Lausanne is an ideal base from which to begin a trip to Switzerland, particularly for French travellers. Firstly, because the capital of the canton of Vaud is just under four hours from Paris by TGV Lyria high-speed train. Especially unlike Geneva, which is geographically on the fringes of the Swiss Confederation, Lausanne is a quick way to reach the rest of Switzerland. Just 45 minutes from Neuchâtel or Fribourg, 1h20 from Berne and just over 2 hours from Basel.
Switzerland's fifth-largest city is a pleasant first stop for soaking up the Swiss spirit. Life here is less hectic than in Geneva, which is more provincial... You can stroll along the quays of the Ouchy district, along the "Vaud Riviera" where the 1900 palaces are lazily reflected in the waters of Lake Geneva. The upper town, the historic heart of Lausanne with its cathedral, is just as peaceful.
When rail meets culture
In fact, Lausanne's urban heart beats elsewhere, between the upper and lower towns: in the Flon district. This is where the city's young people gather in former warehouses that have been converted into bars, restaurants, clubs, trendy boutiques and art galleries. The Flon is easy to spot: it lies beneath the Bel-Air building, Switzerland's first skyscraper, built in 1931 with its 15 or 19 storeys - depending on which street you look from!
Lausanne is renowned for its nightlife. Its ambition is to earn its stripes as the cultural capital of French-speaking Switzerland. The city is certainly known for its Hermitage Foundation and its extraordinary Musée de l'Art Brut. And it wants to affirm this position even more. So it's not skimping - with hundreds of millions of Swiss francs - on investing in its cultural image.
"Plateforme 10" is the name given to Lausanne's new arts districtadjacent to the central station. It is being built step by step. In 2019, the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne will open in a converted and completely transformed former Swiss railway maintenance warehouse. Probably the only art museum in the world with a view of railway tracks...
The 3500 m2 building was designed by Barcelona-based architecture studio Barozzi Veiga. Behind the long façade, 145.5 metres long and 22.1 metres high, lies the Canton's public collection of some 10,000 works. Degas, Renoir and Soulage stand alongside Swiss artists Hodler, Giacometti and Vallotton. The second major milestone is the opening of two other cultural institutions, scheduled for June 2022, mudac (museum of design and contemporary arts) and Photo Elysée.
"Platform 10" welcomes two new museums in June
The two institutions will each have 1,500 m2 to house their collections and temporary exhibitions. This is twice the size of their previous location. Even though they will be housed within the same structure, the two institutions will retain their distinct identities. Upstairs, the mudac, with its zenithal lighting and open, fully modular exhibition spaces. Downstairs, Photo Elysée benefits from controlled lighting, to preserve its collections. Here too, the space can be partitioned to present different exhibitions or remain open.
A cultural centre that is unique in Switzerland, and one that is surprisingly contemporary to a fault, revolutionising Lausanne's somewhat 'purring' character... The 'Plateforme 10' site is also set to undergo further development. There are plans for a garden and green areas, as well as catering facilities. A number of boutiques have already set up shop and should shape the future. a place for conviviality and the arts next to the main station.
The latter is also the subject of a gigantic transformation project. An investment of 1.3 billion Swiss francs will help to cope with the expected doubling of train and station traffic between now and 2030. New platforms, underground passages, a new metro line and the reconfiguration of the square will make this area the new calling card of the capital of Vaud. Projects that will continue to punctuate this central entrance to Lausanne well into the next decade.
