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By
Michael Thompson
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Click on the link for a handy PDF version of our July 2008 Switzerland travel feature!
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Lausanne
With a history dating back eight millennia, Lausanne is a university town of steep picturesque streets with a 12th-century cathedral overlooking it all, situated on Lac Léman among forested hillsides, farms and vineyards, a half-hour by train from Geneva.
In an entertainment district among the old warehouses at Flon Metro station, the MAD (L'Entrep"!t 23, rue de Genève) complex can't be missed. Here every Sunday night Trixx, the weekly gay dance event, takes place. Five times a year this venue hosts Jungle, the biggest gay dance party event of the area, and they fill the place to overflow. Busloads of people from surrounding cities (and even bordering countries) journey to Trixx for these big nights. Alex, the force behind Trixx, can be said to throw the best gay parties in all of Switzerland.
The "Mousse" (foam) parties are a particularly popular Jungle event, with the next one scheduled for July 31. A special upcoming summer Jungle will be "AYOR" for 18 and over at Amnesia Club (Plage de la Voile d'Or) on Saturday July 12 at lakeside in four distinct areas and featuring hot Italian dancers. See Gay-party for more details.
Other nights at MAD are straight, but very gay-friendly, and they turn away hundreds at the door as they fill to capacity every Saturday night here. A MAD train to Paris party on the rails follows on a similar one to Milan recently. You'll find details at Mad.ch along with much other events information.
The 43-10 (43-10 rue de Bourg, Cheneau-de-Bourg) gay dance club pulls in a young crowd from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and on occasional Sunday nights.
L'Entrée (5 Avenue de Tivoli), is a new gay bar and lounge with cocktails and snacks on one level that's open daily except Mondays, and another floor with a dance bar from Thursdays through Saturdays. Right next to Pink Beach Sauna, the bar has made this area even more "the gay street" for Lausanne. Just across from here the restaurant Ma Mère M'a Dit (8 Avenue de Tivoli) has re-opened, serving modern French cuisine that includes both meat and veggie options. Open Cafe (60 Avenue de Tivoli), a new cafe and lounge bar, is coming to this same street by September, promising east-west fusion cuisine and a tranquil atmosphere.
Other notables include: Bar-Tabac (7 rue Beau-Séjour) with an arty, old-bistro ambiance; Le Saxo (3 rue de la Grotte), a bar and restaurant with Saturday "Kara-aux-gays" soirées with karaoke; ML16 (16 Mon Loisir) bar and restaurant with a nice garden; Yookosa (18 rue Madeleine), a downtown lounge bar, also an art space, and "hair design" establishment; PUR (17 rue du Port-Franc), directly across from MAD dance club, the gay-friendly restaurant with a huge outdoor terrace; and Les Alliés (48 rue de la Pontaise), a classic bistro throwback. Cosmic Bar (3 rue de la Borde, basement) is a small mixed "bo te" dance club, open Thursdays through Saturdays with electronic music and an international flavor.
Sauna Pink Beach (7-9 Avenue Tivoli) is billed as "the largest and hottest sauna" in all of Switzerland. There are lots of glory holes at this pleasure palace, with all the necessary plumbing and amenities, including whirlpool, solarium, massage, steam bath, and Finnish sauna. Spread over two levels, they have cruising areas, movies, dark rooms, and play rooms for every kink, and there's free internet, too. To satisfy the voyeuristic impulses, the steam and sauna and the shower area have peep holes. Under 30? Pay just eight francs to enter every Thursday and Friday at Pink Beach.
The Pink Beach folks also own Rainbow Inn (22 Avenue Tivoli; +41-21-311-69-69; Rainbowinn.ch), just across the street, with the city's best men-only guesthouse option, modern rooms (with shared loos) starting at just 85 francs. They also have rooms at a modern nearby building with great views overlooking central Lausanne, and many comforts. Guests get free access to both the sauna and Trafick and you're not far from the Sunday night Trixx dance here either. Check-in is at Pink Beach.
In this same building (22 Avenue de Tivoli) Trafick erotic boutique and cinema and Le Garage sex club are side-by-side complexes for all things erotic. With cruising and sex-club cabins, a sling room, toys room, dark room, Sunday naked parties, "pornophone" and "suck station" on one side, and magazines, books, DVDs, leather, latex, plus x-rated accessories on the other, this block can keep you happily occupied awhile.
The other saunas in town are Top Club (6 rue Bellefontaine) and New Relax Club (Galerie St. Franois A) -- the latter with specifically gay and straight hours daily.
The city of Lausanne provides free public internet access at several areas, such as the environs of the ferry dock at Place de la Navigation and also in Place de Palud near the foot of the steps that lead to the cathedral. There's a sprawling country market in these latter streets on Saturday mornings.
While in the region, visit Montreux, a scenic 20-minute ride by train or car from Lausanne that's home to the annual jazz festival (), this year July 4 to 19.
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