How to Get to EPFL
By Plane. The closest airport to EPFL is Geneva Airport (about 45 min by train). Depending on your itinerary, however, it will be more convenient in many cases to fly to Zurich Airport instead which is further away (about 2 h 30 min by train) but has more international connections so that you will not have to change planes, and your total travel time may be shorter. Both Geneva Airport and Zurich Airport have Swiss Railways (Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, SBB; Chemins de Fer Fédérale, CFF) stations inside the airport, and there are direct trains to Lausanne main station (Lausanne Gare) in both cases. Check the SBB timetables from either Geneva Airport SBB Station or Zurich Airport SBB Station to Lausanne.
By Public Transports. Take a train to Lausanne main station (Lausanne Gare). You may want to avoid local or regional trains; the fastest train connections are the IC trains (from Zurich, Bern, or Geneva), ICN trains (from Basel and Germany), TGV trains (from France), or EC trains (from Italy). Check the connections and timetables for trains to Lausanne. From Lausanne main station, the fastest way to get to EPFL is the local train to Renens (one stop). From there, you take the Metro M1 toward “Lausanne Flons”, and get off at the stop “EPFL”. Alternatively, you can take Metro M2 at Lausanne station, go to “Lausanne Flons” (one stop), and then switch to Metro M1 toward Renens, and get off at the stop “EPFL”.
By Car. Whether you come from the north (Zurich or Bern) or west (Geneva), take the highway A1 to Lausanne. In either case, follow the signs “Lausanne Sud” when you approach Lausanne. Exit the highway at “EPFL, St.-Sulpice”, take the “Route Cantonale N1”, and follow the signs to “EPFL”. Please note that most navigation systems will find a route to the EPFL at its actual geographic location in Ecublens. Parking is available close to the institute but the central parking lot close to “Esplanade” is probably more straightforward to find.
Our Location on the EPFL Campus
School of Engineering (Faculté des Sciences et Techniques de l’Ingénieur, STI)
Institute of Materials (Institut des Matériaux, IMX)
Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Materials (LMOM)
Once you are on the EPFL campus, try to find your way to the central square called “Esplanade” (see map below). From the M1 Metro station “EPFL”, for example, follow the main exit to the EPFL through the tunnel, walk up the stairs, and follow the street down to “Esplanade”. From there, take a half right turn and follow “Diagonale” until you see the entrance to the “Institut des Matériaux, IMX”. Inside the building, take the stairs or the elevator close to the entrance, and go down one floor to level “0”. LMOM is located in wing MXG.