Lausanne Off The Beaten Path

If one is settled in Lausanne, probably the best choice for a day-trip, excluding places on the shores of Lake Geneva – is Neuchatel. Located on the Lake Neuchatel, the largest lake entirely in Switzerland, this small city is part of French-speaking-Switzerland. From Lausanne it can be reached by train, in no more than an hour. Although Neuchatel has much to offer, it is not very spacious, and one who is willing to explore the city in the running-style – will see a lot and have a great day.

The highlights of our visit to Neuchatel were Chateau, Collegiale – Collegiate Church, Musee d'Art et d'Histoire – Museum of Art and History… but the whole Old Town, of which the most is pedestrian zone – is beautiful.

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Tour de Sauvabelin – Sauvabelin Tower was built in 2003 using wood cut from local forests. This 35 m high structure, provides a full-circle view over the city, the lake, the mountains and the neighbouring countryside. The view is well worth of the effort of climbing to the top, although we liked the view from the Tower of the Cathedral more.

The Tower is located very near Lac de Sauvabelin – Lake Sauvbelin, just a few minutes of walking to the south, towards the city of Lausanne. In winter the Tower is open from 9 am to 5 pm and in summer from 9 am to 9 pm. When the weather is bad the Tower is closed for security reasons.

When one is settled in Lausanne, one-day trip to Vevey and Montreux is certain pick. It seems to us that those two towns are kind of twin-towns – both look like rising from the water of Lake Geneva, both were settled in Roman times, both of a similar population (one a bit more than 20,000 inhabitants, the other a bit less than that), both, apart, earned the nickname of "Pearl of Swiss Riviera", even if you want to bye a map of one – you'll get the map of both, because the maps are printed on the same sheet.

Montreux is the more popular "twin", more vivid and "wild" one. It is known for its Jazz Festival, Freddie Mercury's Montreux Memorial Day, Golden Rose Festival, Smoke on the Water… And, more than anything, for the famous Chateau Chillon.

We have enjoyed a long walk along the lake, after the visit to Chateau Chillon. Thanks to VT, Monument of Freddie Mercury was no surprise to us.

Montreux can be reached from Lausanne by train and by boat.

When one is settled in Lausanne, one-day trip to Vevey and Montreux is certain pick. It seems to us that those two towns are kind of twin-towns – both look like rising from the water of Lake Geneva, both were settled in Roman times, both of a similar population (one a bit more than 20,000 inhabitants, the other a bit less than that), both, apart, earned the nickname of "Pearl of Swiss Riviera", even if you want to bye a map of one – you'll get the map of both, because the maps are printed on the same sheet.

Vevey, the smaller, is often neglected by visitors in favour of the larger, Montreux, but undeservedly – it is a chic little resort of quiet charm, with much to offer to its visitors.

For the short time we have spent in Vevey, we managed to see Musee Jenisch – Jenisch Museum and Musee suisse de l'appareil photographique – Swiss Camera Museum, both excellent. And to take a pleasant walk along the lake.

Vevey can be reached from Lausanne by train and by boat.

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Sauvabelin is a forest overlooking Lausanne. In 1888 the city of Lausanne authorized the construction of the artificial lake in Sauvabelin forest. Almost immediately after the construction of the little romantic lake, Sauvbelin had become very popular picnic place – the citizens of Lausanne take Sunday walks there, in winter they come to skate, in the summer they spend time in the rented rowing boats on the lake… Lac de Sauvabelin – Lake Sauvbelin is approximately 100 m wide and 150 m long, deep between 1 m and 1.5 m, with an island in the center.

Probably the most interesting area for the children is tiny ZOO with cows, goats, woolly pigs, ducks, geese, swans…

Although beautiful place, Sauvabelin forest and lake surrounding is not among the top tourist attractions in Lausanne. This "face" of Lausanne is reserved for those travelers who spend a bit more time in the city.

Lake Sauvbelin can be easily reached by Public transport – bus #16.

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The seat of International Olympic Committee is in Lausanne, but it is neither in the building of the Olympic Museum, nor near it. The seat building is in part of Lausanne called Vidy, by the shore of Lake Geneva, west from the city center. In front of the building there is the famous and widely recognizable "Monument to the Olympic Games", artwork of Catalan sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs i Sitjar, created in 1983. In the beautifully shaped surrounding there are a few more sculptures, among them one from the "Tai Chi" series by Taiwanese sculptor Ju Ming. On the south side of IOC building, between the building and the lake, is Place du Granit – Granite Square, with beautiful, granite, cascade fountain.

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We do prepare for our travels, but every place (including the area around the city we live in) hides something that could produce great feeling of surprise and thrill, no matter how solemn our preparations were… That "something" (regarding our travel to Lausanne) was astonishing landscape of the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces.

Quite a long time later we have found out that the Lavaux is the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007. World Heritage web page gives the following description of the site: "The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, stretching for about 30 km along the south-facing northern shores of Lake Geneva from the Chateau de Chillon to the eastern outskirts of Lausanne in the Vaud region, cover the lower slopes of the mountainside between the villages and the lake. Although there is some evidence that vines were grown in the area in Roman times, the present vine terraces can be traced back to the 11th century, when Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries controlled the area. It is an outstanding example of a centuries-long interaction between people and their environment, developed to optimize local resources so as to produce a highly valued wine that has always been important to the economy. […] The Lavaux vineyard landscape is an outstanding example that displays centuries of interaction between people and their environment in a very specific and productive way, optimizing the local resources to produce a highly valued wine that was a significant part of the local economy. Its vulnerability in the face of fast-growing urban settlements has prompted protection measures strongly supported by local communities."

We saw the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces from the Geneva Lake. Hopefully, next time we'll have opportunity to take a closer look of Lavaux.

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Place de la Madeleine is could be described as a terrace standing by the south side of Palais de Rumine, on the elevation half-way between Place de la Rippone and Rue Pierre Viret, connected to both by Escaliers de l'Universite. It is one of those spots near the most prominent places, but somehow secluded, calm, sleepy, tourist free… Very useful Lausanne tourisme web page gives A touch of history using the book Les places de Lausanne by Louis Polla: Until the 16th century, the square was a cemetery to the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, adjoining Dominican convent established there in the 13th century. And then, in the 16th century, everything was demolished. Later, in 1754 a railing was made, and 15 years later, in 1771, the shops were built. From 1841, the merchants of shoes, hats, baskets… used to sell their products on the Place de la Madeleine. In the 1850s, the place was leveled and a covered fountain was erected. The fountain was especially popular among washerwomen, actually it was so popular that the municipality had to prohibit the hanging of laundry on gates.

Place de la Madeleine took its present appearance during the construction of the Palais de Rumine, between 1898 and 1906. As the final touch, the Monument of Louis Ruchonnet, eminent Lausanne politician, was erected in 1906. The monument was the artwork of Alfred Lanz, mostly recognized as the author of the Monument of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi in Yverdon, town on the south tip of Lac de Neuchatel – Neuchatel Lake.

Place de la Madeleine is among our favourites in Lausanne. We used it many times as the suitable spot for a short break during our explorations of the city.