Why this ride
Out of Neuchâtel, one way: 124 km, roughly 2 h 02 in the saddle. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,000 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Grand Tour of Switzerland: Neuchatel to Interlaken
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 124 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 02
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Grand Tour of Switzerland
For about 59 km this is Grand Tour of Switzerland, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 59 km
- Named road
- Grand Tour of Switzerland
Lake Thun and Lauterbrunnen Route
Water arrives beside the road and stays for 65 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go. Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 65 km
- Named road
- Lake Thun and Lauterbrunnen Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Neuchatel
Neuchâtel looks across its lake from a long, gentle shoreline, with the Jura mountains rising behind and, on a clear day, the Bernese Alps floating above the far side like a distant promise. The town takes its yellowish tint from the local limestone, a warm honey colour in evening light, and its centre is a tidy lattice of old lanes between the castle and the lakefront. The castle and the Collegiate church sit together on a small hill above the old town, and it was from here that the counts, and later the Prussian kings, ruled. Neuchâtel was under the Prussian crown from 1707 until a republican revolution in 1848, a curious detail that explains its odd, independent character.
Read the complete Neuchatel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Neuchatel is where the day begins. Next is Bern.
2. Bern
Bern is the odd capital, one that never calls itself a capital: the Swiss federal government sits here but the official term is federal city. It is also one of the best places in the country to park a bike and walk, because the old town fills a tight loop of the Aare river, with the water running green and fast on three sides far below the bridges. UNESCO put the medieval centre on its list in 1983, and the sandstone arcades along the main streets, about six kilometres of them in total, mean you can shop in the rain without an umbrella.
Read the complete Bern write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bern comes up about 59 km into the recorded legs. Next is Interlaken.
3. Interlaken
Interlaken means between the lakes, which is exactly where it sits: a flat strip of land on the Aare, wedged between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, with the Bernese Oberland piled up behind. On a clear day the Jungfrau fills the end of the main avenue, and visitors line up to take pictures of that view across the green lawn of the Höhematte, where paragliders land.
Read the complete Interlaken write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 124 km.
Leg by leg
Neuchatel to Bern
Neuchatel → Bern is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bern to Interlaken
Bern → Interlaken is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.