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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Le Marais and Inkwilersee Insel

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
219 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 32
Journey
Recorded itinerary
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: producer-declared routed record.

Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.

Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

From Yvonand it runs 219 km to Yvonand; allow about 3 h 32 of riding. It goes by way of Chenevières de Guévaux I, Vingelz / Hafen, Inkwilersee Insel and back through Vingelz / Hafen. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 950 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.

Scenic road chapters

Grand Tour of Switzerland

For about 33 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
33 km
Named road
Grand Tour of Switzerland

Vingelz / Hafen → Inkwilersee Insel

The ride follows Vingelz / Hafen → Inkwilersee Insel for 40 km.

Chapter facts
Length
40 km

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Le Marais

    At the south end of Lake Neuchâtel, below the old Roman and medieval town of Yverdon, the shore turns into a wide, flat belt of reed beds and meadow, one of the biggest areas of shoreline marsh in Switzerland. Le Marais, near the village of Yvonand, belongs to this landscape, and like many places along the lake it also belongs to the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings that UNESCO lists, because the shallows hold timbers and artefacts from villages built on stilts thousands of years ago. The remains lie under water or mud, so there is nothing to see at the spot but reeds, willows and the glinting lake, but a visit to the museum in Yverdon or Neuchâtel brings the finds to life.

    Read the complete Le Marais write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Le Marais is where the day begins. Next is Chenevières de Guévaux I.

  2. 2. Chenevières de Guévaux I

    Lake Murten is small, shallow and warm, framed on its north side by the vine-covered whale back of Mont Vully. Under its shallows near the Vully shore lie the remains of prehistoric pile-dwelling villages, and Chenevières de Guévaux is one of them, part of the UNESCO site of the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps. Between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, people built houses on timber posts along lake shores like this one. Waterlogged conditions preserved posts, tools, textiles and food remains for thousands of years, and the finds transformed what we know about early farming communities in Europe.

    Read the complete Chenevières de Guévaux I write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Chenevières de Guévaux I comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Vingelz / Hafen.

  3. 3. Vingelz / Hafen

    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.

    Read the complete Vingelz / Hafen write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 69 km into the recorded legs you reach Vingelz / Hafen. Next is Inkwilersee Insel.

  4. 4. Inkwilersee Insel

    You could ride past the Inkwilersee a dozen times without noticing it. It is a small, shallow lake tucked into a fold of farmland right on the line between the cantons of Bern and Solothurn, ringed with reeds and alders, with a tiny wooded island near its middle. That island is the reason for the label: beneath its trees and in the mud around it lie traces of prehistoric lakeside settlement, enough to earn the Inkwilersee a place among the Alpine pile-dwelling sites on the World Heritage list.

    Read the complete Inkwilersee Insel write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Inkwilersee Insel, about halfway. Next is back through Vingelz / Hafen.

  5. 5. back through Vingelz / Hafen

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Vingelz / Hafen write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Vingelz / Hafen sits at 156 km, about halfway. Next is back through Chenevières de Guévaux I.

  6. 6. back through Chenevières de Guévaux I

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Chenevières de Guévaux I write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Chenevières de Guévaux I comes up about 183 km into the recorded legs. Next is Le Marais.

  7. 7. Le Marais

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Le Marais write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Le Marais closes the day.

Leg by leg

Le Marais to Chenevières de Guévaux I

Le Marais → Chenevières de Guévaux I is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Chenevières de Guévaux I to Vingelz / Hafen

Chenevières de Guévaux I → Vingelz / Hafen is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Vingelz / Hafen to Inkwilersee Insel

Vingelz / Hafen → Inkwilersee Insel is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Inkwilersee Insel to back through Vingelz / Hafen

Inkwilersee Insel → back through Vingelz / Hafen is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Vingelz / Hafen to back through Chenevières de Guévaux I

back through Vingelz / Hafen → back through Chenevières de Guévaux I is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Chenevières de Guévaux I to Le Marais

back through Chenevières de Guévaux I → Le Marais is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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