Going Solo Lausanne '08

It’s never too early to get practical, so here is a little bit of useful information about Going Solo.

• When: Friday May 16th 2008, 8am onwards (Friday Sept. 12th in Leeds, UK)
• Where: Hôtel Albatros-Navigation, Place de la Navigation, Lausanne (Switzerland — 30 min. away from Geneva)
• For who: freelancers and small business owners working in somewhere in the internet industry (designers, consultants, journalists, social media people, developers…) — or even outside of it (we actually think the topics we’ll cover are relevant for all freelancers)
• Language: the whole event will be held in English
• Registration: you may register now – closing soon!
  
• Community: join our social network on Crowdvine (attendees only) and our Facebook group (also for non-attendees)

Travelling to Lausanne

Plane: Lausanne is just 30 minutes and 25CHF away by train from Geneva international airport. Many airlines will get you there, including easyJet. Book your flight early with them, and you’ll get it cheap! We recommend you plan to land on Thursday evening, so that you don’t arriving huffing and puffing in the middle of the first speaker slot on Friday morning.

Train: Lausanne is 3.5 hours away from Paris with the TGV Lyria. Frankfurt is 5 hours away. It’s generally very well-connected by train.

Getting to the Venue

From Geneva airport:

Geneva has a really nice airport, because it’s rather small and the train station is right inside it. Walk out of customs, turn left and walk down the hall (if you need to draw cash, there is a row of ATMs on your left inside the hall) and out the rotating doors (just follow the people, or the little train drawings). Once inside the station, you’ll see a bit board with the next departures.

Trains for Lausanne are pretty frequent — about 5 times per hour during the day. The last trains in the evening leave the airport at 23:12, 23:42, 0:12. Last departures from Geneva proper is 0:21, and first in the morning is 4:56 (taxi from Geneva airport to station can be pretty pricey depending on the time, though it’s a 10-minute ride). If you like checking timetables, the CFF site is pretty practical.

When you enter the station hall, you’ll see a row of touch-screen ticket machines. Buy your ticket there by selecting “Lausanne” as your destination. You can pay by credit card or cash.

From Lausanne station:

The venue is 1.2 km away from the station, by the lake. If you don’t have too much luggage and arrive by day, you might fancy the 20-minute downhill walk. Grab a map at the tourist information centre in the station main hall, and exit the station by the bottom — and just walk downhill. You can actually follow the tracks of the new metro, which will open later this year.

If you’re tired or feeling less adventurous, take a taxi (in front of the station, both above and below) — it should cost you 10-15CHF, max 20. Most taxis in Lausanne will not take credit cards for such a small amount (some taxis do not take credit cards at all).

Way cheaper than the taxi, and almost as convenient, is the MetroBus (MB) that leaves on the other side of the “Place de la Gare”, on the right. Exit the station by the top entrance (main hall) and cross the square. You’ll see a bus waiting with “MB – Ouchy” written on it. Take a zone 11 ticket at the touchscreen machine (CHF2.60) and hop on the bus. It’s roughly an 8-minute ride to the lakeside, and the stop is just opposite the venue.

From elsewhere in Lausanne:

Bus number 2 will drop you off just 20 meters away from the venue hotel, Place de la Navigation. You can catch bus 2 at St-François, the main bus station. Each bus stop has got a map of bus routes and a timetable. Our public transport system is pretty good (very good by world standards).

Remember Lausanne is a rather small city and easily walkable.

Cars

Gosh, I forgot about cars! You can come by car though it’s not the most practical. There is a (paying) huge underground parking at Place de la Navigation, just opposite the hotel (follow the signs). A tad further off to the West (towards Geneva) there is a Park + Ride parking, which is meant for people using public transports, but which has (if I remember correctly) cheaper day rates. It’s about 5-7 minutes on foot from the venue.

Accommodation

We strongly suggest that you plan to extend your stay a little and spend the week-end following Going Solo in Lausanne. Check out Lausanne on WikiTravel or the official Lausanne tourism site.

The Lausanne Guesthouse has got some very reasonable accommodation if you’re on a budget — but book early! CouchSurfing is also a good way to go if you want to save on a hotel.

Hôtel Aulac is a big hotel just next to the venue.

Staying Informed

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