, the Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts. <\/p>\n Lausanne’s recently-new Plateforme 10 arts district includes three museums built on former railyards. Here, MUDAC and Photo \u00c9lysee.<\/p>\n Credit: Matthieu Gafsou<\/p>\n In the downstairs Photo Elys\u00e9e space, American photographer Tyler Mitchell\u2019s show Wish This Was Real depicts African American subjects of all ages in all manner of settings, in images that are at times fashionable, at times quotidian, and often enigmatic\u2014but always richly beautiful in composition. <\/p>\n You may not be a hardcore sports fan, but the exhibit Sport in Focus, with images included from the Olympic Museum, is a compelling look at not only the glory of triumph on the pitch, field or court, but at the vast socio-political role of sports through more than a century. And, yes, that includes some iconic stunning images produced by the reviled Leni Riefenstahl. (Both Photo Elys\u00e9e shows run through Aug 17.) <\/p>\n An enormous MUDAC exhibit upstairs, Soleil-s is devoted to all things solar, from the cultural history of tanning, beach-going and skiing to exploring how both simple and sophisticated solar technologies have long been practiced, and how we can imagine desir\u00adable future developments. Many of the truly innovative and downright quirky displays are site-specific (through Sept 21).<\/p>\n While it has existed as an institution since 1841, the third leg of Plateforme 10, the MCBA, or Cantonal Fine Arts Museum, opened in 2019 in a three-story cube structure. It continues to emphasize artists from the canton of Vaud. In addition to works not only by the great Alberto Giacometti, it displays his father Giovanni\u2019s portraits and landscapes. Look out for a number of mostly 19th-century Swiss painters with plenty of landscape work, among them names like Ferdinand Hodler and F\u00e9lix Vallotton, or Fran\u00e7ois Bocion with his Lake Geneva steamship scenes under a touch of Turneresque light. <\/p>\n Among compelling portraits, Charles Giron’s Jeune femme au piano might remind one of John Singer Sargent with its society theme. The collection includes Post-Impressionists like Lausanne-born Ren\u00e9 Auberjonois, while Swiss-resident painter Balthus\u2019s 1935 Le Roi des chats is a big draw.<\/p>\n With caf\u00e9s, terraced restaurants and well-stocked book shops, Plateforme 10 makes for a day\u2019s exploration. <\/p>\n The garden and terrace at the historic Brasserie de Montbenon building look right over Lake Geneva.<\/p>\n Credit: Schweiz Tourismus \/ Colin Frei<\/p>\n A short stroll to Lausanne of the past takes you to the lovely Brasserie de Montbenon<\/a> that occupies an old Beaux Arts casino. The menu is rich in seafood, as you\u2019d expect, while the larger space hosts concerts and African cinema as well. Looking from the garden over Lake Geneva when a dark storm instantly brews might conjure Mary Shelley\u2019s celebrated 1816 rain-soaked lake summer when she and company invented Gothic horror tales. <\/p>\n Minutes away, the 1915 Lausanne Palace<\/a> hotel is likewise another of the city\u2019s Belle \u00c9poque architectural beauties that has long welcomed society and political figures, and still has a suite named for longtime resident Coco Chanel.<\/p>\n That property is joined by two other historic Leading Hotels of the World members, both closer to the lake. The 1861-built Beau-Rivage Palace<\/a> is set in ten acres of park, has a Guerlain Spa and is home to the restaurant PIC au Beau-Rivage Palace, another of renowned chef Anne-Sophie Pic\u2019s venues. At the restored 1909 Art Nouveau Royal Savoy Hotel & Spa<\/a>, the rooftop SkyLounge has insane views over Lake Geneva.<\/p>\n As you work your way uphill, at some point you\u2019ll cross under and over the landmark 1910 Pont Bessi\u00e8res bridge that goes over the now mostly buried Flon river. On the delightful Place de la Palud, you can\u2019t miss the fine Renaissance city hall, topped as it is by two copper dragon gargoyles. In front of a nearby fountain depicting Lady Justice, the Horloge de la Palud astronomical clock is a big family hit with its mechanical figures that come out to dance hourly. <\/p>\n As they have for centuries, all manner of small specialty shops still exist along pedestrianized stone streets in this central market area. No surprise that you\u2019ll find cheese, pastry and small grocery traiteur shops at every turn. On the steep Rue Mercerie just below the covered Escaliers du March\u00e9 stairs that lead up the cathedral, the tiny shop Durig specializes in organic chocolate largely from South America.<\/p>\n The Lausanne Palace hotel is a Belle \u00c9poque landmark and member of Leading Hotels of the World.<\/p>\n Credit: Mike Wolf\/Lausanne Palace<\/p>\n Anchoring the Cit\u00e9, the medieval old town laid over Celtic and Roman settlements, the Gothic Cathedral, for which the master 19th-century French architect Eug\u00e8ne Viollet-le-Duc conducted restorations, this year celebrates its 750th anniversary. As you climb its bell tower, stop to rest and admire the handsome 13th-century choir stalls. <\/p>\n A few years ago, young Lausannoise Cassandre Berdoz became the first woman to be a watchperson in the centuries-old tradition of calling out the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. On her shift several times a month, you can hear her far and wide from all four tower corners announcing her presence and the hour by crying out in the night air \u201cC’est la guette, il a sonn\u00e9 dix\u201c (ten, eleven, etc). The Lausanne History Museum facing the cathedral has a fine model of the city. <\/p>\n A bright and cheerful small new restaurant back down by the train station, D\u00e9ci Comptoir makes for a fine lunch break, especially if you haven\u2019t tried the city\u2019s signature creamy cheese malakoff fritters, named for the Napoleonic battle where Swiss soldiers are said to have invented them, and served tapas style with caviar de moutarde. In the formerly forlorn Flon warehouse district, Street Cellar<\/a> is a fun casual eatery and wine bar among a whole slew of such venues that fill up with young people in the evening. <\/p>\n Many times a day in Lausanne, you\u2019ll find yourself moving easily back and forth between the old and new. Just be prepared with those steep hills for a healthy, but happy workout for your thighs and calves. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rising up from Lake Geneva, Lausanne has prime views of the French Alps beyond. 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