Inside Switzerland’s Cathedral of Photography
Five minutes on foot from Lausanne’s train station, in the Plateforme 10 district, sits one of the jewels among the jewels of the art and culture world. Beside two other major institutions — MCBA and mudac — “Photo Elysée” is Switzerland’s major photography museum, carrying an international mission to produce, preserve, and take care of photography as an art form in its own right.
An archive that holds a piece of human history
Photo Elysée’s archive holds more than two million photography pieces — some estimates put the number even higher, at over three million — making it one of the most significant guardians of human photographic history anywhere in the world.
Photo Élysée was previously known as Musée de l’Élysée. It’s a government-supported institution, founded in 1985 by Charles-Henri Favrod, and was housed in an 18th-century mansion until October 2020.
The museum also holds the collection of Pierre Gilliard, tutor to the children of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia. The complete archives of both Ella Maillart and Nicolas Bouvier are also part of its holdings — two of the most significant travel photographers Switzerland has ever produced.
The people behind the museum
Some remarkable people have crossed through this museum, on staff and in leadership. Previous directors include William A. Ewing, Tatyana Franck, and Sam Stourdzé, with Nathalie Herschdorfer at the helm today. Curators such as Lars Willumeit, Pauline Martin, and Anne Lacoste have shaped its exhibitions over the years.
Yannick Luthy, Anthony Rochat and Khashayar Javanmardi are also among the staff photographers working with Photo Elysee Museum.
And then there are the photographers whose work lives in this museum’s history and collection — some of the most recognized names in the medium: Sebastião Salgado, Josef Koudelka, Cindy Sherman, Martin Parr, and many, many more.
What’s actually on the walls
Photo Elysée typically runs three exhibitions at once, with a vast underground space and carefully controlled lighting built to handle every kind of photography — art, contemporary, conceptual, documentary, and archival work alike.
Alfredo Jaar’s Inferno & Paradiso is a striking example of what this museum makes possible — slides projected in darkened rooms, drawing on some of the most recognized photographs from photographers including Brent Stirton and Bülent Kılıç. The atmosphere is genuinely unlike anything else — an experience built for those willing to emerge themselves fully and sit with what photography can do.
Making a day of it
The building itself isn’t just Photo Elysée — it’s shared with mudac, the Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts. Visiting Lausanne, it’s genuinely worth setting aside four to five hours to do both museums justice. And since Photo Elysée and mudac sit right beside MCBA at Plateforme 10, a single P10 ticket gets you into all three museums — add two more hours, plus lunch. Arrive at 10am and give yourself the whole day to enjoy Lausanne’s arts district properly.
Why it belongs on your list
Photo Elysée is, without question, among the “must” places to visit in Lausanne. Who doesn’t love photography? Who wouldn’t want to learn about Ella Maillart — the beautiful, courageous woman who traveled much of the world to capture and discover other countries, decades before it was easy or safe to do so?
From the museum’s deepest historical archives to the present moment, the range on display is remarkable. Hannah Darabi’s project on dancing through hard times is currently on the walls of Photo Elysée — a bridge between photography’s past and its urgent now.
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