La Chaux-De-Fonds is considered a mountain town in the Canton of Neuchâtel. The connection between watchmaking and the city’s layout is particularly striking: together with Le Locle, the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its grid-patterned street plans. The plans were designed to bring as much daylight as possible into the workshops; watchmaking remains an active part of the town. The cultural perspective therefore ranges from urban planning to collections and specific works of art.
Watchmaking, urban planning and collections
The Musée international d’horlogerie houses the world’s largest collection on the history of timekeeping. If you are interested in watches and the development of timekeeping, you will find a clear thematic focus here. The Musée d’Art et d’Histoire offers another museum perspective: it houses three mechanical automata created by Pierre Jaquet-Droz in the 1770s. The creator’s name and the period in which they were made give these works a specific historical context.
Art Nouveau in the streets and at the Ancien manège
The local «Sapin» style of Art Nouveau originated in La Chaux-De-Fonds. The Balade Art Nouveau takes visitors through the city streets with a free brochure, in search of Art Nouveau features that are both accessible and hidden. Check whether the brochure is available before your trip. Guided tours are available on request.
At the Ancien manège, you can discover the magnificent inner courtyard and its frescoes. The municipal coat of arms reveals another detail of local history: its blue-and-silver chequerboard pattern, divided into eleven sections, represents the eleven historic quarters of the former municipal district. The motif makes the town’s former divisions visible in its coat of arms.
Wildlife at MUZOO
At its Bois du Petit-Château site in La Chaux-De-Fonds, MUZOO brings together the natural history museum and the zoo. The zoo is free and features mammals and birds from regional, European and domesticated fauna. The vivarium, in turn, displays species from the animal life of all five continents; access is through the museum entrance with a combined ticket. When planning your visit, it is worth keeping this distinction between the zoo and the vivarium in mind: access to the vivarium is via the museum entrance and requires a combined ticket.
Nature trail and Jura landscape
The «Sentier nature sur les flancs de Pouillerel» nature trail features six animal sculptures and thirteen information panels. The Le Valanvron Tour cycling route, by contrast, passes through a typical Jura landscape of pastures, dry-stone walls, cows and fir trees. The two nature experiences therefore have different focuses: sculptures and information panels are part of the trail, while the cycling route highlights the landscape’s features. You can choose according to your interests between a nature trail with interpretive features and a cycling tour through the Jura landscape described here.
Discover more destinations: La Sagne.
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