If you choose Lausanne for its culture and Lake Geneva, you can plan your stay around different highlights: a large museum complex near the main railway station, art institutions with their own histories, the Gothic cathedral, and park and lakeside paths. These places appeal to different interests rather than setting out a single standard route. When choosing accommodation, it may therefore be useful to start by deciding which themes you want to shape your stay; once there, you can give culture, views and walks the emphasis you prefer.
Art and Museums in Lausanne
Plateforme 10 brings together three cantonal museums and two foundations on an esplanade spanning almost 25,000 square metres, just a few steps from Lausanne’s main railway station. The site is conceived as a public space in the heart of the city. Here, visual art, photography and design come together. If you are interested in several of these fields, it provides a shared cultural destination without combining the different subjects into a single museum.
The Collection de l’Art Brut has its own focus: it has been housed in the Château de Beaulieu since 1976 and is home to the world’s first collection devoted entirely to Art Brut. The events on offer also cover a range of interests, including exhibitions, guided tours with commentary, public workshops, conferences and exhibition openings. Check the specific dates if you would like to include one of these events in your visit.
The Musée Olympique focuses on sport, art and culture, presenting these themes through modern, interactive installations. The museum is located in a park above Lake Geneva. This makes a visit here distinct from Plateforme 10, with its Olympic focus and lakeside setting. When planning, you can decide whether you are more interested in art and design or in the combination of sport, art and culture.
The Cathedral, Views and Art in the City
Lausanne Cathedral is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture and has towered over the city for more than eight centuries. From the tower, you can enjoy panoramic views over the rooftops of the Cité, Lake Geneva and the Alps. There is a specific access restriction affecting part of the building: the rose window and its stained glass in the south transept are inaccessible until spring 2027 due to the renovation of the vaults.
You can also discover art in Lausanne along a walk. The free Art-en-Ville map helps you find sculptures, paintings and photographs scattered throughout the city. It complements a museum visit with works in public spaces. The map is therefore a good option if you would rather seek out different works during a walk than focus on a single exhibition.
Lakeside Walks and Nature in the City
Parc de Sauvabelin offers walking paths with panoramic views over Lausanne and Lake Geneva. The area also includes Lac de Sauvabelin, regarded as one of Lausanne’s symbols of nature in the city. The lake can be reached from the centre in no more than ten minutes. The paths and views give this area a different focus from the city’s art and cultural offerings.
Along the shores of Ouchy, three gardens are linked by promenades: Denantou, Elysée and Parc Olympique. Pedestrians, cyclists and roller-sports enthusiasts use the promenades. This makes them an option for different ways of spending time by the lake. If you would like to combine the views of the water with a boat trip, you can set off on a Lake Geneva cruise from the CGN landing stages at the end of the Dapples Gardens.
Other Interests and Getting There
AQUATIS offers a different focus: visitors travel through five continents and discover freshwater habitats. It is Switzerland’s largest freshwater aquarium-vivarium. To get there, take Metro M2 towards Croisettes to Vennes station. AQUATIS also has a park-and-ride car park with 1,200 spaces. For this visit, you can therefore choose between metro access and parking.
The highlights described here can be arranged according to your interests: museums and art, Gothic architecture with views, green walking paths, or promenades along Lake Geneva. A cruise from the CGN landing stages or a visit to AQUATIS adds other specific activities to the options. Check the dates of any advertised events, and if visiting the cathedral, bear in mind the restriction on access to the rose window and stained-glass windows, which remains in place until spring 2027.
Discover more destinations: Crissier, Romanel-Sur-Lausanne, Bussigny, Epalinges, Belmont-Sur-Lausanne, Renens.
Return to the main travel overview: Lausanne.
