Lausanne - a Swiss riviera

After exploring Rhône-Alpes region towns - Annecy, Aix-les-Bains, Lion and Grenoble in south-eastern France we packed our bags and took a train to Geneva, where we had a hotel reservation for two nights. Upon arrival we quickly did a check-in and left our luggage in a hotel room in the centre of Geneva, quickly because Lausanne was already waiting for us. Lausanne is only half an hour train ride away from Geneva. Here you can find the train timetable and tickets online and also live train timetable on a map. As you may probably know, Lausanne and Geneva are situated in a French-speaking part of the Switzerland, very close to Swiss-France border.

And once again lake and mountains. Lausanne is laying on the shores of lake Geneva, as well known as lake Léman. Sharing the coast not only with Geneva and Montreaux, but also French cities situated on the opposite bank, the Swiss-France border is in the middle of the lake. So if you are on roaming and want to call home, better connect to the France mobile network - this trick will help you to get a smaller bill.

Here you will face even more boats and yachts than it was in the French part of the journey. It is a good idea to explore lake Geneva by boat

Up to now I had visited Switzerland twice, exploring Geneva and Lausanne during this trip and Zurich during my next visit after a year and this was completely enough for Switzerland to become one on the countries I love with all my heart. 
When I receive a question about where would I relocate if I had to, actually I am not planning, and probably never will, but Lausanne will be on this very short list of the cities where I would love to live. So, 139 390 citizens according to population census in 2013, I think you are very lucky.

One little funny remark, when we were taking pictures on the embankment, one man, hearing that we speak Russian, was wondering in Russian, why we are wasting our time here, if there right near the coast, some 300 meters closer to the town centre, two Russian submarines are floating up. At that moment  we were quite surprised, of course had not watched the news that day, but how Russian submarines could float up in Léman -it's a lake.

When we reached the place the man was talking about, actually when we were still approaching this place, we already knew we are going the right way, because we heard many loud traditional Russian rude words, we had not heard for mostly a week.
And the submarines turned to be "Mir" - a self-propelled deep submergence vehicle. In summer 2011, both Mirs were conducting a scientific exploration program in exploring Lake Geneva's geology and physics. Here is the video from youtube.

After a short walk by the lake coast away from the town centre, you will reach the Lausanne Olympic museum - the largest archive of Olympic Games in the world. As you know, the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee are located in Lausanne as well.

 In front of the museum there is Olympic park with sculptures.

After exploring the Olympics you can continue your walk away from the city centre to enjoy the views.

When you start to feel tired or hungry, turn around, head to the town centre and have meal in one of the restaurants, or buy some sandwiches and have a lunch on one of the benches near the lake. Don't forget - you are in Switzerland, one of the most expensive countries in Europe.

After exploring old town of Lausanne we took a train back to Geneva and spend evening and the last day of our vacation there.
Here are some pictures from the capital of watches and luxury.

 

Jet d'Eau - the large fontaine in the lake Geneva is one of the largest fountains in the world - 500 litres of water per second are jetted to an altitude of 140 metres.

Next morning we were flying over Alps back to Helsinki.

Not to get lost:
360 degree panorama of Lausanne
public transport in Lausanne
map of Lausanne

How to get there: if you are travelling from one of the Switzerland cities the easiest way is to reach Lausanne by train, here you can find train timetable and tickets online It will took you about half an hour to reach Lausanne from Geneva by train. There is direct train to Lausanne from Geneva international airport, the duration of journey is 50 minutes. When you will be searching for the train, check "Supersaver tickets" option, offering 50% discount for a certain trains during the day.
Supersaver one way train ticket to Lausanne from Geneva will cost you about 11 CHF, and about 13 CHF from Geneva airport. But remember- the number of supersaver tickets is limited.

What to do: have a slow walk by the lake coast, explore the Olimpics, go up to one of the panoramic points to see the city from above, try the famous cheese fondue in one of the old town restaurants, taste Swiss chocolate - here is the paradise for chocoholics - my favourite is Lindt, and what's yours?

Some travel tips: as the Swiss currency is CHF, it is a good idea to visit currency exchange before you cross the boarder, because it is not possible to pay by card or using EUR for example in public transport, so exchange some CHF before you go.
As you may probably know Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe so it's a good moment to start your diet :) this of course is a joke, but be prepared for very high prices
 

Hope you enjoyed this little excursion!

Julija