Lausanne Essential City Guide

Sitting high on a sweeping bend of Lake Geneva with stunning alpine views, Switzerland’s Lausanne is a cultured, graceful city with a youthful population and splendid natural setting, making it well worth exploring. Brian Johnston helps you find the best bits with the essential Lausanne city guide.

Known for

The Olympic games, gothic grandeur, and Lake Geneva

Eat streets

The chic wine bar and restaurant Nomade is a favourite among the trendy 30-somethings of the city. It has a great selection of wines by the glass to go with tapas or serious menu dishes such as prawn-stuffed tortellini or quail breast on risotto.

Café Beau-Rivage has a lively buzz overlooking the lake at Ouchy and is decked out in elegant brasserie style. Try local lake perch as you inhale the scent of garden roses.

Switzerland city guide Lausanne — Behind the Charles-Bessières bridge is the Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Out & about

The city’s Notre-Dame Cathedral is a Gothic masterpiece featuring soaring arches and stone-sculpted entrance doors, and the Old Town makes for a steep but very pleasant wander.

Keep walking to the well-heeled lakeshore neighbourhood Ouchy, with its kilometres of flower-flanked promenades and views across Lake Geneva to the French Alps.

Meanwhile, the Musée de l’Elysée has great contemporary photography.

Insider’s secret

The Collection de l’Art Brut features ‘outsider art’ created by people in mental institutions and criminal asylums. Its papier-maché figures, eggshell collages and lopsided sculptures will have you reassessing what ‘normal’ means in art (and people).

Retail reconnaissance

Boutiques selling quality antiques, collectables and fashion hunker in the medieval Haute Ville (upper town) behind the cathedral, especially along Rue du Bourg.

Down below this, around Place St François you’ll find high-street chains, watchmakers and department stores like the elegant Bongénie Grieder.

The essential experience

This small, self-confident French-speaking city is perhaps best known as the seat of the International Olympic Committee, with the family-friendly Musée Olympique as one of its drawcards.

It is a lavish, high-tech romp through the history of the Olympic Games, and its surrounding sculpture-dotted gardens are just lovely.

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Caffeine hit

Hip newcomer Blackbird Coffee & Breakfast Club provides leisurely lingering, rustic-but-modern décor and great in-house coffee. Go the Swiss croissant or muesli route, or break out with a full English breakfast.

Stay & play

Affordable

The family-run Hôtel des Voyageurs has a central but quiet location and comfortable contemporary rooms in a renovated Art Deco building.

Moderate

Lhotel is a sleek, cheerful, budget choice in the middle of the trendy Flon district downtown, great for shopping and nightlife.

Luxe

On the shores of Lake Geneva, Beau-Rivage Palace is one of Europe’s finest hotels, with elegant rooms and suites, beautiful views, and a spa.

Temperatures are soaring this summer, breaking records across Europe and the UK.

Euro summer is a feeling like no other. But when a heatwave hits? The dream trip quickly turns into a sweaty mess. Extreme heat is sweeping Europe and the UK this week, with record-high temperatures impacting travel plans across the continent.

And while Australian summers are typically hotter in absolute temperature, many European cities aren’t equipped for high temperatures, resulting in unbearable weather.

Why is it so hot in Europe?

Signs of a hot summer loomed in May, when the mercury hit unprecedented spring highs. Now, extreme high temperature warning alerts have been issued in countries such as Spain, Italy, France, England, the Netherlands and Germany.

France saw its hottest day on record on Wednesday, with an average temperature of 30°C across the day and night. This surpasses the average temperature for June, which is 15°C to 25°C. Dozens of people have died, including 40 from drowning.

In Spain, 212 deaths have been linked to the heatwave.

The UK recorded its hottest June day ever on Wednesday with temperatures soaring to 36.1°C. In an article published by the Met Office – the UK’s national meteorological service – Professor Stephen Belcher CBE, Met Office Chief Scientist, shared his concerns about June’s heat. “To see temperatures like this in the UK in June is sobering. Events like this bring home the implications of climate change, with very high temperatures and humidity bringing significant health implications from heat stress, as well as impacts to a range of sectors such as transport, energy and water supply,” he said.

Heatwaves are becoming increasingly common in Europe and the UK, neither of which is prepared for such extremes. The World Meteorological Organization reported that in 2025, at least 95% of Europe experienced above-average annual temperatures and that the continent was heating up twice as fast as the global average.

How travel is impacted

A pharmacy sign displaying 40 degrees Celcius — A pharmacy broadcasting local weather data. (Credit: Getty/Dragoncello)

During a heatwave, power grids, water systems and transport networks can be affected, resulting in disrupted itineraries for travellers. In France, power outages have left thousands without electricity and early closures have been implemented for two of Paris’s biggest attractions, the Eiffel Tower (early afternoon rather than late at night) and the Louvre (two hours early). Eurostar cancelled its London to Paris and Paris to London services from the 22nd to the 25th, and major UK rail companies have been advising travellers to avoid using trains where possible, or to travel during early hours.

If a heatwave is predicted, being flexible with your itinerary and having fully refundable/changeable tickets is key, as extreme heat can force the cancellation of outdoor activities, impact rail and flight services and change the opening hours of sites and eateries.

Why does summer in Europe often feel hotter than summer in Australia?

people swimming in the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris — People swimming in the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris to cool off. (Credit: Rachael Thompson)

With some of the highest UV levels in the world, Australians are no strangers to the heat, adapting well to intense weather. But our infrastructure is largely equipped to withstand soaring temperatures with climate-responsive passive design, refrigerated air conditioning or evaporative coolers, as well as swimming spots aplenty.

Buildings in Northern and Western Europe and the UK, however, are constructed to retain heat and handle frosty winters. The lack of universal air conditioning means it generally feels hotter even though the temperature on your app might not look it. During a heatwave, it can feel like you’re in a sauna as cities act like heat traps.

How to stay cool and prepare for another heatwave

Relief is expected across Europe and the UK later this week, but more heatwaves are still possible in the coming months. Summer heat typically peaks in July and August.

Public transport often doesn’t have air conditioning, and buses in particular can be swelteringly hot. If you’re heading outside or your accommodation has no air conditioning, it’s worth buying a spray bottle and a handheld fan from a pharmacy or tourist stand. Check ahead of time if restaurants and cafes have air conditioning and make a booking in advance. The highest temperatures typically hit between 3pm and 6pm, so aim to head outdoors outside of these hours.

Rising temperatures invite travellers to enter a more intentional era of seeing the world. Now more than ever is the time to embrace lower-impact “coolcations” and off-season getaways.

Lausanne, Switzerland; Essential city guide