Why this ride
From Neuchâtel it runs 185 km to Neuchâtel; allow about 3 h 11 of riding. The stops in between: Les Argilliez, Corcelettes Les Violes, L’Abbaye 2 and Stations de Concise.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pointe de Montbec I and Stations de Concise
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 185 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 11
- 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
Jura Crest Scenic Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 42 km this is Jura Crest Scenic Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 42 km
- Named road
- Jura Crest Scenic Road
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 Les Argilliez.
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. 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 L’Abbaye 2.
4. L’Abbaye 2
The north shore of Lake Neuchâtel is a long, gentle slope of vineyards running down to the water, with villages of honey-coloured stone and the Jura rising behind. At Bevaix, on the shore below the village, archaeologists have found traces of prehistoric pile dwellings at a site known as L'Abbaye, named after a medieval priory that once stood nearby. It is one of the Swiss components of the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps World Heritage site. Nothing is visible on the surface; the remains lie underwater or in the lake sediments. But the lakeshore is beautiful, and there is a pleasant path along the water.
Read the complete L’Abbaye 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
L’Abbaye 2, about halfway. Next is Stations de Concise.
5. 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 sits at 77 km, about halfway. Next is back through L’Abbaye 2.
6. back through L’Abbaye 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete L’Abbaye 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through L’Abbaye 2 comes up about 107 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Corcelettes Les Violes.
7. back through Corcelettes Les Violes
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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 128 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Corcelettes Les Violes. Next is back through Les Argilliez.
8. 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.
9. 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
The route ends here after 185 km.
Leg by leg
Pointe de Montbec I to Les Argilliez
Pointe de Montbec I → Les Argilliez is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Les Argilliez to Corcelettes Les Violes
Les Argilliez → Corcelettes Les Violes is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Corcelettes Les Violes to L’Abbaye 2
Corcelettes Les Violes → L’Abbaye 2 is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
L’Abbaye 2 to Stations de Concise
L’Abbaye 2 → Stations de Concise is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stations de Concise to back through L’Abbaye 2
Stations de Concise → back through L’Abbaye 2 is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through L’Abbaye 2 to back through Corcelettes Les Violes
back through L’Abbaye 2 → back through Corcelettes Les Violes is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Corcelettes Les Violes to back through Les Argilliez
back through Corcelettes Les Violes → back through Les Argilliez is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Les Argilliez to Pointe de Montbec I
back through Les Argilliez → Pointe de Montbec I is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Les Graviers and Baie de Clendy · 70 km
- Stations de Concise and Le Locle · 100 km
- Les Grèves and Baie de Clendy · 151 km
- Corcelettes Les Violes and Pointe de Montbec I · 114 km