Switzerland » Lausanne

Lausanne is the capital of the Swiss canton of Vaud, is a medium sized city (around two thirds the size of Geneva) which sits at the northern most point of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman). The city is the host to the International Olympic Committee and two major universities. The neighborhoods of Lausanne which are of primary concern to a visitor are the Cité, the Ville Marché, and the port of Ouchy. Most of the hotels in Lausanne are in the mid-price range, though there are also a number of luxury hotels as you would expect in the city which hosts the International Olympic Committee.

Lausanne is a French speaking city, but Swiss-German and Italian are also spoken. A large enough part of the population has English as a second language that you probably will have little trouble, but it is not as commonly spoken as in nearby Geneva.

There are usually two Metro lines provided by Transports publics de la région lausannoise which have their hub at the Flon Metro station. The M2 connecting Flon to the main train station and the lakefront at Ouchy is currently out of service. When service resumes sometime in 2008 the new M2 will be a fully automated subway system connecting Ouchy to the northern suburb of Epalinges via the central station, Flon, and multiple stops in the old town.