In the city of Lausanne, capital of Vaud canton, Switzerland

 "I love Switzerland. It’s so clean and cool. We don’t get much snow where I live so I get real excited in Lausanne and Geneva ... It’s all so cute that it looks like a movie set." -– Michael Jackson

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(in Switzerland) Lausanne, capital of Vaud canton, is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps; it faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains across the lake. Lausanne is the fourth largest city in the country, after Basel, Geneva, and Zurich. The metropolitan area of Lausanne-Geneva (including Vevey-Montreux, Yverdon-les-Bains, Valais, and foreign parts), commonly designated as Arc lémanique, is the fastest growing one in Switzerland.

+ Initially a Celtic and Roman settlement on the shores of the lake, Lausanne became a town at the foot of Notre Dame, a cathedral built in the 12th century. In the 20th century, Lausanne became a focus of international sport, hosting the International Olympic Committee (which has recognized the city as the "Olympic Capital" since 1994): the Court of Arbitration for Sport and some 55 international sport associations. It lies in a noted wine-growing region. The city has a 28-station metro system, making it the smallest city in the world to have a rapid transit system.

+The most important geographical feature of the area surrounding Lausanne is Lake Geneva (Lac Léman in French). Lausanne is built on the southern slope of the Swiss plateau, with a difference in elevation of about 500 meters between the shore at Ouchy (its lake port), and its northern edge bordering Le Mont-sur-Lausanne and Épalinges. (Lausanne offers its visitors a dramatic panorama over the lake and the Swiss and Savoyan Alps.) In addition to its southward-sloping layout, the center of the city is the site of an ancient river, the Flon, which has been covered since the 19th century. The former river forms a gorge running through the middle of the city south of the old city center, following the course of the present Rue Centrale, with several bridges crossing the depression to connect the adjacent neighborhoods. Due to the considerable differences in elevation, tourists should take particular note of which plane of elevation they are on and where they want to go, otherwise they will find themselves tens of meters below or above the street that they are aiming to reachgo. (The name Flon is also used for the metro station located in the gorge.)

+ Historic buildings include the early Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame (consecrated in 1275 by Pope Gregory X in the presence of the Holy Roman emperor Rudolf I of Habsburg), the Saint-François Church (erected during the same period but partly rebuilt in the late 14th century), and the city hall (rebuilt in 1674). The castle, now housing the Historical Museum of the Ancient Bishopric, is the only vestige of the 13th-century residences of the bishops. The Château Saint-Maire (1397–1431), the former bishop’s castle, is now the seat of the cantonal government.