Switzerland Guide
Lausanne and Lake Geneva
You can find the whole of Switzerland on the shores of Lake Geneva: snowy mountains, bucolic wine-villages, city nightlife, the sound of cow-bells in rolling pastureland, castles, cathedrals and the beautiful blue lake itself. The southern shore of the lake is in France, taking in the Savoy Alps as well as Mont Blanc a little further south. The northern shore forms the economic and cultural focus of French Switzerland, centred around Lausanne, an energetic, endearing city that's too often skimmed over in favour of Geneva's more fastidious pleasures.
The ambience of the region is thoroughly Gallic: historical animosity towards Catholic France has given way to a yearning on the part of most urban francophone Swiss to abandon their heel-dragging compatriots in the more stolid east and embrace the EU. The short train ride from the Swiss-German cities of the Mittelland crosses more than just a linguistic boundary: it seems to span a whole continent of attitude.
Highlights
1 Collection de l'Art Brut Moving and highly memorable gallery of "outsider" art.
2 Cathédrale Notre-Dame Lausanne's elegant Gothic centrepiece.
3 Ouchy waterfront Lakeside catwalk for hip bladers and old-fashioned promenaders taking the air.
4 Gruyères Medieval hilltop castle-village in the heart of cheese country.
5 Vevey The most refined and alluring of lakeside towns.
6 Montreux Lake Geneva's most upmarket destination – beautiful, expensive and exclusive.
7 Château de Chillon One of the best-preserved medieval castles in Europe, perched over deep water.
8 Golden Pass Superbly scenic train journey from Montreux into the mountains.
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