Neuchatel Part1- The Town

I shall split my trip to Switzerland into 2 posts, one about the town and the other about WOSTEP & the test.

I came to Neuchatel by train. Swiss railways, in my limited experience, appeared to be supremely organised and well run. All the information one might need is easily accessible. The officials are polite & well informed. The trains ran on time, literally to the minute.

Here is the station building, rather severe looking :-)
My hotel, L'Aubier, was about 10 minutes walk downhill. It is basically a cafe on the ground & first floors with rooms above. This part of the town dates back to the 15th century. Please note the clock tower, you can see it in other pictures.
The picture below perfectly shows the nature of Neuchatel. This picture is taken from the top of the prison tower looking roughly north. To the right (east) is lake Neuchatel, to the left (west) are the Jura mountains. In between is the town of Neuchatel. The roads near the lake are level but the ones near the mountains climb steeply, sometime at 16 degrees! You can see the clock tower over my hotel in the middle of the picture.

Beyond the lake, looking south-east are plains and then the Swiss Alps.

An interesting observation deck built by the lake.

Below you can see one of the ports along the lakeside road. In the background is the grand post office building.

The oldest part of town, where my hotel was, is made up of quaint winding streets. Below you can see the prison tower I mentioned earlier.



Fountains like the one below dot the town.

The other parts of Neuchatel, to the north & south of this area, are somewhat newer. All in all it is a very beautiful town. Of course, it is very expensive. I do believe that a Mcdonalds meal is a good indicator of how affordable a place is :-) A decent sized Mcdonalds meal here will set you back by about CHF 14!

Hope you enjoyed this mini tour of Neuchatel.

Aditya