I have one problem with the concept of the city spa break. Why would I go to another city looking for rest? That changed when I heard about Lausanne. City escape: Simon doesn't usually escape to the city to relaxe, but in Lausanne there are two spa hotels near the centre of town, including the Beau Rivage.
The views from here toward the more rugged French side are stunning. Lausanne also has more clinics per head than almost anywhere else on earth. An ideal place for a spa β although oddly there are only two in town, both attached to stunning turn-of-the-century grand hotels: one in the centre at the Lausanne Palace and one by the lakeside at the the Beau-Rivage Palace. I had a simple minute Udvartana massage from a soft-spoken chap from Kerala.
Centreal spot: The Lausanne Palace has a huge spa and a sun terrace overlooking Lake Geneva's north bank. After a sauna and shower, actually swimming seemed senselessly splashy, so I fashioned a raft out of polystyrene pool noodles and floated in the pool like a beetle on its back. Not an ennobling sight, my wife said. Casual attire: Simon and Sian make themselves at home in the spa at Beau-Rivage. We wanted to explore, though. We got used to it. But it is worth going in to see the Painted Portal whose statues were garishly decorated in and still have the colour on them.
Medieval churches were much more colourful than we think. Louder, too: we walked up the steps to the belfry and were taking close-up photos of the gigantic bell when it deafeningly struck the hour. Anyone staying at a hotel gets a Lausanne Transport Card allowing free public transport during their stay.
The cobbled, hilly medieval centre is easily explored on foot with ancient covered staircases linking the market squares , but you might need the help of a bus for the long climb to the Bois de Sauvabelin overlooking the town.
