Lausanne HQ

Practical Information

How to reach CECAM

Geneva airport (GVA) is the closest airport, only 45 minutes away from Lausanne by train or car. There are trains departing from Geneva Airport every 15 minutes and the train station is located in the airport. You can check the timetable here.
Zurich airport is 2.5 hours away by car and by train. There is also a station inside the airport and direct trains to Lausanne.
For more detailed instructions, please click here.
Kindly note that there are no free parking spots on the EPFL campus, please get in touch with the CECAM team if you are planning to arrive by car.

Hotel stay

Please check this page to check accomodation options in Lausanne. We recommend choosing a hotel either close to the EPFL campus (like the Hotel Starling, Zleep Hotel, Swisstech hotel,..) or in the city center, close to the M1 or M2 metro lines, for easy acces to the CECAM facilities.

Public transport card

If you are staying in a hotel in Lausanne, they will provide a public transport pass for the period of your stay (either ahead of your arrival via email, or upon check-in), this pass can be used to come to CECAM and be used on buses and metros M1, M2. You can access the public transport map of Lausanne here.

Restaurants

There are many restaurants in Lausanne from formal to laidback, Italian to Asian. Plenty of places that will cater to your taste and budget. You can check out this guide for more information. Most restaurants are closed on a Sunday nights in Lausanne so if you are arriving late check with your hotel if they can cater or advise on an open restaurant near by.

Laser pointers

Switzerland introduced a ban on the import, possession and use of laser pointers on Swiss soil, with the exception of Class 1 laser pointers, which are authorized for use in making presentations. Laser pointers are available in CECAM-HQ, we therefore encourage speakers not to travel with their own pointer.

General information

In Switzerland all the shops and many restaurants are closed on Sundays. There is a small coop (supermarket) and a pharmacy open all day at the Lausanne and Geneva train station. Food shops (Coop and Migros) are open on from ~08h30 to 19h00.
As in most large cities, you need to be aware of pick-pockets on the public transport, keep your bags close to you at all times whether on the metro, bus, restaurant or even on the campus.
Cashpoints or ATM are called “bancomat” in Switzerland.

Childcare

CECAM wishes to support a parent with a young child attending a CECAM workshop or school in Lausanne. CECAM recognises that some support for child care at its meetings is an allowable expense. The following conditions apply:

• An additional per diem of 50CHF is paid to the babysitter/caretaker for a child coming with a parent to attend a CECAM meeting in Switzerland (Lausanne, Zurich, Lugano). The parent should be an invited attendee at the workshop or school. The parent should not be employed at EPFL (ETHZ, or USI).
• A room within CECAM facilities can be used during the day so that the child is close to the parent and a hotel room with sufficient space for an additional bed can be booked (and covered) by CECAM.
• The babysitter should not be attending the meeting as a participant.
• The child should be no younger that 8 weeks and no older than 18 months at the beginning of the meeting.
• CECAM does not take responsibility for finding child care, this is the responsibility of the parent. CECAM would welcome a family member or friend travelling with the attending parent to look after the child during the meeting.