All About Lausanne

Located on the shores of Lake Geneva (locally known as Lac Leman) with the Savoy Alps in view, the setting of Lausanne is extremely picturesque.    The town is built on three hills, surrounded by vineyard-covered slopes, with the lake  at its feet.  The attractive old town is largely car-free. Small alleyways with cafes and boutiques shape the streetscape in the medieval city centre.

The old town is dominated by the cathedral, which is regarded as Switzerland’s most impressive piece of early Gothic architecture. Lausanne was a diocesan town for over a thousand years. Shopping streets can be found surrounding the cathedral as well as in the pretty waterfront area of Ouchy. Switzerland’s only Metro (which boasts the title of the steepest Metro in the entire world) connects the various parts of the town and eases travel in this incline-based town.

Fun Facts about Lausanne:

Lausanne has been the home to the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee for over 100 years.

Population: ~140,000 (according to Wikipedia)

Lausanne is located about 40 miles from Geneva

It's the smallest city in the world to have a Metro system. It's also the steepest Metro (with an average grade of about 5.7% - 12%)

Lausanne was once a Roman military camp called Lousanna built on the Lake Geneva shoreline where ruins still exist.

Among the numerous famous former residents of Lausanne and surroundings were David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, Charlie Chaplin, Benito Mussolini, Charles Lindbergh, Ernest Hemingway, and Audrey Hepburn.

In the Lausanne LDS stake, there are 6 wards and 3 branches.