Lausanne Private Walking Tour with a Professional Guide

Our journey through the hills of Lausanne starts at the largest square in the city center, called Place de la Riponne. From here, we have a privileged sight towards the Musee des Beaux Arts (Fine Art Museum), also known as the Palais de Rumine. It houses an art collection modest in numbers but impressive in the quality of French artists represented, the likes of Cézanne, Degas, Renoir, Matisse, and many other can be found here. The same palace housed several other canton museums, like the Archaeological and Historical Museum, the Natural History and the Zoological Museum.

From here we enter the old town of Lausanne, towards the Place de la Palud, to find the beautiful Fountain of Justice, an example of the Renaissance-style fountains found in many other Swiss cities. Its basin dates from 1557, and the original statue of Justice, now replaced by a copy, was made in 1585. This feature of Lausanne marked the growing importance of the city. If we are lucky, you might stumble into the farmers market done here every Wednesday and Saturday.

Still in the same square, let’s take a look at the Town Hall. With its belfry towering over the square, the building is still used today for municipal offices. It was built in the 17th century by the Lausanne architect Abraham de Crousaz where the previous town hall had existed.

Passing the best and oldest restaurants in Lausanne, Le Grütli, our feet will take us towards the Escalier du Marche. The long-covered flight of steps leading to the terrace in front of the main door to the cathedral is one of the best-known sights in town. Built in the 13th century, it connected the market in the square we just passed to the one above.

All these stairs then lead us to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. On the Way of Saint James, all the way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, pilgrims entered the cathedral through its 13th-century Apostles Doorway. The gothic architecture is impressive and will definitely leave a mark. The cathedral, which is now Protestant, is a landmark with its five towers rising above the city from the hilltop.

Now we leave the holy and move towards the profane: Rue du Bourg. Today a pedestrian shopping street, it was one of the main thoroughfares of old Lausanne until the early 19th century. The buildings here stem from the 17th and 18th century.

Now we head to the Flon Quarter, the heart of Lausanne. It is Lausanne's ultra-contemporary new art zone, where the architecture borders the modern and futuristic. Once a place for warehouses of the 19th century, today it is colored by all the businesses and galleries here.