Book Lausanne attraction tickets

Lausanne sits on a steep hillside above Lake Geneva, its streets climbing from the waterfront district of Ouchy up through the medieval old town to the Gothic cathedral that crowns the city. That topography is not incidental to the experience of being here: the funicular connecting the lakeside to the upper town, the terraced gardens, the sudden views across the water to the French Alps, all of it is shaped by the fact that Lausanne refuses to lie flat. It is the capital of the canton of Vaud, a university city, and the seat of the International Olympic Committee, and those three facts together go some way to explaining its particular character: intellectually serious, internationally minded, and quietly proud of its place on one of Europe's most celebrated stretches of water.

The lake is the dominant fact of any visit. Geneva's northern shore, known as the Swiss Riviera, stretches eastward from Lausanne toward Montreux and Vevey, and the light on the water here has attracted painters, writers, and composers for centuries. Byron wrote part of his work at the nearby Château de Chillon; Voltaire passed through; the region has long drawn people who wanted to think clearly in beautiful surroundings. From Ouchy, the lakeside promenade is the natural place to begin orienting yourself, and several of the experiences available through the catalogue extend that relationship with the water directly. A three-hour roundtrip cruise from Lausanne gives a perspective on the shoreline that no walk can replicate, while the Swiss Riviera Boat Tour traces the broader arc of this celebrated stretch of the Léman, taking in the vineyard terraces of Lavaux, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape of remarkable precision and beauty.