My family and I are going to be in Lausanne starting January. We're coming from Toronto and wondered how bad the winter is there. We're thinking whether our winter boots and coats are really necessary. I mean the kind of boots and coats you wear when it's -20 with a cold wind blowing. Will we be ok with a couple of warm layers? Also, do the kids need snowsuits. It'd be great to save on some weight in our luggage.....
And how much snow does Lausanne get?

Well, from what I have been told, it MIGHT drop down to -5. -10 if its a really horrid winter.

And I was also informed Lausanne doesn't get much snow at all.

So, I would suggest a nice wind breaker and sweaters. But, then again, back home I am still wearing sweaters when its -20 out.

Good luck!

Howdy

you can't put a definite on that ,it depends from year to year, last year we didn't have a proper winter and almost no snow,the year before we were basically snowed under

So,considering that the wind 'la bise' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bise is oftentimes blowing through Switzerland it's really recommendable to have a thick-ish windbreaker or sweater.

Snowsuits are much comfier to be out in the snow when sledding or skiing,but you can get quite cheap ones at the local Supermarkets like Migros,Coop or Carrefour.Should the price of them be too high for you,then there are second-hand stores from the red cross for example
http://srk-bern.ch/angebot.php?id=5&setlang=fr,tho i couldn't find a similar shop in Lausanne,but Biel is about 45 mins away from lausanne by car

Then there are also shops such as Cash Converters who also carry snow stuff, from skis to tobbogans and skidresses/snowsuits.

Lausanne has got a few steep roads and it's also recomendable to get boots with a good (gripping?) sole,otherwise you might involuntarily skidding down the roads

My wife and I moved from Waterloo, Ontario (just down the road from Toronto) two years ago. Eastenders mentioned that we were "basically snowed under" that year. However, we got to the end of the winter and were surprised that it had never really got very cold - there were maybe a few days where the low got down to -10, but it would always climb above -5 during the day. By the end of the winter, we learned that it had been an exceptionally cold winter by local standards, which we were quite surprised by. Last winter wasn't much of anything - more like an extended fall that transformed into an early spring. If it's like that then you certainly won't need any of the Canadian-level equipment.

Of course, most locals will still complain that it is extremely cold whenever it drops below +5. However, I've found that many people's problem is that they seem to think that cold weather clothing is only something that should be worn in the mountains, while in the city many insist on not wearing sufficiently warm clothing, and therefore complain of the cold weather a lot.

I was worried that my Canadian toughness might wear off after a couple of years here. However, it just got cold again last week (around 0 for a few days) and I still thought that it wasn't a very big deal, and was very happy to see the snow again

Regarding second-hand winter clothing, the best place in town is probably the Salvation Army (l'Armee du Salut) on Rue de la Borde.

For a more objective opinion, check out the statistics on the BBC weather website for Geneva monthly averages, they don't have Lausanne but there is not much difference.

As you see in the other posts, it doesn't get very cold in Lausanne, certainly not nearly as cold as Toronto. But i think you need more than a wind breaker.

And of course, if you go out of the city, your heavy snow clothes could be needed, especially if you want to go skiing or just hang out in the mountains. We've just moved 10 kilometers from Lausanne center and we have snow here already.

Don't let your lasagne get cold, it tastes horrible.

my wife says I have a bad sense of humour...........

me too!!! cool!

If you were a geordie (Newcastle, UK), string top, mini skirt and sling back stilletoes would be all you need for Lausanne winters..... of course Im thinking of the girls now, lads are lads up there!!