Lausanne

What to say about Lausanne, the wonderful city that I have been lucky enough to live in for the last four months? From the moment I arrived here I had a good feeling about the place. It was the phenomenal view across the lake to the French alps that really sold it for me - and that view still takes my breath away every time I see it. The day I arrived it was a beautiful sunny day and the atmosphere by the lake was lovely with lots of people swimming, sunbathing, having barbecues, jogging, cycling and generally enjoying themselves.

Lausanne is situated at the edge of Lake Geneva and from the water the city slopes steeply upwards to the beautiful old town with its quaint cobbled streets, picturesque squares and magnificent buildings. It is the perfect size of city with lots of things to do and plenty going on without being overwhelming. It is also a very central location which can easily be reached from anywhere in the world and it is the ideal base from which to explore the rest of Switzerland.

One of the highlights of the city is the cathedral, located fairly high up the hill with a wonderful view over the city and beyond. There are regular concerts held in the cathedral. I went to an organ concert there on New Year's Eve and the acoustics were incredible!

In the summer there are constant events going on whether it be festivals, cycle races or water sport competitions. There is a multi-use path running along the edge of the lake which is heavily used by runners, walkers and cyclists throughout the year. I've really enjoyed being able to go swimming in the lake whenever I feel like it - so much warmer than swimming in Scotland! You can also take a boat trip form Lausanne across to Evian on the other side of the lake in France, or to Montreux or Yvoire.

Lausanne can be a vibrant place with a market every Saturday morning and a Christmas market and evening lights festival during the winter with horse-drawn carriages to transport you through the streets. The Christmas market isn't the best because it's very spread out throughout the city and there is a lot of repetition in the stalls, however there is one stall that does the most delicious goats cheese, spinach and walnut crepes! The Festival Lausanne Lumières is really cool - a number of significant building have lights projected onto them, each designed by different people so they're all completely unique. The cathedral has a design so intricate that stone engravings look like they've been painted, the Palais de Rumine has an incredible multicoloured wild animal depiction, the SwissTech Convention Centre has a galaxy image and the Tour Bel-Air has a series of videos playing up the side of it.

Another fun thing to do in the winter is ice-skating. Outdoor ice-rinks pop up as the weather gets colder and for a few franks you can hire some skates and go skating! What could be better than an evening of skating followed by mulled wine from the Christmas market?

Speaking of ice-rinks, one of the most popular sports here is ice-hockey. Throughout the season you can go to the Vaudoise Arena to watch the Lausanne Lions compete against teams from across Switzerland. These matches can be really exciting and the atmosphere is fantastic with constant chants from the crowd. I had never seen a game of ice-hockey before in my life but I had so much fun watching the game.

There are plenty of lovely walks within Lausanne, whether it's along the lakefront, through the parkland by the Olympic museum or around the nature reserve just north of the city centre. One of the best things about Lausanne is that there is nature everywhere - fields, woodland, parks and beaches all withing walking distance. Even the university campus has forest and fields of sheep between the buildings. To get a really good view of Lausanne, and of the Alps and the Jura region, you can climb the Sauvabelin Tower which is a 35 metre high wooden tower built in a forest at the edge of the city. It is beautifully constructed with a spiral staircase made from local wood, each step inscribed with a different name. The area around the tower is also very pleasant and there is a little lake in the forest and with a small animal park that you can visit.

Lausanne has no shortage of museums but the ones that I found the most interesting are the Olympic Museum, the History Museum and the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts.

The Olympic Museum is well known and advertised as one of the highlights of Lausanne. It houses everything to do with the Olympic games from information on the history of their existence to the different Olympic torches that have been used throughout the years, the designs of logos and mascots for each games and some incredible costumes both from the opening ceremonies and the clothes the athletes wore to compete in. There are inspirational videos of the athletes playing and you can watch sports clips from the past. There is also a whole floor filled with interactive entertainment where you can test your balance and your reaction time, try out a ski simulator or see how your diet compares to that of a professional athlete. Overall it's a great museum that you won't find anywhere else.

The History Museum provides a lot of interesting information on the history of Lausanne and how it became the city is today. There are permanent exhibits detailing the construction of Lausanne's impressive metro system, the state of the art education and health care that had wealthy Europeans flocking to the city, Lausanne's history in chocolate making and the importance of immigration in shaping metropolitan life. There is also a temporary exhibit on most of the time which, when I visited, was about Italian immigration to Switzerland. All in all, a very well put together museum packed with fascinating information.

If you're interested in art, the MCBA is the place to go. It houses Swiss art of all kinds from the 18th century up to present day. There are many local paintings of the Swiss countryside and of Lac Léman, including an extremely large painting of a cow. My favourite piece was a 20th century work by Plinio Nomellini depicting the Greek goddess Sappho standing on a rock in the midst of a stormy sea. Nomellini used sand in his work to capture the light and create the incredible contrasts between the light and dark, the hot and cold colours and the movement of the sea against the rock. The painting is hung in a round frame giving the impression that we are looking in on the scene from the porthole of a boat. There are also some paintings by well known artists such as Paul Klee and the more modern works include sculpture and film.

To conclude, Lausanne is a wonderful city and I have been more than happy to live here for a few short months. It has something for everyone and there's always more to discover so I hope I will get the chance to return at some point in the future.