The best things to do this autumn in Lausanne

On Wednesdays and Saturdays Lausanne’s pedestrian streets take on a pleasing bustle with the arrival of the market. 

One of Lausanne’s best chocolatiers, Durig occupies two shops in the city, but this is the original one, where the chocolates are made on site.

A great place for picking up an original gift, Particules en Suspension (which also owns the nearby Particules Fines) comprises two levels of gadgets, trinkets, books, cards, kitchenware, t-shirts and baby gifts. 

This lovely boutique and gift shop is a delight for anyone who likes retro style and patterned fabrics.

It’s practically impossible to walk past this artisan chocolate shop without going in, such are the enticing window displays and the rich cocoa smell wafting from the doorway. 

Drawing on the pleasing but rather tenuous link between fairycakes and fairytales, this idiosyncratic place is part cupcake bakery, part t-shirt shop with a princess theme.

A mix between a hipster’s go-to store and a fancy dress shop, Maniak fills its copious floor space with an unusual combination of top street-cool brands such as Dickies, Carhartt and Superdry, and dress-up essentials including devil horns, mullet wigs and feather boas. 

This lovely shop tucked up a side street in Lausanne’s pedestrian area sells soaps, lotions and bath salts made using natural, biodegradable Swiss ingredients drawn from alpine flowers, vegetable oils and even cow’s milk.

The rather downmarket shopfront doesn’t do this place justice, but venture inside and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Appropriately housed in one of the former warehouses in trendy Le Flon, this is a temple to trainers.

Perched atop a hill in the Cité, Lausanne’s 13th century gothic cathedral is the largest in Switzerland.

You’d be forgiven for not realising that Switzerland is a wine-producing country, as only one percent of the one million hectolitres it produces each year actually makes it to foreign markets. 

As anyone who has arrived into the main train station knows, Lausanne is rather chuffed with its self-proclaimed status as ‘Olympic city’, due to the presence of the International Olympic Committee’s headquarters down by the lake in Vidy.

Built on the campus of the internationally renowned EPFL (Lausanne’s federal technology institute), this unusual looking building designed by Japanese architect firm SANAA is a study centre open to both EPFL students and the public.

At the top of Lausanne’s broad sweep from hilltop to lakeside, this forest is a pretty spot for a Sunday stroll or cycle along the leafy trails.

Off the tourist trail, this fascinating museum is a must-see for those seeking an alternative to the mainstream, exactly what ‘art brut’ – literally ‘raw art’ – is all about.

Worth a visit on a rainy day is this small museum housed in the former bishop’s palace next to the cathedral.

Lausanne’s outdoor playground is this stretch of lakefront at the bottom end of the M2 metro line.

Ouchy sports one of the many PubliBike hire points in Switzerland which allow you to rent a low-cost bicycle and drop it off at any other ‘velostation’ in the country. 

Natural beauty, cultural treasures, urban excitement – Lausanne has them all. Book your visit to the Olympic Capital now and you can stay 3 nights in a hotel for the price of 2 nights.  Lausanne Tourism can help you discover more on the best things to do this Autumn season in the city and help you plan your next visit. Or follow them on Facebook or Twitter for daily top tips and offers.