MuMAPS, historic workshops and trails through the Gorges de Covatannaz offer different ways to experience Sainte-Croix. Discover the town’s history in its collections and on an educational walking tour; trails and routes offer different distances and levels of difficulty. This lets you plan cultural activities and outdoor pursuits around your interests.

Music boxes and mechanical art

MuMAPS was formed by merging the Musée des Arts et Sciences, the Musée Baud and the Centre International de la Mécanique d’Art (CIMA). It presents Sainte-Croix’s regional heritage through music boxes, automata, typewriters and Bolex cameras. The museum is housed in a historic building built by the Paillard company in 1900.

The permanent exhibition “Mécanique d’art. La fabrique du rêve” features music boxes, automata, orchestrions and gramophones. It is accessible only as part of a guided tour, which lasts 1 hour and 20 minutes. During the tour, numerous items from the collection are set in motion in five exhibition rooms. The Atelier du Dr Wyss also explores mechanical art: a historic-style mechanical workshop has been reconstructed there, offering a glimpse into the working world of a music box workshop in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The history of music boxes is closely linked to the development of the town. From the beginning of the 20th century, Sainte-Croix became the world capital of music boxes. In 1994, the Swiss Confederation recognized the town as the birthplace of the music box and a center of national importance. The region’s characteristic craft of making automata and music boxes is also among the watchmaking and mechanical art skills included on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Local history and landscapes on foot

The Balade Industrielle combines local history with a walking tour of 18 notable buildings from Sainte-Croix’s past. This educational route is 3.5 kilometers long and freely accessible every day of the week. The Balade archéologique du Col des Étroits offers a different historical perspective: this educational walk is about 2.8 kilometers long and takes approximately one hour. It points to a site used since the Bronze Age, probably as a Gallic lookout post and later by Roman soldiers. Signage and access conditions may change.

The marked footpath through the Gorges de Covatannaz starts at Sainte-Croix railway station and leads either uphill to Sainte-Croix or downhill to Vuiteboeuf. Along the way, it follows old tracks described as unique in Switzerland and passes erratic boulders and bat caves. The return journey can be made via international route Via Francigena number 70.

Created in 2013, the Rapilles-Covatannaz forest reserve includes, among other areas, part of Sainte-Croix. In the surrounding region, the reserve also includes the foothills of the Gorges de Covatannaz, where steep slopes, cliffs, limestone scree fields and specialized forests shape the landscape. This gives the trails through the gorge a different focus from the walking tour of the buildings: here, the emphasis is on landforms and nature.

Routes for different abilities and seasons

Two challenging hikes starting from Sainte-Croix differ clearly in length and destination. The difficult Le Chasseron route is a 12-kilometer circular hike to the highest peak in the Nord vaudois. The equally difficult Trail 17K Sainte-Croix is a 17-kilometer loop with 953 meters of elevation gain. Conditions on the routes and access to the summit of Chasseron may vary seasonally; check the details before planning your trip.

Mountain biking also offers a choice of routes. The Aiguilles de Baulmes Bike route starts and ends in Sainte-Croix and is marked as SuisseMobile route number 988. Chasseron Bike is number 987 and runs via Sainte-Croix, Col des Étroits, Mont de la Mayaz, Chasseron and Les Cluds before returning to Sainte-Croix. Route numbers may change.

In the surrounding area, activities include paragliding, snowshoeing, skiing, cross-country skiing, ski touring and ice skating on a natural ice rink, in addition to hiking and mountain biking. Three Movement Touring Tracks ski touring routes are designated for the Sainte-Croix/Les Rasses region. They take approximately 1.5 to 2 hours and have an average elevation gain of 450 meters. Their availability depends on snow and safety conditions. For the Le Chasseron route, parking is available at Sainte-Croix railway station, the Sainte-Croix sports center and at Les Rasses, in the Planets car park; by public transport, you can reach Les Rasses, village, or Sainte-Croix, poste. Parking and transport conditions may change.

Discover more destinations: Vallorbe, Grandson, Onnens, Mathod, La Praz, Montagny-Près-Yverdon, Vuiteboeuf, Concise.

Back to the main travel overview: Northern Vaud Jura.