Lausanne Highlights: The Medieval Cité

What's the walk about?

Welcome to Lausanne, the Olympic capital rising in steep terraces above Lake Geneva. This walk keeps you high on the hill, in the medieval Cité, where cobbled lanes and covered wooden stairs link a Gothic cathedral, a painted town-hall square, and a bishops' castle that now governs a whole canton. You will begin at the castle at the summit and let gravity do the work, winding downhill past Switzerland's finest cathedral, past a fountain where mechanical figures parade on the hour, and down into the reborn Flon valley with its warehouses, boutiques and nightlife. Along the way you will meet Lausanne's most charming survivor: a living night-watchman who still climbs the belfry to call the hours over the sleeping city, just as watchmen have done here for more than six centuries. Compact, walkable and packed with stories, this is the old town at its most atmospheric.

What you'll see

1. 1

   Château Saint-Maire

   Castle

2. 2

   Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Lausanne

   Cathedral

3. 3

   Place de la Riponne & Palais de Rumine

   square

4. 4

   Escaliers du Marché

   Landmark

5. 5

   Place de la Palud

   Square

6. 6

   Hôtel de Ville de Lausanne

   landmark

7. 7

   Église Saint-François

   church

8. 8

   Le Flon (Place de l'Europe)

   District

9. 9

   Tour Bel-Air

   Landmark