24904CH
City Sightseeing & Facts and Free Time
Opening days/times, entrance fees, etc. listed on Yellow Pages attachment.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
From Lausanne train station you can take the metro line M2 (pink) train station to Centre Ville (3 min trip, two intermediate stops).
Most buses departing from train station goes to the centre.
You can buy metro tickets from an automated machine in front of the entrance (5 tickets at once).
Once you check in your hotel, the hotel should give you a “Lausanne transport Card”. Which will allow you to take metro + buses inside Lausanne for free. Tell the group to keep this card with them at all time in case of a police control. (Call your hotel prior the tour if you would like to check)
Boat and pedalo hire: Port at Ouchy / Parc Bourget at Vidy
MUSEUMS
Olympic Museum
To access the museum you can take the Bus 8 (direction Verriere) and stop at “Musée Olympique” the bus stops right behind the second entrance, you will come in from the 3rd level which is the restaurant, take the stairs to the ground floor where you can buy tickets for your group. Entrance for groups includes all exhibits, the museum is quite big allow 1h45 minimum for the group to see everything.
The museum is situated near the lake and well signpost.
On your way out you can walk along the Lake Leman to the metro stop Ouchy (10 minutes walk from museum)
Art Brut Collection
Permanent collection of Art Brut, i.e. original and inventive ‘outsider’ art created by eccentrics, recluses, inmates of prisons, asylums etc
Elysée Museum
Dürer, Rembrandt . . . in a large 18th C villa
Palais de Rumine
Several museums covering natural history, sciences and Fine Arts exhibiting works by Swiss artists
RESTAURANTS
Restaurants in Switzerland can be expensive: e.g. 25-30CHF for a one-course lunch, so you might want to bring your group to a cheaper cafeteria option, there are some nice ones with a terrasse and a view on the 5th floor of the shopping mall.
Manor – restaurant on top floor. (Rue Pichard 3, 1002 Lausanne)
Coop City– restaurant on top floor. (Rue Saint-Laurent 24-30
1003 Lausanne)
Or a picnic in one the beautiful parks of Lausanne can be an option.
In some of the Polli bakeries you can sit down.
POST AND TELEPHONE OFFICES
Place St François
Place de la Gare
ATMS & CHANGE
There are ATMs everywhere in Lausanne where your group can take out some francs if they have a card with a pin, although almost every shops take euros and give you change in CHF.
There is an exchange office in the train station but they take 4 euros commission, so maybe exchange in Paris or town you were in before Switzerland.
On departure day if the group wants to get some euro they can exchange their CHF or get money out of a UBS ATM and they can choose to withdraw euros.
WALKING TOUR
Depending on the location of your hotel, the following walk is suggested. If this is not convenient you can get more ideas from the Lausanne Official Guide Book.
From the Place St Francois take the rue du Bourg, once lined with fine 18thC houses (no 26 has been restored). Take the rue Caroline to the left towards the Pont Bessieres, named after a Lausanne philanthropist. The bridge joins two hills, the river Flon used to flow in the valley (now covered over).
Take the rue St Etienne to the right to reach the Cathedral, a splendid Gothic building over 700 years old (1175-1275). The Cathedral Watch, possibly the last in the world, still calls the hour from the belfry, at 10 pm, 11, 12, 1 and 2. You can visit the belfry with your group for 2CHF each and see Lausanne from one of the highest point in the city. (Opening times: belfry; 9h30-12h30 and 14h00-16h30)
Take the picturesque covered staircase dating from the Middle Ages to the Place de la Palud, the traditional heart of old Lausanne. (Market here on Wed/Sat). The square is surrounded by fine old houses, especially noteworthy is the 17thC Town Hall. The arcades open into the Forum, where temporary exhibitions are held. The Fountain of Justice (16th and 17thC) and a modern clock with moving figures, a gift from local shopkeepers, complete the square.
Take the rue du Pont and the rue St Francois – attractive shopping streets – which bring you back to your starting point.
SHOPPING
There are lots of shopping to do in Lausanne but it can be expensive, in the old Lausanne rue St Laurent, Rue Pichard, rue Grand St Jean, Rue du pont Rue du Bourg there are lots of shops.
Montreux/Chillon
On your second day in Lausanne you will probably do an excursion to Chillon’s Castle and a stop to Montreux.
If not using a touring bus, there are two options to get to the chateau:
- From Lausanne you have a train the S1 every hour, which stops at Veytaux-Chillon train station (5min walk from castle). After the visit you can go back to Montreux with the same train in the opposite direction going towards Lausanne and get off at Montreux this train is schedule every hour. (Make sure you know the train timetable)
- Your second option is to take the IR (Inter Region) from Lausanne to Montreux every 25mn and then take the local bus VMCV near the lake (bus stop near the stairs leading to lake from train station) the bus stops in front of the chateau (10mn ride) you have to buy tickets inside the bus itself to an automated machine. After the visit you can go back to Lausanne by taking the S1 at Veytaux-Chillon train station. (! You can’t buy train tickets at this station so if you wanted to do that buy your train tickets in Lausanne or Montreux train station)
3. From Montreux walking to the chateau is more than an hour.
Visit of the Chateau
Call in advance to reserve a guided visit in English. On your left at the entrance there is a room with lockers to put your bags and coats (1 euro). On your right there are some rest rooms.
For groups under 20 people you don’t need a reservation. Allow an hour for the visit.
Visit of Montreux
From the station take the stairs down towards the lake and walk along the lake to the Market hall and the statue of Freddie Mercury, there is a big grocery store called MIGROS behind the statue if you were thinking about doing a picnic. If you continue along the lake you will find a few terrasses for drinks and ice creams and the casino where Queen recorded their last album.
There is nothing to see in the old Montreux, and if the group wants to do some shopping they can do it on Grand’rue or Avenue des Alpes, which leads to the train station.
ATMs and exchange office inside the train station.