Lausanne: The Best Small City in the World, Lausanne, Switzerland

Lausanne, the picturesque Vaud capital was recently named the best small city in the world in Monocle magazine’s Small Cities Index, which ranked the best 25 small towns with a population under 200,000. Lausanne topped the chart for its public transport network, global outlook, diverse population, natural setting and other factors.

Lausanne is in the French region of Switzerland which is vibrant and combines urban life with easy access to the scenic routes and spots all around the region. Lausanne’s dynamism, cultural and sporting heritage, culinary wealth and quality hotel infrastructure attracts visitors from around the world and lends itself to the perfect city break escape.

The town overlooks the French town of Évian-les-Bains (across the lake), is about twenty minutes by train to Montreux (another French speaking town) and about thirty eight miles to Geneva.

As soon as I got off the train at Lausanne (from Zurich) and got into the “metro” to finish the tree stops to my hotel, I got the first surprise. The metro itself. Well, there are FOUR reasons for this.

- The station at Lausanne is on a gradient! As I waited for the train to Bessieres, I let my suitcase roll a few times, till someone gave me a look that said - enough! ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).