Lausanne grabs top spot in the global affairs and lifestyle magazine Monocle’s debut ranking of the world’s best small cities. To qualify, a city needs to be home to roughly 200,000 people. This provides a sweet spot between social and cultural diversity and quaintness, according to the publisher. Lausanne has a population of 140,000. Once […]
Whizz through Lausanne at street level
Lausanne-based visual artist Sylvain Botter created this fast-paced two minute time lapsed montage of Lausanne in Switzerland. If you don’t know the city this video gives a great feel for what it’s like by taking you down into the city and through the streets. Buckle up. It’s fast. For more stories like this on Switzerland follow […]
Fly like a bird over Lausanne and beyond
Lausanne-based Brosky Media created this stunning three minute video of Vaud’s capital city, Lausanne. Watching this it is easy to imagine why Lord Byron, who lived there from 1788 to 1824, James Mason, who lived there from 1963 to 1984, and Coco Chanel, who lived there from 1945 to 1971, all chose the city. Some […]
Is Lausanne One of The World’s Top Cities?
While perusing the racks at the local magazine shop, your loyal Happy Valley Correspondent was delighted to come across the latest edition of Monocle magazine. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Monocle, it’s a very glossy periodical, with many nice pictures. It describes itself as “a briefing on global affairs, business, culture and […]
Switzerland – Home of the World’s Best Festival?
Cully Jazz, errant bachelors, and the only way to travel to Frankfurt… Your loyal Happy Valley correspondent is sitting on a Kuwait Airways flight from Geneva to Frankfurt. It’s civilized, quick — and amazingly inexpensive. The wide-bodied plane is at best 10% full, which means extra-attentive service, plentiful leg-room and a level of overhead storage […]
Lausanne under the spotlight – the good bad and ugly
Happy Valley’s 15 Minutes of Fame Another day in Happy Valley…as the world’s spotlight moves away from the region with the Iran talks completed, and tranquility returns. The past few weeks must have been one of the biggest moments for the word “Lausanne” to be splashed across the front pages of the world’s press. And […]
Is Lausanne beating Geneva?
A Tale of Two Cities “Lausanne is the capital of Suisse Romande and Geneva is Geneva,” a canny observer recently remarked. The distinction is important. Geneva may be wealthier and have a greater international reputation, but Lausanne, Switzerland’s fourth largest city population-wise, often seems more dynamic. The two cities have chosen very different strategies. Geneva […]
Never trust the advice of friends and family
This was one piece of advice to would be entrepreneurs at the Innovation Forum at EPFL in Lausanne last night. “Innovation” that increasingly over-used and tired word is one much bandied around by those who observe from behind the safety of their corporate desks, academic podia and political soap boxes. Last night the word won […]
An expat’s view: let it snow. In Happy Valley.
“C’est pire qu’au Canada, non? Faut trouver une meilleure fraise!” – I’d expect a Canadian to have better tools! So called out my neighbour the other day, as the snow continued to fall over the heights of Lake Léman, Switzerland. And so goes another day in a place that might be best, with its many […]
Ice skating guide for the lake Geneva region
Ice skating season is not over yet so get your skates on! Here is a guide to the ice-skating rinks in Vaud and Geneva. Entrance prices vary and all rinks have skates that you can hire. The links below will all take you to the relevant website for prices, locations and opening and closing times. […]