Pointe de Montbec I and Corcelettes Les Violes

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Pointe de Montbec I

   The south shore of Lake Neuchâtel is a long, soft margin of reeds, shallow water and woodland, and it hides one of the richest archaeological records in Europe. Pointe de Montbec, near the villages along the Fribourg and Vaud shore opposite Neuchâtel, is one of the places where prehistoric lake dwellers built their villages on the water's edge thousands of years ago. Their houses stood on piles driven into the soft lake shore, and when lake levels rose, the remains were sealed under water and mud, preserving wood, textiles, seeds and tools in astonishing detail. The prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps were inscribed by UNESCO in 2011 as a single serial site spanning six countries, and this shore contributes a good number of them.

   Read the complete Pointe de Montbec I write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Pointe de Montbec I is where the day begins. Next is Les Argilliez.

2. 2. Les Argilliez

   Around the shores of Lake Neuchâtel, the water level once sat lower than it does now, and prehistoric farmers built villages on pilings along the edge. Les Argilliez, near Gorgier on the northwest shore, preserves traces of one of them. The wet mud at the bottom of the lake kept wood, textiles and tools in astonishing condition, which is why the pile dwellings around the Alps were inscribed by UNESCO in 2011. There is little to see above the waterline, but the idea of a village standing on stilts in these waters, with the Jura mountains behind it, is a strong one.

   Read the complete Les Argilliez write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Les Argilliez comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Corcelettes Les Violes.

3. 3. Corcelettes Les Violes

   Corcelettes is a little lakeside hamlet just north of Grandson, near the southern tip of Lake Neuchâtel, and Les Violes is the stretch of shallow shore where Bronze Age people built a village of wooden houses on piles, some three thousand years ago. The site was one of the first in the region to attract attention in the nineteenth century, when low water levels after the correction of the Jura waters exposed forests of ancient posts in the mud. It is now listed among the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps.

   Read the complete Corcelettes Les Violes write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 58 km into the recorded legs you reach Corcelettes Les Violes. Next is back through Les Argilliez.

4. 4. back through Les Argilliez

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Les Argilliez write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Les Argilliez, late in the day. Next is Pointe de Montbec I.

5. 5. Pointe de Montbec I

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Pointe de Montbec I write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Pointe de Montbec I. That is the ride.