Lausanne Station
Lausanne station is about 63 km from Geneva Airport, around 50 minutes by road, and frequent direct trains also link the airport station with Lausanne. The train is excellent for light travellers, while a private transfer with AirportsTransfers.ch makes sense when you have lots of luggage, a group, or a hotel on one of the city's steep hills rather than next to the station.
- Distance from GVA: about 63 km
- Drive time: around 50 minutes
- By train: frequent direct trains from the airport station
- Onward: M2 metro down to Ouchy and up to the city centre
- Best for a car: heavy luggage, families, hotels on the hillsides
A station on a slope
Lausanne is built on steep hillsides rising from Lake Geneva, and the station sits roughly halfway between the lakeshore at Ouchy and the Old Town at the top. This geography shapes everything about getting around. The M2 metro, which stops right by the station, is a steep line climbing from Ouchy through the station and Flon to the upper parts of the city, and it is the quickest way up and down. Streets between the station and the centre involve steep climbs and steps, which are fine on foot with a small bag but hard with suitcases. The station itself is a major hub on the Swiss network, with trains to Geneva, Bern, Zurich, the Valais and Paris, and has shops, cafés and luggage lockers. The station building itself, with its classic façade facing the city, is a meeting point for locals and the starting point for most visits.
What to see from the station
Going down towards the lake, Ouchy offers a lakeside promenade, a harbour, the boat landing for cruises across Lake Geneva and, a short walk along the shore, the Olympic Museum, set in a park with views over the water. Lausanne is home to the International Olympic Committee and many international sports federations, giving it the nickname of Olympic capital. Going up, the Flon district is a former warehouse area turned into a lively quarter of shops, bars and restaurants, and above it the Old Town is crowned by Lausanne Cathedral, one of Switzerland's finest Gothic buildings, from whose tower a night watchman still calls out the hours at night. Plateforme 10, the arts district right next to the station, brings together several of the canton's museums, and the Collection de l'Art Brut, devoted to outsider art, is a short trip away.
Train or car from Geneva Airport
The train is the obvious choice for many: frequent, direct and comfortable, with lake views along the way. For a single traveller or a couple with modest luggage staying near the station, it is hard to beat. A private car becomes the better option in several situations: when your hotel is near Ouchy, in the Old Town or in a residential area on the hills; when you have several large suitcases; when you travel with children or older relatives; when you arrive late at night or need to leave very early; or when you are a group splitting a fixed vehicle price. A Mercedes V-Class van seats up to seven people with ten bags, and a Mercedes Sprinter minibus suits larger groups. The car can stop right at your hotel entrance, saving the climb from the nearest metro stop.
Business, sport and education visitors
Lausanne attracts business travellers, sports federation officials, hospitality and university students, and conference delegates. A Mercedes E-Class Business Sedan or a Mercedes S-Class First Class Sedan offers a calm journey for meetings, with invoices for companies and organisations. A chauffeur by the hour (minimum two hours) can take you from the station area to appointments at the IOC, EPFL, the University of Lausanne or companies along the Lake Geneva shore, waiting between meetings.
Practical tips
The motorway between Geneva and Lausanne can be busy at rush hour, so allow some margin if you have an event shortly after landing. If you take the train with heavy bags, use the lifts on the platforms, and consider a taxi or the metro rather than walking up from the station. Hotel guests in Lausanne usually receive a card for free local public transport during their stay. For departures, a transfer directly from your hotel door avoids a climb back to the station with luggage.
Booking a private transfer to Lausanne
On AirportsTransfers.ch, enter your flight, choose Lausanne station or your hotel address, and select a vehicle. The fixed price is shown before payment by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Your chauffeur waits at arrivals with a name sign and follows your flight, waiting if it is delayed. Child seats and return transfers are available. For any question, phone or WhatsApp +41 78 346 56 77, day or night.
