Ouchy

Ouchy is Lausanne's lakeside quarter, a former fishing village on the shore of Lake Geneva that grew into an elegant resort in the 19th century. It offers a relaxed contrast to the steep streets of the upper city: long quays shaded by plane trees, flower beds and lawns, and wide views across the water to the mountains of the French shore.

The promenade along the Quai d'Ouchy and the Quai de Belgique is the place for an evening stroll, an ice cream or a drink on a terrace, and on summer weekends it fills with walkers, cyclists and rollerbladers. The turreted Château d'Ouchy, built at the end of the 19th century around a medieval tower and now a hotel, is the area's landmark, and the small Tour Haldimand stands in the lakeside gardens nearby. A chain of parks runs along the shore, including the Denantou park and the Olympic Park around the Olympic Museum just to the east.

Ouchy is also Lausanne's harbour. From the CGN piers, steamers and motor ships, some of them historic paddle steamers, sail to Évian-les-Bains in France, to Montreux and Vevey and to other towns around the lake, making it the starting point for some of the most scenic excursions in the region. The M2 metro links Ouchy with the railway station and the city centre in a few minutes, replacing the funicular that opened in 1877, so it is easy to come down to the lake for an afternoon or a sunset.