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

 “Switzerland is a country where the mountains whisper and the lakes sing.” – Lord Byron

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(in western Switzerland, on the northern shore of Lake Geneva) Lausanne, the capital of Vaud canton, is surrounded by vineyards, rolling down a trio of hillsides to the lakeshore; Switzerland’s fourth-largest city, Lausanne is a vibrant city on the shores of Lake Geneva, where visitors can enjoy stunning views of the Alps and explore its rich cultural heritage. As the Olympic capital, Lausanne hosts the Olympic Museum and the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee, as well as many sports events and festivals. They can also visit the historic Old Town, where one can admire the Gothic cathedral, the elegant City Hall, and the castle of the former bishops.

+ The ancient Celtic Lausonium, or Lausonna, was originally on the shore of the lake southwest of the present city. During the invasion of the Alemanni (ca. 379), the inhabitants took refuge in the hills above, building a settlement on the site of the present Cité district. The bishops, princes of the Holy Roman Empire from the 12th century, retained their temporal powers until 1536, when Lausanne was conquered by the Bernese, who introduced the Protestant Reformation. (Lausanne became the capital of the new Vaud canton of Napoleon’s Helvetic Republic in 1803.)

+ In 1964 the city was the site of the Swiss National Exhibition, held every 25 years in a different Swiss city. 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; and the Cty Hall. The castle is the only vestige of the 13th-century residences of the bishops. The Château Saint-Maire, the former bishop’s castle, is now the seat of the cantonal government. More-recent landmarks are the Palais de Rumine, the main building of the university, which also houses the cantonal museums, and the federal court of justice, seat of the Swiss Supreme Court.

+ Lausanne rivals Geneva as the intellectual and cultural center of French Switzerland. Its university originated as a theological academy in 1537. The city was the birthplace of the noted Swiss literary figures Benjamin Constant de Rebecque, Alexandre Vinet, Juste Olivier, and Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz and of the philosopher Charles Secrétan. Many famous European men of letters, including Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens, and Edward Gibbon, resided here. The headquarters of the International Olympic Committee are at Lausanne, and an Olympic Museum, surrounded by a public park, opened in 1993. Lausanne is also the site of the Federal Polytechnic Institute (founded in 1853) and of the annual national fair Comptoir Suisse.
(The city is also an important tourist and convention center.)

+ The most important geographical feature of the area surrounding Lausanne is Lake Geneva (Le Léman in French).