Lausanne (French pronunciation: [loˈzan]) is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman). It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west. Lausanne is located 62 km (39 mi) northeast of Geneva.

Lausanne has a population (as of December 2010^[update]) of 127,821, making it the fifth largest city of the country, with the entire agglomeration area having over 330,000 inhabitants. The Metropolitan Area of Lausanne-Geneva is over 1.2 million inhabitants. The headquarters of the International Olympic Committee are located in Lausanne – the IOC officially recognises the city as the Capitale Olympique – as are the headquarters of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It lies in the middle of a wine region. The city has a 28-station metro system, making it the smallest city in the world to have a rapid transit system.^{[citation needed]}