Music Sounds Better With Books

This is a quarter full of typical small bistros and craft shops. To the north of the Cité hill, at Place du Tunnel, avenue César-Roux avenue and Place de l’Ours, shops and quirky bistros cry out to be discovered. It is around the Cité hill, sculpted by the Flon and Louve rivers, that the mediaeval town grew. Its cobble-stoned pedestrian streets as well as its monuments, the Cathedral of Lausanne, the St-Maire Castle and the Old academy, bear witness to that.

This magnificent country park boasts one of the best vantage points in Lausanne. But the panoramic views are by no means the only attribute of the Hermitage. As the setting for an internationally renowned museum and spectacular trees, it blends nature and culture at the same time.

In the centre of the square is the town’s oldest fountain, adorned with a statue representing justice. Close by, a clock presents the history of Vaud in animated scenes every hour from 9:00 to 19:00. On Wednesday and Saturday mornings this is the site of the country market, which also sets up shop in the neighbouring pedestrian streets. Every first Friday of the month, it plays host to a craft market. Typical cafes, boutiques and large, elegant shops complement what this high-class district, which is completely pedestrianised, has to offer.