Museum of the Month,  Switzerland

December Museum of the Month: The Olympic Museum

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The December museum of the month is The Olympic Museum. The museum is located in the French speaking region of Lausanne on the banks of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. This final museum of the month for 2018 is a special one because I have never been to the Olympic Museum and I am not writing about it, but Harini Jayaraman from Miss Talking Feet is! She will tell you what you can see in the museum and everything you need to know to visit. 

About the Olympic Museum

The Olympic museum was founded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1993. Lausanne (also known as the Olympic city) has been home to the IOC for the last 100 years. This museum has everything one needs to know about the Olympic games.

The Olympic Museum Laussane
Countdown to the olympics!
Entrance

The entrance has the number of stairs equivalent to the number of Olympic games which have been held so far from 1896 to 2018. Each stair has the name of the venue where the games were held. The entrance is aesthetically decorated with Olympic balls and an Olympic mascot. As soon as you buy a ticket you enter the museum through a path that looks like a race track. The entire museum is either set up like a race track or an Olympic field.

Olympic Museum Entrance

Third Floor: Olympic World

The museum has three floors, with each focusing on a particular theme. The third floor is the Olympic world where the history of Olympic games is told through displays and videos. You can discover how the Olympic games have evolved over the years to the modern Olympics of today.

Second Floor: Olympic Games

The second floor is about Olympic games where the the equipment used by the athletes for each sport of the Olympics is shown. The costumes worn by the athletes in each Olympic sport are on display. There are 1000s of video clips of multiple Olympic events and athletes. Any Olympic event’s screening can be searched for at the multiple viewing station. In this section, the focus is not only on the main Olympics, but also on the youth Olympics (for athletes between 15-18) and Paralympics (Olympics for athletes with various disabilities).

First Floor: Olympic Spirit

The first floor covers the spirit of the Olympics where visitors are informed about the covert preparation activities of the athletes,  such as their diet and exercise routines during the Olympic games. Visitors can get involved in the Olympic village where they are able to test their sporting abilities such as balance, agility, hand-eye co-ordination, strength and more through various activities. There is also an activity where one can test how healthy their diet is.

Olympic park

The Olympic Museum Lausanne

The museum has an Olympic park housing several works of art on the theme of sport.

Visiting Information

Where

Quai d’Ouchy 1, 1006 Lausanne, Switzerland

How to Get There

There are direct trains to Lausanne from various parts of France and Switzerland. The nearest airport is Geneva, Switzerland, a 45 minute train journey away. One can also get to Lausanne by cruise from cities which surround Lake Geneva.

Upon reaching Lausanne, one needs to board the Lausanne metro and get off at the stop Ouchee Olympique from where the museum is a 10 minute walk. The Lausanne metro station is right opposite the main train station.

Tickets

Tickets are priced at 18 Swiss francs or 15.18 euros for those aged above 17. Those between 6 and 16 have to pay 10 Swiss francs or 8.82 euros. Entry is free for those aged below 6. Senior citizens need to pay 16 Swiss francs or 14.12 euros. Students aged 18 and above have a discounted price of 12 Swiss francs or 10.5 euros. To use the discount one needs to show proof of student identity.

*At the time of writing the cost in USD is approximately the same as in Swiss Francs.

Hours

9 am-6pm: 1st May to 15th October (everyday)

10 am-6pm: 16th October to 30th April (Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays and national holidays)

Review

I would rate this as the best museum I have ever visited in my life because of the set up and the range of activities inside the museum. This is the only museum I have seen which puts so much emphasis on sports and examines it in such great detail. The only drawback of this museum is that there is poor lighting and in order to capture high quality photographs inside the museum one needs a phone that is known for its camera quality or a professional camera. 

Food

The museum has a large and aesthetic café known as Tom café which serves various types of meals as well as snacks, beverages and pastries. It has a panoramic view overlooking the French and Swiss Alps and Lake Geneva.

Other Things to Do in Lausanne

One can take a walk along the scenic lake Geneva with the view of the alps mountains which is right opposite the museum. There is also chateau d’ouchee (Ouchee castle) near the Olympic museum. Other than that one can enjoy the best patisseries in Lausanne and do a tour of the city.

Where to Stay in Lausanne 

Find a great place to stay near the Olympic Museum in Lausanne!



Booking.com

Thanks again to Harini Jayaraman from Miss Talking Feet for this guest post on the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. I can’t wait to check it out one day. See more from Miss Talking Feet on Twitter.

Check out my Museum of the Month page to see all the museum reviews from 2018!

Check out my Museum of the Month page to see all my museum reviews!


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10 Comments

  • Yara

    I never knew there was an Olympics Museum! This is so timely as I prep for a trip to the 2020 Olympics 🙂 Thank you for sharing this helpful tips. What a cool addition to anyone traveling through Switzerland!

  • Nicole Hunter

    I had never heard of the Olympic Museum but it makes sense when you mention that Lausanne is home to the IOC. It sounds very interesting. I have to say that I am a total Olympic nut. I love sitting and watching all sorts of sports that I never watch any other time. I’d love to visit this museum.

  • krista

    What a fun museum! I had no idea this was in Switzerland, and I missed it! I’m not the biggest Olympics fan but I think this would be such a cool and education museum! Thanks for sharing!!

  • Lisa

    I’ve never actually made it to Lausanne yet, but will take your word on seeing the Olympic museum. I enjoy visiting museums in general, but ‘the best’ according to you is quite an accolade!

  • Medha Verma

    I had no idea Switzerland has an Olympic games museum! I love the idea of having the number of stairs equal to the number of Olympic games held so far. Also, the Olympic park looks pretty cool!

  • Amrita

    I have never heard of the Olympic Museum, but it looks like a great place to visit. I would love to get a detailed insight into the Olympics at the museum. Thanks for sharing the post.

  • Suman Doogar

    Wow! I would love to explore the Olympic museum. So much to see and learn about the history of sports and Olympic traditions. Thank you for sharing relevant information regarding how to reach and what to focus on.

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