Listen to Lausanne

Lausanne is begging to be explored. Its secrets are well kept. All you need to do is lengthen your stride and climb some hills to unravel the vibrant and exciting charm of this French-speaking city in Switzerland.

Facing the Alps, on the shores of Lake Geneva, Lausanne is growing and changing. Yet it maintains its human dimension, respectful of its natural setting. Dubbed as the Olympic capital (because the city is home to the International Olympic Committee headquarters and houses the Olympic Museum that has the most extensive collection of mementos and memorabilia), the city of culture, a major training and research hub, abounding in rich historical heritage, Lausanne is an urban center that radiates far and wide.

Lausanne Tourism director Steve Pasche says that all Lausanne’s walks showcase original and varied characteristics. Surrounded by green landscapes, welcoming towards the countryside and vineyards that flank it, open towards neighboring France and only half an hour by boat from Evian, Lausanne is well worth a visit. Every one of the suggested walks — Olympic, on the lakeshores, in the medieval city or the vineyards — is tailored to your interest and desires.

Lausanne is about 40 minutes by train from Geneva-Cointrin International Airport and the rail journey from Zurich Airport takes a little over two hours. The region is excellently served by public transportation, opening up to options for discovering everything at a relaxed pace. The offering is extensive enough to enable all visitors to plan tours at their own speed as they travel freely over the 28,000 kilometers of Switzerland’s public transport network—including trains, bus routes, boats and funicular railways.

My best friend Bum Tenorio and I visited the Olympic Museum, which had just concluded its Brazilian flight, meaning visitors were introduced via an exhibit to the Brazilian athletes. Museum visitors were also introduced to a series of stories that help them discover the country. Ten very colorful sculptures created specially for the event by Rio artist Felipe Barbosa were also on show. Inside the Rio 2016 area, the Games exhibit recounts the history of these games, featuring competition venues and sports on the program.

The Olympic Museum in Lausanne is a journey through the Olympic movements history from antiquity to the present day. It also pays tribute to great champions and houses the world Olympic documentation center.

In this visit to Lausanne, we met up with Bum’s dear friend and sis in the UPLB Com Arts Society Cecile Hernandez-Santos and her husband Jonathan Santos. The couple is based in Geneva. Cecile works as an executive/program assistant for the International Trade Center (a joint technical agency of the UN and the World Trade Organization) and Jonathan is a technical officer at the World Health Organization. Cecille and Jonathan served as our tour guides in discovering Lausanne. Bum and Cecile had Lausanne as their witness to rekindling their friendship, which was honed inside the UP Los Banos campus where they both took up Communication Arts. They were both excited to don their UPLB Com Arts Soc 40th anniversary shirt near the Olympic Museum. That moment, a UPLB Com Arts Soc friendship was celebrated in Switzerland.

We used the Lausanne Transport card that allows every guest staying in Lausanne and paying the overnight tourist tax to enjoy free, unrestricted use of the city’s public transport (bus, train, metro).

Our walk of the Old Town enabled us to explore the historic past. The Cite Hill, crowned by the Cathedral at a height of 542 meters, gives Lausanne its unique character. From the Old Academy, the first French-speaking faculty of Reformed theology, to the Chateau Saint Maire, the town’s open-air architecture bears witness to the medieval past. Check out the restaurants, small cafes, a scattering of boutiques and three antique bookshops that enliven the neighborhood. Step down from the picturesque Escalliers du Marche to reach the Place de la Paud in front of the town hall; here you can join the milling crowds on market days, which is a century-old tradition.

We embarked on a short break after visiting the Cite and contemplated the outstanding view from the Cathedral Esplanade. Walking down the Rue de Bourg that opens out on the Place Saint Francois and the eponym church. We agreed that the visit was truly convincing. We know more about the town, its historic monuments, inhabitants and customs.

Another option is to take a delightful six-kilometer walk achievable in two hours to see the most stunning views of Lausanne. Lausanne will reveal itself to you along this walk. With its 500-meter difference in height, Lausanne’s geography offers many beautiful panoramas on the town and beyond, over Lake Geneva, the terraced vineyards of Lavaux (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Alps and Jura mountains.

While in the city, you may want to visit the Musee de E’lysee, Collection de’ l’Art Brut and Mudac.

Lausanne is also known as a festival destination. As the locals say, in Lausanne, culture has no limit. Thus one discovers the most unique festivals such as “the Panty Party” that combines “porn, intellectuals, and comedians around positive sex.” There is also the Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival, the rallying and meeting point for underground culture artists of various disciplines. The uniqueness of the Chocolate Festival, which actually celebrates electronic music, lies in its outdoor location at the Vidy Pyramids.

Other themes will surprise you like the Japan Impact, a festival that celebrates Japanese culture through screenings, conferences, concerts, martial arts displays and cultural workouts. Not to forget the contests that include disguising oneself as Manga, video game or comic strip characters.

We were able to visit the prestigious Royal Savoy Hotel, inaugurated in 1909 and reopened in 2015. Excellence is on its menu at all levels. It can also boast of a new spa for visitors.

Another must visit is the Ancient Egyptian Flora at the Lausanne Botanical Garden nestled at the foot of the Montrinond Hill. Its 6,000 alpine-medicinal carnivorous (largest in Switzerland) and tropical plants blossom into a multitude of colors as the seasons go by.

We had a hearty lunch of truffle pasta and tenderloin steak at Brasserie de Montbenon. Located in a 1908 building graced with an eight-meter ceiling and a breathtaking view of Lake Geneva — we are still impressed ourselves! — the Brasserie de Montbenon is a place devoted to traditional but high-quality cooking, but also to the local gastronomical and cultural events. The restaurant serves numerous culinary highlights of the Canton de Vaud, and flows with the seasons. Apart from food, the restaurant hosts regular events (huge or barely noticeable) related to the various regional actors, be they wine producers, chocolate crafters, authors or photographers, if possible with a bridge to our kitchen because food, after all, is what we do the best.

From a flower-bedecked promontory in Lausanne, overlooking Lake Geneva — and perhaps because we were all enthralled by the view — Cecile, Jonathan, Bum and I discussed life and love to our hearts’ content. We all agreed that Lausanne is begging to be explored, as each and every nook and cranny has its own story to tell, its own secret to share, its own heartbeat to listen to.

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E-mail the author at miladay.star@gmail.com.