Lausanne🇨🇭

The flagship museum of the International Olympic Committee on the lake shore at Ouchy. Three floors trace the Olympic movement from Coubertin's 1894 founding through to recent Games — Owens's 1936 Berlin spikes, Bolt's 2008 Beijing shoes, the original Athens 1896 medals, and torches from every modern Games. The 1.5-hour visit is genuinely moving even for non-sport fans. CHF 20 entry, closed Mondays. The lakeside Olympic Park outside is free and full of athlete sculptures.

The finest Gothic cathedral in Switzerland, begun 1170 and consecrated by Pope Gregory X in 1275 in the presence of the Holy Roman Emperor. Climb the 232 steps of the south tower for sweeping views of the city, Lake Geneva, and the French Alps across the water. The 13th-century rose window is one of the largest in Europe. A medieval night watchman still calls the hours from the cathedral tower from 10 pm to 2 am every night, a 600-year tradition. Cathedral free; tower CHF 5.

A 4 km lakefront promenade running from Vidy in the west past the Olympic Museum and Château d'Ouchy to Lutry in the east. Lined with palm trees (Lausanne's lake-warmed microclimate supports them), waterfront restaurants, and the small Ouchy harbour where the historic CGN paddle steamers depart for cross-lake France. The 16th-century Château d'Ouchy is now a hotel; the small public beach at Vidy is free and lively in summer.

The medieval lower town centred on Place de la Palud with the painted town hall, the Justice Fountain (1585), and the famous Lausanne Mechanical Clock that performs an animated history of the city every hour from 9 am to 7 pm. Nearby Rue du Bourg and the covered Escaliers du Marché wooden steps climbing to the cathedral are pleasant for walking and lined with cafés.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007, the Lavaux is 800 hectares of stone-walled terraced vineyards stretching 30 km along the lake from Lutry east toward Vevey. Take the train to Cully or Lutry (10-15 min from Lausanne) and walk the marked vineyard trails — the classic Saint-Saphorin to Lutry route is 11 km of constant lake and Alps views. Stop at any winery for tastings of local Chasselas and Pinot Noir. The Lavaux Express tourist train runs vineyard loops in season.

A 35 m wooden spiral tower in the Sauvabelin forest above the city, built entirely without nails or metal fasteners. The 151-step climb gives a panorama over Lausanne, Lake Geneva, and the French Alps on clear days. The surrounding forest park has a small lake with rowing boats, deer enclosures, and the Bois-Mermet hiking trails. Free, open all hours. Bus 16 from Bel-Air takes 12 minutes from city centre.

Founded by the painter Jean Dubuffet in 1976 in the 18th-century Château de Beaulieu, this is the world's first and largest museum dedicated to outsider art — works by self-taught artists, psychiatric patients, prisoners, and visionaries outside the conventional art world. 70,000 works in the collection, with rotating exhibitions of about 700 at a time. Genuinely strange and moving. CHF 12 entry, closed Mondays.

Lausanne's automatic metro is itself a sight — the M2 line climbs 339 m in 5.9 km from the Ouchy lake shore to the Croisettes hilltop with a 12 percent maximum gradient, the steepest fully-automatic metro in the world. Sit at the front of the driverless train for the Funicular-meets-Metro experience. CHF 3.70 single covers any direction. The Flon district at the midpoint is a converted warehouse area now full of restaurants and bars.

A 19th-century mansion in a 4-hectare park north of the city centre that hosts world-class temporary art exhibitions — typically 3 a year focused on Impressionists, Modernists, or important single-artist retrospectives. The garden is free and gives Cathedral views across the city. Café-restaurant on the terrace is excellent for lunch. CHF 22 entry to exhibitions; gardens free year-round.