Last-Minute Christmas Shopping – For this post, Living in Nyon’s new writer Francesca Brewer-Krebs, travels out of Nyon to check out the local shops in the old town of Lausanne.
All of these shops are walkable or accessible by bus from the railway station, perfect if you don’t want to take the car out in this snowy weather!
Over to Francesca.
Christmas is rapidly approaching, and some newcomers to the area may find it difficult to know where to shop for gifts with such a short amount of time at their disposal, so I have taken to the streets of Lausanne in order to find a selection of shops to find thoughtful and unique gifts for family and friends.
La Maison – “a pocket sized Harrods”
The first stop on the list is La Maison located at Rue de la Paix 3, a side street off of the famous Rue de Bourg, which is known for its high-end shopping. Described in the Swisspassport Shopping Guide as a “pocket-sized Harrod’s,” La Maison offers a beautiful selection of home furnishings and unique gifts including hand-made ornaments, ivory-plated cutlery sets, rhinestone-encrusted napkin rings, embroidered pillows, silver-plated picture frames, perfumes and fragrances, hand-made furniture, and other high-end gifts.
It is a cozy store with friendly and helpful service. The store clerk calls it, “une caverne des Ali Babas,” an Aladdin’s cave,” filled to the brim with striking treasures.
Pipes, cigars and whiskies at Tabac Besson
From La Maison travel up the hill and take a left around the corner to Tabac Besson, located at Rue de Bourg 22, where you will find one of Lausanne’s finest tobacconists.
Since 1965, Tabac Besson has offered an outstanding selection of pipes, cigars, (including Cuba, for the American cigar enthusiast) loose and pressed tobaccos, smoking accessories, malts whiskies, and liquors, from around the world. The store features an impressive walk-in humidor as well as a new liquor cellar.
For lovers of classic literature, Tabac Besson offers an “Authors’ Collection” of pipes in the style of those smoked by James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, and William Butler Yeats. Additionally, Georges Simenon, author of the Detective Maigret series, was a regular customer here, and they sell an exact replica of his “Dunhill Pipe.” A big plus is that several of the knowledgeable store clerks speak English proficiently, and are happy to answer any questions you may have.
A store full of stocking fillers
Just down the street from Tabac Besson at Rue de Bourg 43, head into Image + where you can find plenty of stocking-stuffers and fun, zany gifts in this large, colorful store.
Photo above: Image+
They offer a massive inventory including stationery and paper goods, greeting cards, picture framing, fragrances, lamps, clocks, scales, photo albums, infused salts and sugars, olive oils, mustards, spices and spice racks, pastas, tins, and teapots. With a more youthful and less refined atmosphere than La Maison, I recommend this store to anyone shopping for a child or young adult as well as any gourmand on your list. Check out their website.
Local Vaud food
The next stop is La Ferme Vaudoise, located at Place de la Palud 5, from Image +, take a right down the Rue de Bourg, head down the Rue St.-Francois, cross the Rue Centrale, and go up the Rue du Pont.
Here you will have the unique pleasure of finding an entirely local inventory including seasonal produce, baked goods, wines, artisanally-crafted beers and spirits, fresh and cured meats, chocolates, and cheeses that are all produced from within the Canton of Vaud.
This is the perfect stop for anyone searching for gifts that support local businesses and reflect the taste and gastronomic culture of Le Vaud. Vist their website for more information.
From Barbie to giant caterpillars, crazy bands to soft toys – a child’s delight.
No Christmas shopping destination list would be complete without a toy store, and our final stop takes us to Franz Carl Weber, located at Place de la Palud 16-18, just across the street from La Ferme Vaudoise. While I tried to stay away from large chain stores for this article, the selection at this store, which spans three stories high, cannot be beat. If you can think of a toy, they probably have it in stock.
Their selection includes (but is certainly not limited), to stuffed animals, Barbie dolls, Hello Kitty! merchandise, toy cars, model airplanes, go-carts, figurines, board games, Lego building blocks, make-your-own perfume sets, and crazy bands.
La pièce de résistance is a giant functional slide shaped as a caterpillar that children can slide down from the third floor down to the second.
A downside is that the store can be a bit of a mob-scene with many children running around! However, the store is well-staffed to accommodate the higher influx of holiday shoppers so you shouldn’t have to wait in line for too long.
While I only profiled five shops out of the hundreds this district has to choose from, I hope this narrowed perspective of where to start in a larger city like Lausanne is a useful tool in making your last-minute Christmas shopping a bit easier. I wish you luck in finding the perfect gifts for everyone on your lists, and I am confident that these shops won’t let you down!
Merry Christmas!
All photos: Eugen Krebs
Ed’s note: The Swiss Passport Guide site is a useful guide with maps to shopping and sight seeing in Lausanne. It also has an online site (in English).