Six Lausanne Cafés to Get Creative In

Café culture doesn’t get much classier than in Switzerland’s most fiercely intellectual city. Here are six places for a perfect pit stop in lake-hugging Lausanne

In partnership withSwiss TB Logo

The elegant, hilly Swiss city of Lausanne occupies an idyllic location on Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), and it's abundantly clear why artists, writers and free-thinkers have been finding inspiration here for centuries. Voltaire, Charles Dickens, Lord Byron, T.S. Eliot, Coco Chanel and David Bowie (who called Lausanne home) are among the cultivated minds to have lingered in the grand hotels and bohemian coffee houses around the lake. Today, the city's intellectual spirit attracts star students to science and technology research institute EPFL, essentially Europe's MIT. For travellers, Lausanne's highbrow café culture is a joy to discover, and we've found the loveliest spots in the city in which to reignite your creative spirit over the perfect single-origin filter coffee.

Coffee culture: Lausanne's best cafés and coffee houses

Cafe de Grancy, Lausanne, Switzerland
Photo credit: Charly Derouet

Café de Grancy

This classic hangout occupying the ground floor of a lavish 19th-century apartment building has antique chaise longues and slouchy sofas up front, perfect for curling up with a good book and working your way through the extensive hot chocolate menu. There's sit-down dining at the tables in the back and, come evening, a buzzy bar vibe prevails, making this a note-perfect all-day brasserie. Want to take some schoggi (a Swiss colloquialism for chocolate) home with you? Head to Durig Chocolatier, a three-minute walk from the café, to pick up some tongue-tingling Mexican-spiced cocoa.

Address

Avenue du Rond-Point 1, 1006

Madeline, Lausanne

Madeleine

A beautiful café and bookstore in the heart of the old town, Madeleine offers delicious freshly baked madeleines, locally roasted Torpedo coffee and a cleverly curated selection of uplifting books courtesy of the resident bookkeeper, Aurore. Decor is sleek and contemporary, with art nouveau flourishes creating a sumptuous backdrop for people-watching. After 4pm, hot chocolate gives way to natural wines and locally brewed beers, best enjoyed alongside sharing platters.

Address

Rue Madeleine 3, 1003

Deli Social, Lausanne
Photo credit: Charly Derouet

Deli Social

A truly radical new addition to Lausanne's esteemed café scene, Deli Social is a food lab, magazine store and workspace run by a British couple, designers Emily Groves and Rhys Williams. Hanging out here feels like a crash course in innovative design - you'll leave with plenty of design inspiration for your own flat, or future dream home. A word of warning: order a sandwich with dip and you'll never be satisfied with an ordinary sandwich ever again.

Address

Place du Tunnel 11, 1005

Café des Artisans, Lausanne
Photo credit: Charly Derouet

Café des Artisans

With a young, enthusiastic team and a reputation for championing local designers (whose artworks and wares are displayed and sold here), this is one of Lausanne's best-loved café-bars. Cocktails and draft craft beers are a highlight, but it also does a roaring trade in non-alcoholic spirits and kombucha. Keep your night rolling with a visit to Street Cellar, just down the road: the rebellious wine bar serves bins by the glass or, if you're feeling fancy, in magnums.

Address

Rue Centrale 16, 1003

Coffee Page, Lausanne
Photo credit: Charly Derouet

Coffee Page

"Lausanne is a city full of artists, designers, architects and writers," explains Jean Kehlhofer, owner of this contemporary yet comfortable corner café just north of St-François. They're all to be found here, reading coffee-table books on Swiss tattoo artists, or art brut, or fermentation, kept caffeinated on locally roasted Goodlife coffee. Jacques Restaurant, two minutes' down the road, is well worth a visit when in this part of town, too.

Address

Rue du Midi 20, 1003

Le Barbare, Lausanne
Photo credit: Charly Derouet

Le Barbare

We lost track of the number of people who instructed us to come here and order Marta's hot chocolate, so we did. More a chocolate soup than a hot drink, it's just the sort of fuel you'll need if you're ploughing through a lengthy Victorian novel, or trying to pen your own thoughts on life. This historic café dates back to 1952, but it's only recently that Marta took it over and breathed new life into it.

Address

Escaliers du Marché 27, 1003

Swiss TB Logo

The Lowdown

How to get there

Fly direct from London Heathrow to Geneva Airport with SWISS. From the airport, Lausanne city centre is just under an hour by train with Swiss Federal Railways.

The Swiss Travel System covers more than 29,000km with its extensive public transport network of trains, buses, cable cars and boats. Book your tailored Swiss city package and get unlimited travel on public transport with a Swiss Travel Pass at switzerlandtravelcentre.com.


Ready to plan your Lausanne trip? Visit myswitzerland.com to get a taste of all the Swiss city offers.

A restaurant in Basel, Switzerland

Discover More
Basel on a Plate: Six Delicious Swiss Dining Adventures