Why this ride
140 km from Neuchâtel to Neuchâtel, about 2 h 29 of riding. It goes by way of Dorfstation, Les Graviers, Stations de Concise and back through Les Graviers.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pointe de Montbec I and Stations de Concise
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 140 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 29
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Grand Tour of Switzerland
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 23 km this is Grand Tour of Switzerland, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 23 km
- Named road
- Grand Tour of Switzerland
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
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 Dorfstation.
2. Dorfstation
The south shore of Lake Biel is a gentle place of reeds, vineyards on the far bank and farmland stretching back towards the Seeland plain, and at Lüscherz, one of the small lakeside villages, the remains of a prehistoric pile-dwelling settlement lie in the shallows. Dorfstation, as the site is known, is part of the transnational World Heritage Site of Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps, inscribed in 2011. Neolithic and Bronze Age farmers built their houses on wooden piles along the shore, and the waterlogged ground preserved timbers, tools, textiles and food remains for thousands of years.
Read the complete Dorfstation write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dorfstation comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Les Graviers.
3. Les Graviers
Auvernier is a wine village with its feet in the water. Its old stone houses, cellars and narrow lanes climb from the shore of Lake Neuchâtel into vineyards, and the lake bed just off its little harbour holds the remains of prehistoric villages. Les Graviers is one of the sites in the UNESCO listing of prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, where archaeologists have found the traces of Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements, with wooden piles, tools, pottery and food remains preserved in the lake mud. Many of the finds from the region are displayed at the Laténium, a superb archaeology museum by the lake at Hauterive, on the other side of Neuchâtel.
Read the complete Les Graviers write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 49 km into the recorded legs you reach Les Graviers. Next is Stations de Concise.
4. Stations de Concise
In the late 1990s, engineers working on a new stretch of railway along the northern shore of Lake Neuchâtel ran into something unexpected near the village of Concise: layer upon layer of prehistoric settlement, preserved in the waterlogged ground. Over several years, archaeologists uncovered thousands of wooden piles, pottery, tools and food remains from villages that had been built and rebuilt on the shore over many centuries in the Neolithic and Bronze Age. The site is now part of the World Heritage list of pile dwellings around the Alps, though there is little to see above ground today.
Read the complete Stations de Concise write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stations de Concise, about halfway. Next is back through Les Graviers.
5. back through Les Graviers
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Les Graviers write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Les Graviers sits at 107 km, about halfway. Next is back through Dorfstation.
6. back through Dorfstation
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dorfstation write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dorfstation comes up about 116 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pointe de Montbec I.
7. 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
Pointe de Montbec I closes the day.
Leg by leg
Pointe de Montbec I to Dorfstation
Pointe de Montbec I → Dorfstation is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dorfstation to Les Graviers
Dorfstation → Les Graviers is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Les Graviers to Stations de Concise
Les Graviers → Stations de Concise is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stations de Concise to back through Les Graviers
Stations de Concise → back through Les Graviers is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Les Graviers to back through Dorfstation
back through Les Graviers → back through Dorfstation is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dorfstation to Pointe de Montbec I
back through Dorfstation → Pointe de Montbec I is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Vingelz / Hafen and Lavaux · 358 km
- Dorfstation and L’Abbaye 2 · 195 km
- Dorfstation and Les Argilliez · 203 km
- Les Argilliez and Vingelz / Hafen · 319 km