Lausanne
Lausanne is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French-speaking canton of Vaud, in Switzerland.
Lausanne is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French-speaking canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. The Olympic capital, it is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and facing the French town of Évian-les-Bains across the lake. Lausanne is 51.7 kilometres northeast of Geneva, the nearest major city. The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland convenes in Lausanne, although it is not the de jure capital of the nation.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
- 01Collection de l'Art Brut
- 02Palais de Rumine
Based on an Italian renaissance design, this lovely building is not as old as it looks.
- 03Musée des Beaux-Arts
Place de la Riponne 6,.
- 04Musée Historique de Lausanne
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.
- 05Mudac
The museum of design and contemporary applied arts.
- 06Musée
A world-class photography museum, located in a splendid park.
From Wikivoyage: Lausanne, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
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.
- 01Métropole
- 02Espace de Terreaux
- 03Arsenic
Rue de Genève 57, info@theatre-arsenic.ch.
- 04Théâtre de Vidy
Av.
- 05Théâtre Boulimie
Place Arlaud 1,.
- 06Théâtre
Rue de l'Industrie 10,.
From Wikivoyage: Lausanne, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
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.
From Wikivoyage: Lausanne, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Lausanne
- Airports
- Geneva (GVA), 51 km · EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL), 138 km · Lyon Saint-Exupéry (LYS), 148 km
- Geneva → Lausanne51 km · quickest by road, 1h 16m · CHF7–9
- Zurich → Lausanne174 km · quickest by road, 3h 25m · CHF23–31
- Bâle / Mulhouse → Lausanne147 km · quickest by road, 3h 31m · €23–32
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Lausanne
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Lausanne. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inBoats ply the Swiss and French shores of Lake Geneva with several daily ferries from Evian, Montreux, Geneva and many smaller lake shore towns.
- Get inMost of the ferries are meant as scenic trips and not the fastest way to get around.
From Wikivoyage: Lausanne, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01102 km
- 02359 km
- 03745 km
- 04760 km
- 05862 km
If you know how people move in Lausanne – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.