Lausanne

Aquatis

The largest freshwater aquarium-vivarium in Europe, opened in 2017. Over 10,000 fish, 100 reptiles and amphibians in 46 aquariums, vivariums and terrariums. Visit takes about 2 hours.

1 Nov-31 Mar: 10:00-18:00; 1 Apr-31 Oct: 09:00-19:00·Fr. 29 for adults, Fr. 19 for children over 5 years old, free for younger children. Family prices and student discounts available

Arsenic

Specializing in more offbeat acts the Arsenic books a full schedule of avant-garde theatre, jazz and pop music, and installation/performance art throughout the fall, winter and spring.

Bar Tabac

This friendly café has a huge selection of Belgian beers and French wines. The décor is understated hip, the climate is calm, and the clientèle is a very pleasant mix.

Bazar d'Ouchy

Have we mentioned the usual Swiss trinkets? Well, if that's what you're in for you could do a lot worse than to stop at this friendly, and well stocked shop near the M2 in Ouchy. Everyone there speaks English perfectly, so don't hesitate to ask.

Closed · opens 9:30 am tomorrow

Black Luna

A cool, dark cave of a place inhabiting the former location of N²O and Luna before it, Black Luna offers a floral environment, an excellent bar-food menu and good drinks, as well as a little bit of a respite two steps from the Flon nightlife district, and practically inside the Flon Metro station.

Tue-Sat until 02:00·Fr. 3.50-7.00 for a beer or a glass of wine

Bleu Lézard

The Bleu Lézard is a popular student hangout with a restaurant-café-bar upstairs and a dance floor in the basement. There's usually live music on Wednesdays and DJs on the weekends. Perfect place for a late Sunday brunch.

Fr. 4 for a beer

Café Couronne d'Or

Another fine place for a drink over your master's thesis, or a conversation with friends, the Couronne packs them in on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday evening. Cosy old bar in a small alley between Riponne and Tunnel.

Sun Tue 16:00-23:59, Wed 08:00-23:59, Thu-Sat 08:00-01:00

Café Saint Pierre

Another good spot brought to you by the Café de Grancy team, the Saint Pierre offers a daily lunch menu and a range of small dishes in the evening, with a good selection of wines, etc. The place packs up on weekend evenings (including Thursday) so get there early.

Fr. 30-40

Café de Grancy

The Grancy offers a full dinner menu of substantial quality, which always includes a few good vegetarian options. The reason many travellers will want to visit however is to linger - outside of dinner hours - over a coffee and a book or newspaper, or to really catch the spirit of the place your still-unfinished master's thesis. It's as though the front door is some kind of science-fiction transporter which links it directly to Berkeley.

Fr. 3 for coffee, Fr. 3.50-4.20 for a glass of wine or a beer. Fr. 16 for the (amazing) risotto of the day

Café du Château

Brasserie Artisanale

The Brasserie offers a number of beers made on the spot including a speciality, 100% natural ginger beer. They also have a kitchen offering a range of tasty pizzas at reasonable prices. Service au bar means you have to order at the bar or you'll wait some time to be noticed and served.

Daily from 17:00·A pint of ginger (or other) beer will set you back Fr. 5, a pizza Fr. 15. Pizza and homemade beer until 04:00 on weekends

Collection de l'Art Brut

This must-see collection of works by untrained artists will at turns delight, amaze, baffle, and irritate. Many of the artists whose works are shown here found life difficult or impossible outside (or inside) of institutions, finding solace and purpose in sometimes compulsive acts of creation.

Tue-Sun 11:00-18:00·Fr. 10

Coup de chapeau

A hat store is pretty much guaranteed to be a bit of an anachronism in the 21st century, and so that's probably why there aren't very many of these. That's probably also the reason that this little shop in Lausanne has clients from all over the world.

Mon 13:30-18:30; Tue-Fri 09:30-12:00, 13:30-18:30; Sat 09:30-12:30, 13:30-17:00

Crêperie de la Chandeleur

This cute little crêperie offers the crêpes in a homey Breton atmosphere. If you are travelling with children this is a great place for lunch or dinner as you will be in good company with the owners and locals, and the kids can amuse themselves with the large collection of toys.

Tue-Sat 10:00-23:00·Fr. 25-30

D!

Dance club with international DJ appearances, occasionally concerts. Doesn't get started until after midnight. Check local listings for details.

Eat Me

The restaurant, orchestrated by the Chef Stéphane Goubin, proposes a gastronomical voyage "around the world" between Rome, Paris, New York, Tokyo and Bangkok.

From Fr. 60 per person

El Cavalo Blanco

A faux-English pub no longer, the former White Horse is now a tapas bar, and a darn good one. Attention: the sangria blanco (white-wine sangria punch) is dangerously good.

Espace de Terreaux

The local council of Protestant churches has de-consecrated the chapel located across the street from the Metropole 2000 shopping centre and now uses it to present weekly concerts with a mix of sacred and profane acts ranging from American gospel singers through Eastern European Klezmer bands to puppet theatre for children.

Fondation de l'Hermitage

Built in 1841 as a residence for the banker Charles-Juste Bugnion, the Hermatage occupies its own wooded space on the hill above old-town, with marvellous views of the Cathedral and the Alps. The family donated the house and land to the City of Lausanne in 1976, which now uses the building to host first class travelling international art exhibitions.

Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, Thu 10:00-21:00, Bank holidays 10:00-18:00·Adults Fr. 15, Seniors Fr. 12, Students and unemployed Fr. 7, Under 18 free.

Holy Cow!

Possibly the best burgers in Lausanne. Their "Elvis Blue Cheese" burger is rated the best burger in Switzerland by gourmet blog theburgerblog.ch. The restaurant seats about 30 but it gets rather crowded in the evening. But it's definitely a must try.

Mon-Wed 11:00-22:00, Tue-Sat 11:00-23:00·Fr. 20

Java

There's something very welcoming about this little bar/restaurant that makes it a fantastic place to linger for a few hours before staying on for a dinner of one of Java's many gorgeously presented Mediterranean inspired dishes, or one of the large selection of savoury crêpes. Vegetarians will feel right at home.

~Fr. 20 for dinner

La Bossette

La Bo7

Restaurant and bar, relaxed atmosphere, reasonable prices and good beer.

La Croquignole

A café in the old town on the street to the Ale tower with a variety of sandwiches and other freshly baked products.

La Mise En Bière

Craft beer bar with a rotation of ~30 beers on tap foreign & domestic. Also has a well stocked store next door. Staff mostly speak English. Closes very early, so plan ahead.

Mon-Fri 15:00-22:00, Sat 11:00-22:00, Sun closed

La Mosaïque

Very good Ethiopian cuisine. Recommendation to enjoy your meal at the lake and the mountains.

La Ruche Club

The Hive

A very popular place to dance on minimal music, there's sometimes psychedelic trance. A strange place, attended by a lot of very weird kinds of insects. "On s'retrouve à la ruche!" they say. Upstairs is the associated Café Hydromel (hydromel is a kind of mead).

La Tour d'Ale

One of the few surviving parts of the medieval ramparts, the tower provides a good excuse to visit rue de l'Ale and rue de la Tour. While you can admire it from outside it's closed to visitors.

Le Bourg

A great place to see up-and-coming jazz and performance oriented acts from all over the continent. The place is a real theater with a tiny bar in front, and the booking is simply amazing for a room which can hold maybe 30 people tops, with acts ranging from French accordion jazz or gypsy jazz to Coco-Rosie-like "new folk" to famed Chicago and NYC DJs. You would not be alone in asking how they can pull that off.

Wed 18:00-01:00, Thu 18:00-03:00, Fri Sat 18:00-04:00·Fr. 4

Le Charlot

If you’re looking for a tasty sandwich this is where to go to. The sandwiches are a real pleasure to the eye and in the mouth. Wide selection. The sauces are great.

Le Club

Upscale Italian cuisine in a large trendy all-glass restaurant. Try the truffle ravioli. In the summer the terrace, insulated from motor traffic, is a big draw for singles of all persuasions. Free Wi-Fi.

Expect to pay around Fr. 50 per person for dinner.

Le Lounge

Chateau d'Ouchy

The Lounge of the Chateau d'Ouchy hotel has comfy white sofas, and a pretty impressive collection of Scotch whiskeys, but the real draw is that feeling that you've wandered into a James Bond film.

Mon-Fri 10:00-01:00, Sat Sun 10:00-02:00