Biel and Bienne are the same city, one name in German and one in French, and street signs, conversations and even jokes switch between the two languages without anyone noticing. At its western edge, the lakeside district of Vingelz, with its small harbour, has given archaeologists remains of prehistoric pile dwellings in the shallow water of Lake Biel, and the site is one piece of the World Heritage property for pile dwellings around the Alps. The lake, long and narrow, lies at the foot of the Jura mountains, and its shores have been inhabited for thousands of years.
Biel is the capital of Swiss watchmaking, home to Omega, Swatch and the movement factories that supply some of the most famous names in the business, and a museum tells the story. The old town, on a hill above the modern centre, has fountains, arcades and medieval houses. A funicular climbs to Magglingen, or Macolin, on the slopes of the Jura, with views over the lake and the Alps, and the Taubenloch gorge offers a walk through a narrow canyon. In the lake, St Peter's Island, connected to the shore by a narrow strip of land, was where Jean-Jacques Rousseau spent a happy few weeks in 1765.
The riding is excellent. The road along the northern shore of the lake runs between vineyards and the water, through the wine villages of Twann and Ligerz, with tunnels and views, though it can be busy. Above, the roads climb into the Jura, with curves, forests and pastures, toward the Chasseral, the highest summit in the region, reached by a road with views over the Alps on clear days. The surface is excellent, and traffic is light on minor roads. Speed limits are strict, and the police are vigilant. Weather is variable, with fog in autumn and winter, and snow on the high roads.
Nidau and Biel have fuel, shops, restaurants and hotels. Food here mixes Swiss German and French traditions, with lake fish, especially perch and whitefish, wines from the northern shore, mostly Chasselas, and treats like the Treberwurst, a sausage cooked in grape pomace, a winter speciality of the wine villages. A meal by the lake in Ligerz or Twann is lovely. Park at Vingelz, look out over the water, and imagine the prehistoric villages in the shallows, their smoke rising against the green slopes of the Jura.