Lausanne: between sport, wellness, art and nature

Lausanne is a university city, with an artistic vocation, in contact with nature and characterised by green policies, as well as a sports capital... It is not enough to highlight just one of its many aspects to describe the capital of the Canton of Vaud. Overlooking Lake Lèman (also known as Lake Geneva), with some of Switzerland's most beautiful Alpine peaks and the magnificent Lavaux hills in the background, with its UNESCO World Heritage vineyards, Lausanne is strategically located in a unique landscape. The city has 350 hectares of parks and public gardens that invite for pleasant walks and pure relaxation. The municipality has also made environmentally sustainable development one of the strong points of its municipal policy. The city particularly distinguishes itself in the management of energy and urban waste, the development of renewable energies, as well as in continuous awareness-raising among inhabitants. Visitors can take advantage of an entire green mobility system consisting of free rental bicycles, high-tech metro, electric or natural gas buses, and solar-powered boats.

Lausanne is also known for being the Olympic Capital and the base of some 50 international sports federations and organisations. Since 2006, it has been the headquarters of the House of International Sport (MSI), an entity that brings together various institutions. It can therefore be considered the world administrative centre of sport. Lausanne is also home to the Olympic Museum - the fourth most visited in Switzerland with some 300,000 visitors per year. Spread over three levels, it devotes each floor to a particular dimension of modern Olympism. The exhibition route engages visitors with various simulations and interactive experiences, made accessible thanks to numerous information tablets, a 180° screen and numerous installations simulating the competition fields.

The worlds of sport, culture, technology, medical research and innovation converge in Lausanne. The city is easily accessible from Italy by train, thanks to a joint promotion by Trenitalia and the Swiss Federal Railways, whereby if you travel as a couple, you only pay for one of the two 1st or 2nd class tickets. The offer, valid from 9 March to 16 April, connects the main cities of Northern Italy, (Milan, Genoa, Bologna and Venice), with several Swiss centres: Basel, Bern, Lausanne, Lugano, Zurich, Geneva.