Things to do in Lausanne
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Lausanne
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months; Lavaux walk at its best, lake steamers running.
Lake swimming season; Montreux Jazz Festival early July; book lake towns early.
Grape harvest in Lavaux; Lausanne Marathon late in the month.
Bô Noël Christmas market; the lit old town is worth a short trip.
Grey stretch with lake fog; museums empty, hotels cheap; Prix de Lausanne in February.
What's on
- Festival de la Cité July
Free theatre, music, dance and circus across the old town; the city's best week.
- Fête de la Musique 21 June
Free concerts all over the city.
- Athletissima late August
Diamond League athletics with world-class fields.
- Lausanne Marathon late October
City marathon along the lake, with distances for every level.
- Prix de Lausanne February
Prestigious young-dancers competition.
- Bô Noël December
The Christmas market in the old town.
Best things to do in Lausanne
The Olympic Museum
The world's best sports museum, with gardens sloping down to the lake.
Lausanne Cathedral
Switzerland's finest Gothic cathedral, with a tower climb and a night watchman.
Place de la Palud
The old town's market square and the covered stairway up to the cathedral.
Collection de l'Art Brut
The world's most important outsider art collection, unlike anything else in Switzerland.
Plateforme 10
The new arts quarter: design, photography and fine arts museums by the station.
Ouchy
The lakeside promenade with Alps views, the city's evening ritual.
Tour de Sauvabelin
Free wooden tower with the best panorama over the city and the lake.
Palais de Rumine
Grand palace with several cantonal museums, partly free to enter.
Where to stay in Lausanne
Ouchy
City centre and old town
Gare and Flon
Budget picks further out
Think twice about
- The streets north of the station around Rue de Genève late at night
The city's roughest blocks after dark; base on the Flon or St-François side instead.
- Renens and Prilly, the industrial belt west of the city
Nothing for a visitor; Bussigny is the better value play.
- Vevey or Montreux booked as a Lausanne base
20 to 30 minutes each way turns every Lausanne dinner into logistics.
Best restaurants in Lausanne
Le Pinte Besson
Old-world dining near the cathedral; fondue and Vaudois classics.
Café de Grancy
The neighbourhood brasserie south of the station locals treat as a canteen.
Eat Me
Tapas and small plates in the centre, popular with locals.
The Lacustre
Lakeside dining on the Ouchy port, book the terrace on a clear day.
Brasserie de Montbenon
Classic brasserie by the Montbenon park, reliable and central.
Le Chalet Suisse
The authentic Swiss dinner above the city: fondue, raclette, Malakoff.
Le Nabi
Modern bistro in the museum quarter, good for lunch between museums.
La Table d'Edgard
One-star dining in the Lausanne Palace, the splurge dinner.
Best coffee in Lausanne
Café des Délices
Morning-baked pastries and good coffee, the sightseeing break.
Outdoor things to do in Lausanne
Lavaux Vineyard Terraces
UNESCO terraced vineyards with a marked trail and cellar tastings.
Chillon Castle
The island castle on the lake, 30 minutes east by train.
Chaplin's World
Chaplin's manor house turned into a warm, funny museum.
Évian-les-Bains
French spa town across the lake by Belle Époque paddle steamer.
Geneva
The Jet d'Eau and old town, 40 minutes west by direct train.
Gruyères
Cheese dairy demonstrations and a medieval village in the pre-Alps.
Best hotels in Lausanne
Beau-Rivage Palace
The grand lakeside palace since 1861, the city's splurge.
Château d'Ouchy
12th-century castle hotel right on the Ouchy port.
Hôtel Angleterre
Classic residence-style hotel near the lake.
Mövenpick Hotel Lausanne
Modern well-run hotel with good lake views.
Lausanne Palace
The 1915 landmark above the old town, with a spa.
Royal Savoy Hotel & Spa
Grand hotel near the station with a serious spa.
Hotel Mirabeau
Solid well-located mid-range in the centre.
Hôtel de la Paix
Long-standing hotel by the station.
Is Lausanne expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CHF 130 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CHF 260 a person |
| Splurge | CHF 600 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Le Pinte Besson: a few days ahead
- Eat Me: a few days ahead
- The Lacustre: a few days ahead
- Le Chalet Suisse: a few days ahead
- La Table d'Edgard: weeks ahead
- Anne-Sophie Pic at Beau-Rivage Palace: weeks ahead
- Anne-Sophie Pic and La Table d'Edgard: book weeks ahead.
- Eat Me and Le Chalet Suisse: book ahead for weekend dinners.
- Festival de la Cité and Montreux Jazz Festival weeks: book rooms early.
Is Lausanne safe?
- Low violent crime; the actual crime is pickpocketing at the main station and in Flon nightlife crowds. Emergency: 112.
Lausanne travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Fondue on Ouchy port terraces aimed at tour groups: go to Le Pinte Besson or Le Chalet Suisse.
- Taxis up the hill: the M2 does it in 5 minutes for nothing with the hotel card.
- Old-town tourist prices for Swiss wine: the same Chasselas costs half in a Lavaux cellar.
Getting around Lausanne: public transport and more
- The Lausanne Transport Card is free with any hotel stay: unlimited buses and metros.
- The M2 metro is the honest way up from Ouchy; walking takes 20 hard minutes.
- The old town is stairs and slopes; plan routes downhill where you can.
- Trains to Geneva (40 min), Vevey (15 min) and Montreux (30 min) run frequently.
- CGN boats cross to Évian in season; carry ID for France.
Who Lausanne suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Lausanne your trip
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