Lausanne is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and the capital and biggest city of the canton of Vaud. The city is situated on the shores of Lac Léman.
It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura Mountains to its north-west. Lausanne is located 62 kilometres (38.5 miles) northeast of Geneva.
Lausanne has a population (as of November 2015) of 146,372,[4] making it the fourth largest city in Switzerland, with the entire agglomeration area having 420,000 inhabitants (as of March 2015). The metropolitan area of Lausanne-Geneva (including Vevey-Montreux, Yverdon-les-Bains, and foreign parts) was over 1.2 million inhabitants in 2000.
Lausanne is a focus of international sport, hosting the International Olympic Committee (which recognizes the city as the "Olympic Capital" since 1994), the Court of Arbitration for Sport and some 55 international sport associations. It lies in a noted wine-growing region. The city has a 28-station metro system, making it the smallest city in the world to have a rapid transit system.
There are 46 buildings or sites that are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. Additionally, the entire old city of Lausanne and the Vernand-Dessus region are listed in the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
- Religious Buildings: Notre-Dame Cathedral, Swiss Reformed Church of Saint-François, Swiss Reformed Church of Saint-Laurent and the Synagogue at Avenue de Florimont.
- Civic Structures: Former Hôpital at Rue Mercerie 24, Former Federal Tribunal, the Former Académie at Rue Cité-Devant 7, Casino de Montbenon, St-Maire Castle, Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery, Fondation de l'Hermitage and House de maître, Railway station, Beau-Rivage Palace, City Hall, Hôtel des Postes, Administration Building of André & Cie. S.A., Administration Building of the Vaudoise Assurances, Apartment and Office Building at Rue du Grand-Chêne 8, Les Bains de Bellerive, l'Estérel House, House at Chemin de Chandolin 4, the Mon-Repos estate at Parc de Mon-Repos, Olympic Museum and Archives of the International Olympic Committee, the vessels of the CGN (La Suisse (1910), Savoie (1914), Simplon (1920), Rhône (1927)), Pont Chauderon, the Vernand-Dessus rural site, Site de l'Expo 64 avec Théatre de Vidy, the Tour Bel-Air and the University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV).
- Museums and Libraries: Former Residence of the Bishop of Lausanne which is now the Lausanne Museum of History, Bibliothèque des cèdres (former Bibliothèque des pasteurs), Beaulieu Castle and the Collection de l'art brut, Fondation Toms Pauli Collection de tapisseries and d'art textile, Galeries Saint-François, Musée de l'Élysée, Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts (MUDAC), Cantonal Botanical Museum and Gardens, the Roman Museum, the Palais de Rumine with the Musée cantonal de géologie, Cantonal Museum of Zoology, Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts, Musée monétaire cantonal (Cabinet des médailles) and Musée cantonal d'archéologie et d'histoire.
- Archives: Archives of the Banque Vaudoise, Archives of the City of Lausanne, Archives of Énergie Ouest Suisse (EOS), the Radio Suisse Romande archives and the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland with archives.
- Archeological sites: The Roman era/medieval hill-top city and the prehistoric settlement and Roman era Vicus of Vidy (Lousanna).
You'll have plenty of time to see all the sites because the traffic moves so slowly. Due to the city's location on a narrow strip of land between the mountains and the lake and the fact that all the traffic from hundreds of miles around is forced to go through the city centre, things tend to be very slow. They have experimented with one-way systems that have helped somewhat. But don't expect to drive through quickly. There is, of course, a kind of by-pass but this only helps if you are arriving from the north.
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