World class wine, stunning beaches and a giant chocolate Roger Federer - 48 hours in Lausanne Switzerland’s ‘best small city’

Lausanne is a proudly foodie place, shown by its seasonal festivals and tours, which, when we visited, was the Tarte à la raisinée Trail. A Tarte à la raisinée is a speciality of the area, called cooked wine, also known as raisinée, made from apple, pear or grape must that has been reduced over a wood fire for around 18-24 hours. This treacle-like substance is then poured into pastry and cooked until set. Each bakery makes their own version of Tarte à la raisinée, with some like a treacle tart and others lighter and fruiter. Much like the choco trail, visiting a variety of the bakers to sample this local delicacy is a great way to explore the city. We ate our tarts in the sun in the Parc Mon-Repos on a Friday afternoon. Bliss.

While there are sweet treats galore, Lausanne is also surrounded by and home to vineyards. If like me, you weren’t aware Switzerland made wine then it's because it is very rarely exported, the Swiss preferring to keep it all for themselves. This means that a trip to Lausanne is an ideal opportunity to sample some Swiss (vaud) wine. We took a short train journey from Lausanne to Grandvaux to Domaine Croix Duplex and enjoyed a wine tasting on the terrace overlooking the vineyard with stunning lake and mountain views beyond. Each of the whites and reds were excellent, and it was easy to see why the Swiss want to keep their wine to themselves.

All of this wine made us hungry and lunch at the nearby Auberge de la Gare de Grandvaux is a must for its fresh, local produce including steaks, salads and fried pike and chips. If the weather is good, you can take a walk down the hills on a winding track next to the vineyards to the train station.

Keeping on the food theme of our trip, we enjoyed a range of restaurants and bars in this medieval city including the bustling le Vieux Lausanne and Brasserie de Montbenon where we enjoyed lovely evening views of the lake as we enjoyed our meals. Dishes included steaks and seasonal items such as asparagus and fish. There were also delicious, vegetarian pasta dishes. For an after dinner drink, why not check out the cute le Vestibule where you will find the second floor hidden away behind the library door.

Lausanne is home to the International Olympic Committee headquarters, as well as the Olympic Museum and lakeshore Olympic Park. It’s well worth a visit to the Olympic Museum where you’ll learn all about the history of the games as well as looking back at former opening ceremonies and taking in some amazing artefacts from past games, such as Torvill and Dean’s costumes from their famous Borelo routine at the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics when the British pair won gold medals. Another inspiring place to visit is the new Plateforme 10 art district, located near the train station. While there we saw the beautiful and thought-provoking Tyler Mitchell exhibition showcasing the New York based photographer, who is best known for his cover photo of Beyoncé for the cover of Vogue, and the Sport in Focus Exhibition.

Lausanne has attracted celebrities over the years; Coco Chanel stayed in the city (there's a suite at the Lausanne Palace hotel named after the legendary French fashion designer) and David Bowie owned a chateau in the outskirts. The lake, with its beautiful beaches and views is an obvious draw but the charming centre with its shops and 12th-century gothic Cathedral mean you get both a beach and city break here. A guided tour is well worth it to find out more about Lausanne’s rich history, and our guide (and author) Matthieu Ruf was excellent.

Switzerland may not seem like the most obvious choice for a summer beach break, but once you visit charming (and delicious) Lausanne you'll be sure to be planning a return.

Where we stayed in Lausanne

We stayed in the charmingly traditional four star Hôtel Carlton Lausanne located on Avenue de Cour 4, 1007 Lausanne. Vitally, it’s a two-minute walk to a metro station, which was built to transport locals and visitors up the steep hill.

Visitors can make use of a Lausanne Transport Card, which allows all guests staying in a hotel in Lausanne to enjoy public transports in and around the city free of charge (bus, train, metro).

How to get there

EasyJet fly twice a day from Edinburgh to Geneva where you can get a train that takes about an hour to Lausanne.

Return flights from Edinburgh to Geneva from £70 with easyJet (www.easyjet.com)

Return flights from Glasgow to Geneva from £56 with easyJet.

Stay at the Hotel Carlton Lausanne from 180 CHF (approx. £167) per night based on a Classic double room (www.carltonlausanne.com)