Top Rated Shopping in Lausanne

Launched in 1987, Maniak is a cavernous clothing store that carries mostly trendy workwear and costumes and costume accessories. There’s an alternative rock hipster vibe to the place, and it’s just as likely to stock work wear as it is to carry band t–shirts and leather jackets. Think Carhartt and Schott jackets, Dickie’s jeans and shirts, and Freitag shoulder bags. Several rooms are dedicated to costumes, where visitors can find masks, feather boas, faux leather, angels wings, and pretty much anything one would want to create any kind of costume.

Manor is one of the main department stores in the center of town. You can find everything here, from clothes to stationary and electronic goods. There is also a general bookshop. In the basement, a supermarket offers a wide range of fresh produce (fish, meat and vegetables), together with all the usual products. There is also a desk called the Ticket Corner, which sells tickets for various shows throughout Switzerland.

Métropole is a shopping center in downtown Lausanne and the largest of its kind in the city and the surrounding region. White-walled, air-conditioned passageways here run past 50 shops on five storeys, including a supermarket, health and manicure salons, pet shops, and dozens of others. The facility is vast and contemporary, and it occasionally coordinates promotions with parallel community activities like circuses, sporting events, and concerts. The retail mall hosts Recyclub, a series of free courses for families on reducing domestic trash.

Lausanne sometimes seems over-run with department stores, but this one is a bit more upmarket than the rest. Like Globus, the building itself is not particularly appealing, but once you enter, though, you feel right at home. While not as extravagant as Harrods or Harvey Nichols, you still feel like you have walked into someone's flat. The store's elegance is subtle and understated yet there are enough enticing displays to remind you that you are there to shop. With designers such as Max Mara and Armani every age range is catered to. The BG Cafe is located on the third floor where customers love to relax after an evening of shopping.

As "the" department store in Lausanne to visit, Globus boasts six floors of goods from fashion to sports equipment, hi-fi's to perfume. Much of what is on offer is what you would expect, but the food section is somewhat better than the rest. Food stalls at every entrance entice you off the streets and once through the dull facade, the interiors are well laid out and spacious. The store's stationary department mixes fun and practicality, and their array of shoes is fantastic. One could spend hours in here.