La Dôle, Mountain summit in canton Vaud, Switzerland

La Dôle is a limestone peak in the Jura Mountains standing at 1,677 meters (5,502 feet), offering views across to Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc. A paved road leads from Gingins to Chalet de la Dôle at 1,439 meters (4,721 feet), just below the summit.

The summit marks the French-Swiss border, with the frontier running along its south and west sides near the top. In 1779 Goethe climbed La Dôle and wrote in his travel notebook: "There are no terms to express the beauty and grandeur of this spectacle." Since 1991, six tubular, aluminium-clad staff quarters designed by Vincent Mangeat have stood between the weather station and the radar dome.

Goethe climbed La Dôle in 1779 and wrote in his travel notebook that no words could express the beauty and grandeur of the view. The summit ridge also holds dolines and karren fields, the weathered limestone forms typical of the Jura.

A paved road makes the drive straightforward, reaching the chalet near the top and requiring only a short walk to the summit. Clear weather opens up distant views, so aim for midday visits or early morning to avoid clouds that often gather in afternoon.

The summit carries two radomes: the larger shelters Skyguide's air-traffic-control radar, the smaller one of MeteoSwiss's five weather radars, the fourth generation installed in 2013. Staff housing added in 1991 consists of six prefabricated aircraft-fuselage-like aluminium tubes flown in by helicopter, designed by Vincent Mangeat and built for winds reaching 200 km/h.