If you wander down Lausanne’s hills, into the fishing village of Ouchy along the shores of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva), you’ll be rewarded with a lakeside promenade of grand hotels such as the Belle Époque Beau-Rivage Palace (where Coco Chanel resided and decreed that her dog be interred in the pet cemetery of the private park) and the 18th-century Hôtel Angleterre & Residence at which Byron composed “The Prisoner of Chillon” in 1816.
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Apart from grand hotels, the lakeshore promenade is also home to the Olympic Museum, which is dedicated to the men and women who embody the Olympic ideal. Designated as the Olympic capital in 1994, Lausanne has been home to the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 1915. A three-level permanent exhibition within the Olympic Museum explores the origins of the games and their revival by Pierre de Coubertin; the Olympic feats and glories; and the quotidian lives of Olympic athletes.
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In the words of Coubertin, “If someone were to ask for the recipe for ‘becoming Olympic,’ I would say that the first prerequisite is to be joyful.” The Olympic Museum captures some of that Olympic ebullience with its cheerful crowds who spill out onto the Olympic Park, an extension of the museum that features works of contemporary artists, statues, a fountain, an amphitheater, and the Olympic fire, as well as a running track.
In an effort to fight the global obesity epidemic, the current exhibition “Get Active” is an interactive invitation to “get physical” while enjoying the museum. Guests are invited into a house that showcases all the various physical activities, as well as mental and social skills, that are available within one’s own home. An upcoming exhibition on golf celebrates the return of golf to the Olympic program after an absence of 112 years.
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Atop the museum, TOM Cafe offers panoramic views from its terrace, which overlooks Lake Geneva and the Alps. Apart from its seasonal culinary offerings, TOM Café also features wines from Switzerland – all served amidst memorabilia from the Olympics.
