Switzerland Guide
Lausanne and Lake Geneva
Cathédrale Notre-Dame
The Cathédrale Notre-Dame is Switzerland's finest Gothic building. Elegant and proportioned towers, turrets and spires claw their way up stage by stage into the sky; the south facade is studded with a spectacular giant Gothic rose window of stained glass, and flying buttresses encircle the exterior of the choir and ambulatory.
You enter through the west portal, bedecked with figures and dubbed the Montfalcon portal after a sixteenth-century bishop. The interior Great Porch, an unusual lofty open arcade with its recessed doorway and two tiers of columns, echoes similar setups in English cathedrals such as Lincoln and Canterbury. Just beyond, a squarish vestibule gives into the vast, broad Great Bay which, prior to 1504, was actually an open thoroughfare which connected the Rue Cité-Devant (to your left) with the Rue St-Étienne (to your right) under a vaulted gallery and beneath arches which seem extra-large now that they have been enclosed within the building.
The interior of the cathedral is stunning, every line and detail drawing your eye dizzily up to the lofty vaulted heights. On the south wall of the nave is the impressive Painted Portal, dating from 1215–30; its exterior is still encrusted with original statues. The crossing and transept, a few steps up from the nave and filled with light, are endowed on the south side with the glowing thirteenth-century rose window. Opposite is the doorway to the former cloister, above which columns in front of the rectangular windows have been snapped off to allow more light to enter the building. A few steps up again is the choir, housing some exceptionally beautiful thirteenth-century carved choir stalls.
With a truly spectacular view over the whole of the city and most of Lake Geneva too, climbing the southwest tower (Mon– Sat 8.30–11.30am & 1.30–5.30pm, Sun 2–5.30pm; Fr.2) is one of the highlights of visiting Lausanne.
Opening time: Mon– Fri 7am–7pm (Oct– March until 5.30pm), Sat & Sun 8am–7pm
Price: Free
Website: www.grandesorgues.ch