A plan for Lausanne

The city is the host to the International Olympic Committee and two major universities. As you might expect the large student population makes for a lively nightlife and arts community, revolving around the Flon district. You'll also find a number of quality restaurants and two dozen museums of note, including the Olympic Museum and the offbeat Collection de l'Art Brut. Architecture buffs will find the best preserved Gothic cathedral in Switzerland at the top of the town.

Despite being a very international city (42% of its population in 2013 were foreign nationals), Lausanne is a French-speaking city. English is not as commonly spoken as in Geneva and you will probably have trouble communicating with an average person on the street. Most service-sector employees speak a little English however, and the level of English amongst young Swiss tends to be high (amongst the older generation it is German that tends to be far stronger). A visitor will have little trouble getting around with just English.

History

There has been a settlement on the hill of Lausanne since at least the stone age, but most histories of the city trace its origin to the Roman camp Lausanna which occupied a position just down the hill toward the lake in what is now the village of Vidy.

Relocated to a more defensible hilltop in the Middle Ages, Lausanne's increasing wealth and importance were largely derived from its placement on the primary north-south routes between Italy and the North Sea. It was the first major town north of the Saint Bernard pass, at least until the establishment of the bishopric of Valais.

In 1536 the Bernese took the city from the Dukes of Savoy as part of their drive to secure their southwestern frontier. The Bernese held the territory until Lausanne gained its independence from Bern after the invasion of a French army under Napoléon Bonaparte in 1798. The city was later, in 1803, admitted to Switzerland as the capital of Vaud.

1 Collection de l'Art Brut, Av. des Bergières 11 (bus 2 toward Désert, stop at Jomini, bus 3 toward Bellevaux, stop Beaulieu), ☏ +41 21 315-2570. Tue-Sun 11:00-18:00. This must-see collection of works by untrained artists will at turns delight, amaze, baffle, and irritate. Many of the artists whose works are shown here found life difficult or impossible outside (or inside) of institutions, finding solace and purpose in sometimes compulsive acts of creation. Fr. 10.

2 Palais de Rumine, Place de la Riponne 6, ☏ +41 21 316-3310. Tue Wed 11:00-18:00, Thu 11:00-20:00, Fri-Sun 11:00-17:00. Based on an Italian renaissance design, this lovely building is not as old as it looks. There are five different museums inside with exhibitions covering subjects ranging from fine arts to natural history. Fr. 4.

3 Musée d'archéologie et d'histoire, Place de la Riponne 6, ☏ +41 21 316-3430. Tue-Thu 11:00-18:00, Fri-Sun 11:00-17:00. Fr. 6.

4 Musée des Beaux-Arts, Place de la Riponne 6, ☏ +41 21 316-3445. Mon-Thu 11:00-20:00, Fri-Sun 11:00-17:00. (updated Nov 2024)

5 Musée Historique de Lausanne, Place de la Cathedral 4, ☏ +41 21 315-4101. Tue-Thu 11:00-18:00, Fri-Sun 11:00-17:00. A collection of maps, images and documents about the history of Lausanne, and the Lake Geneva region from the earliest times through the long Bernese occupation to liberation and the present day. A beautifully hand-crafted diorama of 16th-century Lausanne is worth a visit all by itself. Fr. 4, students Fr. 2.50.

6 Mudac, Place de la Cathédral 6, ☏ +41 21 315-2530. Tue-Sun 11:00-18:00, Jul-Aug Mon 11:00-18:00. The museum of design and contemporary applied arts. Fr. 10.

7 Musée de l'Elysée, Av. de l'Elysée 18, ☏ +41 21 316-9911. Tue-Sun 11:00-18:00. A world-class photography museum, located in a splendid park. Very close to the Olympic Museum. Fr. 8, students Fr. 4.

8 Espace Arlaud, Place de la Riponne 2 bis, ☏ +41 21 316-3850. Wed-Fri 12:00-18:00, Fri-Sun 11:00-17:00. Fr. 6.

9 La Tour d'Ale. One of the few surviving parts of the medieval ramparts, the tower provides a good excuse to visit rue de l'Ale and rue de la Tour. While you can admire it from outside it's closed to visitors.

Explore The Old Town. From the railway station you can take the convenient metro up to either Flon, Riponne or Bessières (close to the cathedral). Alternatively, if you don't mind climbing, the car-free section of old town really starts right across from the train station, with a steep walk up the hill. Shops keep strict hours: M-F 10:00-19:00, and Sa 10:00-18:00. On Wednesdays and Saturdays year-round almost all of the huge car-free area becomes a vast farmers market. Thanks to the hills making it hard to pave over, Lausanne's old town is larger than most found in Swiss cities, with the notable exception of Zurich. You can spend days wandering the old cobbled streets and still not know all of its nooks and crannies. After the shops close there are dozens of quaint, cozy, hip, or just warm restaurants, cafés and nightclubs, especially considering that at Place Central the old town joins with the Flon nightclub/gallery district. Wander as long as you like, there's no charge of course.

Explore the Sauvabelin Forest (north of the centre). Don't miss the freely accessible Sauvabelin tower, from which you have a 360° view of the lake, the Alps and the Jura. Then go down to the city centre through the park of the Fondation de l'Hermitage (see above).

Enjoy the lakefront of Ouchy. Take Metro 2 to Ouchy, et voila, as you leave the metro station you'll find the lake (and on a clear day the Alps) stretched out in front of you. The lake front also offers restaurants, bars, and the Chateau d'Ouchy castle/hotel.

Climb up the Cathedral Tower. The view from the top of the Cathedral tower is well worth the climb. Ask the nun at the souvenir shop in the Cathedral. From 22:00 until two in the morning, a watch man shouts the hours, perpetuating a tradition that dates back to 1405.

Football: FC Lausanne Sport play soccer in Swiss Super League, the top tier. Their home ground is Stade de la Tuilière (capacity 12,500) 3 km north of city centre.

FC Stade Lausanne Ouchy were relegated in 2024 and play in the Challenge League, the second tier. Their home ground is La Pontaise (capacity 15,700) the Olympic stadium 2 km north of city centre.

Budget

The usual tricks for budget travel dining work in Lausanne as well. There are three grocery stores inside the train station which are open every day until midnight (a bit expensive), Aldi is in the back of the station below track 9, and it represents a good alternative. There are plenty of great places to take your picnic: for instance, you might try the Crêt de Montriond. To get there go below the railways, take the stairs and go to the main avenue, then turn to the left. After the turn you should see a green hill around the size of a five-storey building directly in front of you. If you are closer to the port of Ouchy, there are two groceries open every day: "Migros" which is near the Mövenpick Hotel and another "Coop Pronto", which is just uphill from the Chateâu d'Ouchy.

If you have a valid student ID, many budget and even some mid-range restaurants offer a student menu for a reduced price.

1 P'tit Bar, Rue Louis-Curtat 6. Daily until 19:00. Tiny, as the name would indicate this place can accommodate around 12 people at a time, and that's with strangers seated together at the tiny table, (it works out to be a good place to meet people.) They only serve lunch: salads in the Summer and excellent soup in the winter. (updated Aug 2022)

2 Tibits, Place de la Gare 11, 1003 Lausanne (In the train station, at the west end of platform 1), ☏ +41 32 531 38 88, info@tibits.ch. 06:30 - 23:00. A fully vegetarian buffet with a few made-to-order fast food options (veggie burger), and excellent local wine in the classic setting of the old "Buffet de la Gare". Tibits didn't renovate the space but rather lovingly restored it and it shows. Fr. 1-30. (updated Aug 2022)

The sheer number of nightlife spots makes it hard to choose which ones to list. As a general rule they tend to be clustered into nightlife districts, like the Flon, Place du Tunnel, Place de la Gare, and Rue Marterey. This list tries to present one or two individual establishments from each of those clusters, plus a few which are a bit more off the beaten path.

The city's official website has surprisingly good music listings, so if you would like to see what's going on during your visit give it a try.

Bars

1 Le Bourg, Rue de Bourg 51, ☏ +41 21 311-6753. Wed 18:00-01:00, Thu 18:00-03:00, Fri Sat 18:00-04:00. A great place to see up-and-coming jazz and performance oriented acts from all over the continent. The place is a real theater with a tiny bar in front, and the booking is simply amazing for a room which can hold maybe 30 people tops, with acts ranging from French accordion jazz or gypsy jazz to Coco-Rosie-like "new folk" to famed Chicago and NYC DJs. You would not be alone in asking how they can pull that off. Fr. 4.

2 La Bossette (La Bo7), Place du Nord 4, ☏ +41213201585, info@bo7.ch. Restaurant and bar, relaxed atmosphere, reasonable prices and good beer. (updated Aug 2025)

3 Black Luna, Place de l'Europe 7 (inside of the Flon Metro station, near the M1 track), ☏ +41 21 311-4427. Tue-Sat until 02:00. A cool, dark cave of a place inhabiting the former location of N²O and Luna before it, Black Luna offers a floral environment, an excellent bar-food menu and good drinks, as well as a little bit of a respite two steps from the Flon nightlife district, and practically inside the Flon Metro station. Fr. 3.50-7.00 for a beer or a glass of wine.

4 Bar Tabac, Rue Beau-Séjour 7, ☏ +41 21 312-3316. This friendly café has a huge selection of Belgian beers and French wines. The décor is understated hip, the climate is calm, and the clientèle is a very pleasant mix.

5 Café Couronne d'Or, Rue des Deux-Marches 13, ☏ +41 21 311-3817. Sun Tue 16:00-23:59, Wed 08:00-23:59, Thu-Sat 08:00-01:00. Another fine place for a drink over your master's thesis, or a conversation with friends, the Couronne packs them in on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday evening. Cosy old bar in a small alley between Riponne and Tunnel.

On foot

Walking is a great way to get around Lausanne. There are a number of sites within a short walk of the main railway station with the largely car-free streets beginning right across the street with Rue du Petit-Chêne, which leads up to Place St. François in the old town. From there, more pedestrian streets lead to the Flon quarter with many bars, clubs and restaurants, to the shopping streets between Place St. François and Place de la Riponne, and to the old city near the cathedral. When planning your walk, consider that Lausanne is unusually steep for a city of its size, with many streets that can look deceptively easy on the map, and this may pose a challenge especially to those with reduced mobility. The Metro M2 line (see below) covers much of the steepest parts of the city and therefore is a good alternative to walking.

By metro

Lausanne is the smallest city in the world to have a metro system. There are two Metro lines provided by Transports publics de la région lausannoise which have their hub at the Flon Metro station. The new M2 is a fully automated subway system connecting Ouchy to the northern suburb of Epalinges via the central station, Flon, and multiple stops in the old town. M2 can be a little surprising to new arrivals, as both the route and even some stations are really steep: for instance at the Gare, the platform is tilted, so do please hold on tight. The Bessieres station near the cathedral is situated at a steep section of one of the old town's hills and the elevator ride from the station up to the bridge (you can see the city below through the windows of the elevator) is not something you get to experience in most other subway systems. The M1 serves points west, including the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

Lausanne by day is quite safe for a city of its size. By night, however, it does take on a bit of an edge. Due to the number of clubbers and migrants in the city there are a few bad apples amongst them.

Begging is becoming a problem in the old town. New organized groups have started to appear, as well as the occasional lone begging child. The most affected areas are Lausanne-Flon and Saint-François during daytime. Common sense in most cases: if the beggar is offensive or impolite, it's organized begging. Legitimate beggars are generally passive and silent. Do not encourage organized begging and immediately report cases of begging children to the nearest policeman or security guard.

Places to avoid at night are Rue de Genève (a prostitution centre in the area) and the park by the Tribunal d'Arrondissement. La Borde and the forest of Sauvabelin also have a bad reputation at night. Brawls related to the high concentration of clubbers and drunk people on week-end nights, which used to rank Lausanne #1 for criminality in Swiss cities in the past, seem to have diminished these last years.

There are also several areas such as the train station and Chauderon where you may find yourself hassled by drug dealers. However their business is not usually mugging and these areas tend to be very busy and under police observation.

Place de la Riponne can be a fairly scary area as it is the city-assigned congregation area for drug addicts. However it tends to have constant foot traffic and regular police patrols. Locals vastly overstate how dangerous it actually is due to its previously far worse state.

Lone women should be particularly aware when walking about after dark, though attacks are rare.

Additionally be aware on the train between Lausanne and Geneva airport; it is a well known target for bag snatchers.