Vaud · Switzerland Capital
In the destination Lausanne and Montreux.
In the photo: Catedral de Lausanne and Lago Léman
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
The city
Capital of the canton of Vaud, Lausanne rises in slopes from the Ouchy waterfront on Lago Léman up to the Cité, with a Gothic cathedral where a night watchman announces the hours every evening. It hosts the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee and has the Musée Olympique, the museum quarter Plateforme 10 and the Collection de l'Art Brut. The m2 metro links the lake to the centre, and the vineyards of Lavaux begin in the neighbouring Lutry.
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The local experience
Gothic cathedral atop the Cité, consecrated in 1275, with a 13th‑century rose window, a painted portal and a watchman who announces the hours from the tower every night — a tradition kept since 1405.
The Hôtel de Ville square, with the Fontaine de la Justice, a clock with moving figures and a market twice a week, and the covered wooden staircase that leads up to the cathedral.
Lausanne's old harbour on the shores of the Léman, with tree‑lined quays, the Château d'Ouchy, the CGN boat terminal and the final stop of the m2 metro, which rises up to the centre.
The museum of the Comité Olímpico Internacional, on the lakeside in Ouchy, with three floors about the Games and a park of sports sculptures that steps down to the water.
The arts district next to Lausanne station, with the Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts (MCBA), Photo Elysée for photography, and the mudac for design and applied arts.
Museum dedicated to art brut, made by self-taught creators outside the artistic circuit, based on the collection that the French painter Jean Dubuffet donated to the city of Lausanne.
Terraced vineyards on stone walls above Lake Léman, between Lausanne and Vevey, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007, with winegrowers' villages, trails, the little train Lavaux Express and the Lavaux Vinorama.
Side-wheel paddle steamers built between 1904 and 1927 that sail on the Léman from Ouchy, linking Lausanne with Lavaux, Vevey, Montreux, Chillon and the French shore.
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