This post collects a variety of sites on the southern shores of Lake Neuchâtel, a region that doesn’t have a lot of tourist traffic but offers a lot to those interested in Roman and medieval history.
Avenches
Avenches really should be part of Fribourg, but it’s proud to advertise itself as Vaud. This town would make for a good combo day with Murten, Payerne or Romont (see Romont post). A major Roman city in Switzerland, it was founded at the beginning of the 1st century, and was promoted to the rank of colony of Emperor Vespasian in the year 71. Aventicum experienced a period of great prosperity during the l and II centuries: extended over a very large area, it was surrounded by walls of about 6 km in length; its population reached 20,000 inhabitants. There was also a major medieval period resulting in some excellent, and well-preserved architecture.
The city is small but lovely, similar to Romont but in much better repair. We enjoyed the Roman Walking tour, a 6 km loop around the major sites. It’s reasonably easy, and has great views of the city and Lake Neuchatel.
Chevroux
***Restaurant du Jura in Chevroux is an exceptional find – fine dining in a tiny town, classic setting, excellent service. Reserve early and dress up.
Chevroux itself has a very large port and a long jetty with lovely views of the lake.
Estavayer-le-Lac
While in the area, swing by Estavayer-le-Lac to see the “stuffed frog museum” – **Musée d’Estavayer-le-Lac et ses grenouilles. Charming if you like that sort of thing. Very small, entire museum takes about 10-15 minutes. The town is cute and nice to walk around in, rather sleepy.
Murten
Cute! This is a Rick Steves pick – “the finest medieval ramparts in Switzerland” and site of a major historical battle with the Burgundians. It fits the bill for an American-friendly spot: extremely charming, easy to navigate, nothing too exciting but tourist friendly.
Do the walking tour (get a map at the TI) and have a pleasant lunch or dinner. Walk around the walls on the outside – the gardens are wonderful, and the walkways down to the lake are very pretty. In the summer, there’s a large swimming area, and in mid-January each year the town puts on a major light show that’s worth a detour to see.
We really enjoyed meat-centric **Freiburger Falle on our first visit. On the second, **Käserei Murten was even better – a modern/high end dining experience, excellent food and wine, very good service.
Payerne
Payerne is a historic municipality located in the Broye Valley, and like so many parts of this region has evidence of Neolithic objects, Bronze Age settlements, Celtic infrastructure, and a major Roman presence. Today, it’s a little down-market up close, and has a military flavor thanks to the nearby Payerne Air Base.
The reason to stop in is the **Payerne Priory: the largest Romanesque church in Switzerland and a major Cluniac priory, begun in the eleventh century, with a barrel-vaulted nave, alternating coloured stonework in the apse, well over a hundred capitals, and twelfth-century murals in the narthex chapel. Recently and thoroughly restored back to the Romanesque original (or as close as they could guess what it was). It’s an impressive site given how much change this property has seen over the years, including reuse as a prison, a police station, a school, and more.
