Lausanne Things To Do – Old Town, Olympic Museum, Ouchy and EPFL

Europe is blessed with a wide variety of cities that have different traditions, language, cultures and architecture. It is a truly diverse place for anyone to experience in his lifetime. One of Europe’s crowning jewels is the city of Lausanne.
Located by Lake Geneva in the Canton of Vaud, Lausanne is the second largest city of its kind in Switzerland. Lausanne is mainly known among the students by its reputed and top ranked Swiss Federal Institute Of Technology Lausanne ETH (or Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne EPFL).

Daramatic sky reflection with boats in the middle, Vidy

Getting In

Lausanne is a city that is situated in the French speaking part of the country in the Canton of Vaud. It is about 45 minutes by train from Geneva, 2 hours from Zurich and 3 hours and a half from Paris (direct Train). Most of Lausanne requires that you walk. It is the best way to experience the place. You can take the Train des vignes, a leisurely journey that will take you through the winegrowing region of Lavaux.

Panorama – Golden Vineyards – Lavaux (15 minutes from Lausanne) | Autumn

Best attraction in Lausanne

Among the things to do in Lausanne, you can visit the city, the Lausanne Cathedral or you can go for a walk by the lake in Ouchy. However, my only favorite attraction/sightseeing is the long walk from Saint-Sulpice (or centre sportive EPFL/UNIl) to Vidy (or Ouchy) it is a very relaxing 1 hour and a half walk by the lake. There are several parks in the trail, many goes for running there and also for barbecuing during the summer.

Lonely tree from Switzerland to France

Things to do in Lausanne

The old town, the center of the old diocesan past of the city is automobile-free. It is a pedestrian’s paradise. The center of attraction of the old town is the medieval cathedral, widely considered as Switzerland’s most beautiful representation of early Gothic architecture.

Lausanne downtown Christmas decoration

Make sure to visit the Ouchy waterfront. It is a beautiful place to spend some quiet moments in the evening before heading back to your hotel.

Lausanne has one of the best museums in Ouchy dedicated to the Olympic spirit. It is the largest museum of its kind in the world. In fact, Lausanne is the Olympic capital of the world.

You should also visit the Beaulieu Castle. It houses a beautiful collection of marginal art. You cannot also afford to miss the famous Béjart Ballet.

The city has an envious setting. Surrounded by gentle slopes that are covered with vineyards and the picturesque Lake Geneva located at its footsteps. Standing at any vantage point in the city you can watch in awe the majestic Savoy Alps.

On my way to Lausanne

Visiting the EPFL Campus

New Swisstech Convention Center located in the EPFL Campus has opened to host international events and conferences. Some of the building that worth a visit in the Campus are, The SwissTech Convention Center, The Rolex Learning Center (it has a form of slice of a cheese), The  Montreux Jazz Heritage Lab and the mechanical engineering building. All these building have some futuristic architectures. Besides  EPFL, the city has also an international business school and a university (UNIL) near EPFL.

From the EPFL campus (more precisely from the Rolex Learning Center), the lake is only 5 minutes walking, you can either go to Sain-Sulpice or go to Ouchy direction by the lake (1hour and half of walk).

SwissTech convention center EPFL

Colorful EPFL University main entrance

EPFL university main entrance

EPFL the mechanical engineering futuristic building

Tree alley (Fall season) – EPFL/UNIL Sport Center

Description

Lausanne’s attraction is in the inimitable beauty that surrounds the city, its old town charm, medieval architecture as well its people. It has the friendliest of people with a dash of French hospitality.