Guest Post: Summer Break in Lausanne by Marieke van Esch

Hi! This is Marieke again, mother of Daantje (2,5 year) and Juul (10 months); the three of us support husband/papa Matthijs through his MBA experience at IMD for the year 2011
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Back after the IMD summer break, and with renewed energy, we try to benefit as much as we can from Lausanne and its direct surroundings. Since we just experience each season only once in Lausanne we try to get the most out. Besides we try again to keep the family balance and balance as partners as good as possible. The second phase of the IMD year definitely creates a different feeling: there is more flexibility in the enormous amount of work for the MBA’s, not per say more time. Still this makes a (good!) difference.

After 2 months of Swiss school holidays, several activities start again! Which is really good for us as little family. We can go again to Maison du Quartier, Vallee de la Jeunesse (ref. to  previous blog post) etc. and I discovered something new: Marché Paysan in Cugy. This is an extremely nice privately owned farm, 10 km north of Lausanne. It has horses, geese and rabbits for kids to see/touch, a big terrace with kids toys aside, GREAT COFFEE, and a little shop with local vegetables, jams, cheese, apple juice etc. A ‘must’ to check out. Most easy is to go by car, entry is free and it opens every week at Friday 16-19 PM and Saturday 8-12 AM.

Looking back to our 3 weeks of IMD Summer break in Lausanne we really enjoyed being here. We stayed in Lausanne because we enjoy having a very nice apartment with garden and balcony, we didn’t want to travel a lot and keep tranquility in the family and we hosted quite some visitors (family and friends). For you in coming years, I have some recommendations of the activities we undertook:

Parc Pré Vert: a great outdoor play area with a big variety of climbing frames including some with water. Besides, it has a little farm with many animals to see, and touch! You can nearly spend one whole day there, because it also has a big and affordable restaurant. Entry of the park and car parking are free. It’s just a 20 minutes drive from Lausanne.

Yvoire in France: a little medieval village, characteristic and very touristic. Best is when you take the boat from Nyon (a 30 minutes drive or train from Lausanne in direction of Geneva) to Yvoire, which takes you ca. 20 minutes. It is a great Lake Geneva experience too.

Hikes at Rochers de Naye, 2,042 m. altitude, nearby Montreux. For kids: they are in "Marmottes Paradis". You take the train or car to Montreux and in only 45 minutes, the train (Golden Pass) climbs 1,600 metres (!) from Montreux to Rochers de Naye. At the summit you will find wonderful panoramic views over Lake Geneva and the Alps. The train ride is a bit expensive but worth it (ca. 40 CHF depending on discount).

 Château Chillon: a castle in good shape, lots to see, but for kids you need to help them with their imagination and castle stories! The interior could have been more restored. Students entry fee is 10 CHF (use your IMD partner card!) and kids below the age of 6 have free entry.

Hikes in the French Alps just 1 hour and 15 minutes drive from Lausanne across the lake. You are in the famous winter sports area ‘Les Portes du soleil’ which features cool mountain biking and hiking, and for the extreme sporters the Fantasticable in summertime besides enjoying the extremely nice local cheeses and wines. We stayed in Hotel Esprit Montagne. The hotel distinguishes itself by a high quality restaurant and a modern interior (knowing the benchmark).

And of course we spent a lot of time in the many beautiful and scenic parks and playgrounds that Lausanne and Pully have.