Lausanne, day 3: Place de la Palud, Légende d’Automne, and Roman Ruins

[expedition_retirement]

Because this was our last day before our flight home the next morning, we had book another hotel adjacent to the airport in Geneva. So, in the morning, we packed our bags, checked out, and left our luggage in storage at the hotel while we headed out to finish our visit in Lausanne. Somehow, in wandering the Old City the day before, we had missed the Place de la Palud, so that was where we decided to start. This square, in the Old City has a lovely fountain in the middle of it, with a statue of Justice painted in bright colors. And on one side of the square, above the store front, is the Palud Clock. At the top of every hour, this clock provides a parade of animated figures that represent moments in the history of Lausanne and the Canton of Vaud. We arrived a little early, so we wandered the nearby streets until near the end of the hour before returning to watch the clock put on its show.

After watching the clock, we made our way back down the hill and past the Palais de Justice. Our next destination was a little park just past where we had finished the day before. The Parc de la Légende hosts a series of small sculptures that were originally created for visually impaired, but are fascinating for anyone who loves art or fairy tales. This series of 18 sculptures are presented along with chapters of a lovely fairy tale about why trees lose their leaves in Autumn. Titled "Légende d’Automne", this story was endearing and the sculptures were equally creative.

We then walked out to the edge of the city, where the ruins of the original Gallo-Roman town of Lousonna are located. The ruins are in a park near the shore of Lake Geneva, and were once an important trading post for the Roman Empire. The signage in the park describe the important buildings, and provide images of what they likely looked like during the Roman period. After exploring the ruins, we walked the short distance to the Roman museum of Lausanne-Vidy, where we learned more about the life here during the Roman period. It was interesting to note that with the decline of the Empire, the population slowly abandoned this site on the lake shore and the town moved up to the hills where we were exploring the medieval city.

 

We then walked back to the Old City to get something to eat. There was a street food festival going on, and we had dozens of food trucks set up. After we ate, we decided it was time to bit au revoir to Lausanne and head to the airport for our return home. We collected our luggage at our hotel and caught a train to Geneva, where we checked into our hotel at the airport.

The next morning, we packed for the final time, walked to the airport, where we caught our flight home.