Walk Lausanne from the lake up
Lausanne climbs steeply from the shore of Lake Geneva to its cathedral and beyond, one of the hilliest cities in Europe. FOG hides the map until you walk it, and every climb here earns its fresh ground.
From the lake
Ouchy is the lakeside district, with a long promenade along the shore, the old castle turned hotel and boats crossing the lake. The Olympic Museum stands in a park by the water, as Lausanne is home to the International Olympic Committee.
From Ouchy, the city climbs steeply. The metro line that links the lake with the centre is among the steepest of its kind anywhere.
The old town
The Flon is a former industrial valley now full of shops and bars, with the Grand-Pont crossing high above it. Above, the Place de la Palud is a square with a fountain and clock. The Escaliers du Marche, a covered wooden staircase, climb from there to the cathedral.
The Gothic cathedral looks over the city, and a watchman still calls out the hours from its tower at night. Above the city, the woods of Sauvabelin have a lake and a wooden lookout tower. East along the lake, the Lavaux vineyards are a famous walk on terraced slopes.
Up and down
Lausanne is extremely steep, with stairways and sloping streets everywhere. The metro helps on the way up.
The weather is mild by Swiss standards, with views of the Alps across the lake on clear days.
Bring the walks you already did
An empty map is a slow start in a city you already know. FOG Unlimited imports Google Timeline exports and GPX files, so years of past walks in Lausanne clear straight onto the map, and you open the app to a real picture with obvious dark gaps in it. It is one purchase, never a subscription.
From then on FOG records by itself, with the app closed, and the trail never leaves the phone. No account, no ads, no tracking. The logbook writes a page for every month and year you were out, with the new ground and the new places you set foot in.
Questions people actually ask
Is Lausanne hilly?
Very. The city climbs steeply from the lake at Ouchy to the cathedral and the woods above.
What are the Escaliers du Marche?
A covered wooden stairway from the Place de la Palud to the cathedral.
Is my location uploaded anywhere?
No. There is no account and no cloud. The map is stored only on your phone, and you can export a GPX backup yourself.
Start with a dark map.
FOG is free to explore. No account, no subscription, and your map never leaves your phone.
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