Neuchatel ~ Roaming Rocks

Neuchatel just celebrated it’s 1,000th birthday in 2011 and we were lucky to spend 2 weeks there. Most of the historical places in the city date back to 15-18th century, including medieval buildings, decorative fountains, cobble stone roads and just a beautiful atmosphere. The small city is very easy to get around by foot and was fun to walk thru because something new was discovered around every turn.

Below are some random pictures from the time we were there.

The alley near our Airbnb was full of street art. The artists were very talented.

We walked up to the highest point in the Old Town and got to the Chateau de Neuchatel. The views were awesome and had a great overlook of the town and the lake. They have converted the castle/chateau into an administrative building for the local counsel. There wasn’t much to see inside aside from offices and meeting rooms. One interesting fact is that it houses the cantonal administration and the Hall of the Great Council of Neuchâtel. It was quite the contrast from our visit to the Grandson Castle!

We had a lovely tour guide named Amelie who took us around the castle and provided us with the history and changes it has gone thru over the years.

Our favorite part of the tour was to see the Hall of the great Council of Neuchâtel which is where the parliament for the local government is held here as well.

We came across a bike obstacle course that all Swiss school children participated in. The course taught them about reading road signs and helped them to have practical experience on a simulated course. I talked to one of the organizers and found out that children first attend when they are 5-6 years old as pedestrians. When they turned 10-11 they move to bikes. We need this in America.

Due to my love of clocks we also went to the International Museum of Horology (the study and measurement of time) in La Chaux-de-Fonds which is on the outskirts of Neuchatel. The museum deals with the study of time, timekeeping, and timekeeping devices. We had some fun with the statues outside and enjoyed the audio tour and 3D movie which described the museum’s history. I was in heaven with all of the clocks. The birdcage was my absolute favorite but I also enjoyed the celestial clocks as well. The museum even had a creepy maniquin which told a story in french!