My base for the first half of my ten day trip to Switzerland in 2014, Lausanne is a very attractive city of 140,000 people on the shores of Lake Geneva. It is home to around 55 international sport associations, including the International Olympic Committee, and is the smallest city in the world with a rapid transit system, with 28 metro stations.
I stayed at the Lausanne Guesthouse & Backpacker, which in typical Swiss fashion wasn’t cheap but was high quality, with lake views.
Across the lake is Évian in France. I took a ferry there and back without stepping onto French soil. It is a quite beautiful lake.
This was an unexpected but pretty cool sight close to the waterfront.
There are some impressive buildings in Lausanne, including the huge Palais de Rumine, built with 1.5 million Swiss Francs left to the city by Gabriel de Rumine, son of Russian nobility.
The Palais de justice de Montbenon (“Montbenon Law Courts”) was built for the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, though they moved out in the 1920s.
Lausanne also has an Old Town, dating in parts back to the 6th century with original Lausanne Cathedral, though the current one dates from 1215 onwards.
