Culture on a student budget in Lausanne and Vaud
Free and reduced-price culture for students and young people: free museum days, under-26 entry, last-minute opera seats, EPFL's own exhibitions and the free Lausanne municipal libraries. Orientation only; each venue sets its own prices.
Key facts
- First Saturday of the month: most Lausanne museums are free (Association of Lausanne and Pully museums). Also free on International Museum Day, 18 May.
- Under 26: free entry to the temporary exhibitions at Plateforme 10 (MCBA, mudac, Photo Elysée). Students aged 26 and over pay the reduced rate.
- Students of any age: free entry to Lausanne's three municipal museums (Musée romain de Lausanne-Vidy, Collection de l'Art Brut, Musée Historique Lausanne).
- Opéra de Lausanne: last-minute seats for students at CHF 20 with a valid student card.
- EPFL Pavilions: free entry ("Entrée libre"), Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 to 18:00.
- Lausanne municipal libraries: registration is free for everyone.
- Passculture (CHF 5 tickets) is for secondary II (gymnase, apprentices) in Vaud, not for university students.
1. Museums
- Free first Saturday: "La plupart des musées ouvrent gratuitement le premier samedi du mois et pour la Journée internationale des musées, le 18 mai" (Association des musées de Lausanne et Pully). Check each museum's page: workshops and special tours may still be charged. Confirmed on the museums' own pages: the Plateforme 10 museums (MCBA ticket prices list the first Saturday as free) and the three municipal museums (Musée romain de Lausanne-Vidy, Collection de l'Art Brut, Musée Historique Lausanne), which are also free on International Museum Day and the European Heritage Days.
- Under 25: the same association says that many museums offer reduced or free entry if you are under 25.
- Plateforme 10 (MCBA, mudac, Photo Elysée, next to Lausanne station), MCBA prices:
- under 26: free; first Saturday of the month: free;
- 3-museum ticket: CHF 25 full, CHF 19 reduced (students, apprentices aged 26 and over);
- 1-museum ticket (MCBA): CHF 15 full, CHF 12 reduced.
- Always free at MCBA: the collection, Espace Focus and Espace Projet.
- Municipal museums (Musée romain de Lausanne-Vidy, Collection de l'Art Brut, Musée Historique Lausanne): free for students ("étudiant·e") and apprentices of any age, and for under 18s. Others pay CHF 12 for a 3-day pass covering all three (CHF 6 reduced for AVS/AI and CarteCulture). Sources: Musée romain · Musée Historique · Collection de l'Art Brut.
- Other passes: the Plateforme 10 three-museum ticket (prices above) and the Lausanne City Pass, which also gives access to many museums (association map page).
2. Theatre, opera and concerts
- Opéra de Lausanne: "En dernière minute avant le lever du rideau, les places encore disponibles seront proposées aux étudiants et élèves (sur présentation d'une carte de légitimation valable) au prix de CHF 20.-" Depending on availability.
- Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne: you choose your price from a scale ("Pay what you can") with a suggested price per show. People under 26 can pick a CHF 15 ticket, and a season subscription for under 26s is offered at CHF 150 (CHF 75 with Lausanne's Cultissime card for 18 to 25 year olds). Students aged 26 and over choose from the normal scale. Sources: Vidy ticket office, example show · Vidy, under-26 season subscription.
- Passculture: a cantonal scheme (DGEP and Direction générale de la culture) with CHF 5 tickets in 46 Vaud venues, for people in secondary II education in Vaud (apprentices, gymnase and vocational school students). EPFL and UNIL students are not in the target group. If you are an apprentice or at gymnase, show your school card at the venue.
3. Culture at EPFL
- EPFL Pavilions (Place Cosandey, on campus): exhibitions on art, science and society. Entrée libre, Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 to 18:00, closed Monday and on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January. Free guided tour of the current exhibition in Pavilion B on the first Saturday of the month at 11:15, no booking.
- EPFL Arts and culture: the campus page lists EPFL's cultural programmes and venues. Check it for current events.
- Staying active on campus: see Sports and fitness at EPFL.
4. Lausanne municipal libraries
- Free: "C'est gratuit? Oui, c'est gratuit, sans distinction" (Bibliothèques de la Ville de Lausanne FAQ).
- To register: fill in and sign the registration form (adults can pre-register online) and show an ID. With a Swiss ID document, including a Swiss residence permit, you get the full service. With a foreign ID only, you get only some digital services and on-site services. People staying in Lausanne for a short time can take a visitor profile: up to 3 months, renewable once, with a deposit returned at the end (see the FAQ for the amount).
- These are city libraries, separate from university libraries. For EPFL Library, study spaces and printing, see Library and printing.
Getting to venues across Vaud cheaply: see Half-fare and SwissPass for students.
Cantonal and university library: see BCU Lausanne library card.