I spent a weekend in Lausanne, here are what to do in Lausanne to enjoy one of the most beautiful cities in Switzerland.
It is my 5th visit to Switzerland and every time I come to Switzerland I fall more in love with it. I loved the typical village of Zermatt that I visited a few years ago. I loved the coolness of Laax and the lovely summer in Flims.
As talked a lot with my friends about Switzerland but most of them have a quite boring image of the country which turned out to be absolutely not true. Talk with some people who live in Zürich, they will tell you it is one of the most fun city ever. For what I experienced from Lausanne, it was surprisingly young (lots of millennials) and very trendy. I even dare to say that I went to one of the coolest bar I have ever been to. Indeed, Lausanne as a lot to offer and not only it is fun, it is also one of the most beautiful cities in Switzerland with lovely old town and it’s location on lake Geneva.
Below you will find my lausanne Guide for a perfect weekend in the Swiss city.
Lausanne Guide – How to get from Geneva to Lausanne
No international airport is flying to lausanne but if you plane to come to Lausanne, you will fly to geneva and from there you will take a direct train (there is one several times per hour) for around 1 hour that will take you to the city center. It is not complicated at all. Indeed Swiss public transportation is excellent.
What to do in Lausanne : Walk through old Lausanne
Old lausanne is definitely the most beautiful part of the city in Lausanne. The typical houses and the gothic cathedral on top of the city definitely make lausanne one of the most beautiful cities in Switzerland.
When walking through the city, don’t miss to enter the cathedral. It is beautiful inside and the organ was designed by a car designer from Boston. If you want to listen to the music, there are concerts every Friday evening!
Tip: From the top of the cathedral you can see the city from above!
When going down to the shopping streets, you will see many children waiting on the Palud square. It is for the clock that animates and tell a story every hour. Very cute to see.
Things to do in Lausanne : Saturday farmer’s market
What to do in Lausanne on a weekend or on a Wednesday? Do not miss the farmer’s market. It goes until midday and sells regional products. Perfect if you would like to bring something home.
Another good address for regional products is : la ferme vaudoise!
What to do in Switzerland : Eat Swiss chocolates or go for chocolate course
It is well known that Switzerland is famous for it’s chocolate so if you have a sweet tooth Lausanne will tickle your taste buds . The best chocolatier in town are Blondel and Durique but it is also good to support local chocolatier. You can even take a chocolate workshop like we did in order to learn something 🙂
Thing to do in Lausanne : Eat a fondue in Lausanne
You cannot leave Switzerland without eating a fondue. Even in summer, I was up for a good fondue.
There are 3 very good restaurants where to in a fondue in Lausanne : Pinson, café du Grutli and l’eveché.
Bon appétit!
Visit the Olympic Museum
Lausanne is the Olympics capital. Indeed Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic games established it’s headquarters in Lausanne during the First world war because Switzerland was a neutral country. Today the headquarters are still there and many sport federations have there offices in the city. For those who are interested in more, you can visit the Olympic museum. Perfect for a rainy day if you don’t know what to do in Lausanne on that day! It is a very well made and interactive museum to discover the history and the behind the scenes of the Olympic games.
Fun for both children and adults.
Have a drink by the lake in Ouchy
Ouchy is THE place to be in summer. You can have a drink by the lake at Minimum Bar or la Jetée de la compagnie.
Both places also organize daily activities like yoga etc so keep an eye on the programm if you go.
As you can see there is always some things to do in Lausanne!
What to do in Lausanne in summer : go to the beach in Ouchy
Lausanne has got very nice weather in summer. You will not want to miss the chance to swim in the lake Geneva so pack your bikini and head over to the Lausanne beach in Ouchy!
Lausanne one of the most beautiful cities in Switzerland because of lake Geneva
Lake Geneva is what makes Lausanne one of the most beautiful cities in Switzerland! To enjoy the beautiful lake and it’s mountainous landscape, you can go for a boat ride. We took one of the solar boats ( Swiss are very aware of the environment – I mean it would be stupid not to care when you have such a beautiful country!) for a little tour. Some of us even jumped in the water!
If you are there in Summer plan your visit during the Festival de la Cité
Every summer, for a few days in July a free festival is happening in the city. Festival de la Cité is a free event that promotes art in the city with theatre, dance, performance art, classical music, jazz, contemporary music, etc.
Bonus, go on an helicopter flight over Lake Geneva
We were so lucky to go on an helicopter ride over the Geneva lake with HeliLausanne. We flew over Lausanne, the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces that are a Unseco world heritage, Montreux, the Chateau de Chillon and we went closer to the Swiss Alps. A wonderful experience!
Bisous
Amandine
*Article written in collaboration with Lausanne Tourism