In the heart of the Vieille Ville (Old Town), this 9th-century medieval market square – pretty as a picture – was originally bogland. For five centuries it has been home to the city government, now housed in the 17th-century Hôtel de Ville (town hall). A fountain pierces one end of the square, presided over by a brightly painted column topped by the allegorical figure of Justice, clutching scales and dressed in blue.
What you see is a copy – the 1585 original is in the Musée Historique de Lausanne. From the eastern end of the square, bear left along Rue Mercière to pick up Escaliers du Marché , a timber-canopied staircase with tiled roof that hikes up the hill to Rue Pierre Viret and beyond to the cathedral.
