Overview
Four days on Lake Neuchâtel, the wild-card option: Switzerland's largest fully-Swiss lake, a medieval sandstone old town, and a ribbon of vineyards between the Jura and the water producing Chasselas, Pinot Noir and the salmon-pink Œil de Perdrix. The occasion is the Fête de la Vendange in Cortaillod — a proper village harvest festival: guggenmusik bands, growers' stands, a procession through the old lanes. Small, local, completely unponcey; barely a tourist in sight.
The cycling suits a beginner perfectly: Swiss national Route 5 runs along the lakeshore on segregated paths with, as the Swiss put it, “no ups or downs worth mentioning”, and the vineyard villages sit in a neat line ten minutes apart. Switzerland's absurdly good trains (and the little Littorail tram) bring us home — no panniers. The trade-off is the wallet.
Getting There
| Outbound | Friday 2 October — easyJet, Gatwick → Geneva (GVA), morning, from ~£30–60 one way (~20 flights/day on the route) |
| Return | Monday 5 October — easyJet, Geneva → Gatwick, evening, from ~£40–70 one way |
| Onward train | Geneva Airport → Neuchâtel: station inside the terminal, direct trains roughly hourly, ~1h15, from ~CHF 30 (cheaper as advance "supersaver" fares on sbb.ch) |
Day by Day
Friday 2 October — Arrive & festival opening night
- Morning easyJet; direct train from the airport station into Neuchâtel mid-afternoon. Check in.
- Explore the old town: the château, the collegiate church, sandstone Dumas said was "carved out of butter".
- Early dinner, then the Littorail tram from Place Pury to Cortaillod for the opening night of the Fête (from 18:00) — stands, cliques, guggenmusik, the village up until 3am. We are not required to match the village.
Saturday 3 October — Vineyard ride & festival day
- Bikes delivered to the hotel in the morning.
- Ride the vineyard belt west — Serrières, Auvernier (the postcard winegrowers' village), Colombier — to Cortaillod: ~12 gentle km.
- Late-morning tasting at Caves du Château d'Auvernier (by arrangement): Chasselas, Pinot Noir, the original Œil de Perdrix.
- Festival from 10:30: lunch from the stands, the procession through the old village, growers pouring the new vintage.
- Pedal the flat 12km home before dusk (or Littorail back, collect bikes Sunday). Fondue in the old town — earned.
Sunday 4 October — The lake ride
- Route 5 south-west: Boudry (Tour de Pierre caveau if open — a medieval tower in the vines pouring local growers), Bevaix, Saint-Aubin.
- Picnic on a lake beach; optional wild swim at Saint-Aubin — ~15–16°C in early October, which the family swimmers will call "fine".
- Option A: turn at Vaumarcus, ~45km flat round trip. Option B: press on to Yverdon-les-Bains (~40km one-way), train back with bikes (25 min, CHF 14 bike pass) — the painless point-to-point.
- Farewell dinner at Brasserie Le Cardinal, the belle-époque brasserie in the old town.
Monday 5 October — Home
- Slow morning: lakefront coffee, the market square, absinthe shopping — the Val-de-Travers behind Neuchâtel is the birthplace of absinthe, and a small bottle travels well.
- Afternoon train along the lake to Geneva airport; evening flight home.
The Festival
Cortaillod's Fête de la Vendange (Friday 18:00–03:00, Saturday 10:30–03:00) celebrates the end of harvest in the heart of the old winegrowing village: growers' and société stands in the lanes, guggenmusik cliques doing the rounds, food stalls, a procession through the vieux village. It's the local, week-after cousin of Neuchâtel's giant Fête des Vendanges (late September) — which is exactly its charm: this is the village's own party, and we get two nights of it. Cortaillod gave its name to the lake's best Pinot Noir terroir.
The Region in Brief
A little history
Novum Castellum was first recorded in 1011, and vines on this shore appear in charters from 998 AD. The lakeside at La Tène yielded so many Celtic artefacts that it named an entire era of European prehistory; the town itself spent a surreal century as a Prussian principality inside the Swiss Confederation (until 1848); watchmaking built its fortunes; and the Val-de-Travers behind the vineyards invented absinthe.
October weather
Crisp and often brilliantly clear: 7–16°C, with the bise wind occasionally blowing cold from the north-east — the payoff is knife-sharp visibility and the Alps lined up across the lake. The lake itself is ~15–16°C: a proper wild swim.
The wines
A tiny 600-hectare appellation that Switzerland drinks almost entirely itself: Chasselas as the crisp everyday white, serious Pinot Noir (Cortaillod is its best terroir), Œil de Perdrix — the salmon-pink Pinot rosé invented here — and the January curiosity of Non Filtré, cloudy unfiltered Chasselas.
The food
Fondue moitié-moitié (Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois, taken seriously), lake perch and féra, saucisson neuchâtelois IGP, taillaule brioche, raclette at the festival stands — and a cautious absinthe to finish.
Where to Stay
Beau-Rivage (5★)
Alps across the water from the breakfast table. Expensive — but if we're doing the priciest destination we may as well see the view.
Hôtel des Arts (3★ sup.)
Well-run, contemporary, a short walk from old town and station. The value pick, and "value" is a word we'll cherish here.
Hôtel Alpes et Lac (3★ sup.)
Handy for the Geneva trains, lake-and-Alps views from the front rooms.
The Wine
Neuchâtel is one of Switzerland's oldest appellations: Chasselas as the everyday white, serious Pinot Noir, and Œil de Perdrix — the pale “partridge eye” rosé invented here. Almost none of it leaves Switzerland, which is the point: a wine region you can only really drink in situ.
Caves du Château d'Auvernier
The benchmark estate of the lake, in the château cellars at the top of Auvernier's single, absurdly pretty street. Visits and tastings by prior arrangement; shop keeps Saturday-morning hours. Book a week or two ahead.
Caveau de dégustation de Boudry
A medieval tower in the vines where Boudry growers take turns pouring at cellar-door prices. Open weekend afternoons in season — confirm hours locally.
Domaine de la Maison Carrée
The traditionalist counterpoint to the château if we want a second Auvernier tasting. By appointment.
Eat & Drink
| Friday | Early plate in Neuchâtel, then festival stands in Cortaillod (raclette, grilled sausage, new vintage) |
| Saturday | Festival stands at lunch; fondue moitié-moitié in the old town at night (book — they're small) |
| Sunday | Lakeside picnic; dinner Brasserie Le Cardinal — tiled art nouveau room, lake perch, Chasselas by the carafe |
| Monday | Lakefront coffee, market, home |
Useful Links
- Fête de la Vendange, Cortaillod — official Jura & Three-Lakes tourism listing
- Neuchâtel Vins et Terroir — the official wine and produce body — winemakers, caveaux, events
- SchweizMobil — Route 5 (Mittelland) — official Swiss cycling network page for the lakeshore route
Practical Notes
- Budget honestly: Switzerland is roughly double Germany — mains CHF 25–40, beers CHF 7. Flights and bikes are normal money; everything with a waiter is not.
- Bikes: Location Vélo Neuchâtel or Bcyclet deliver to the hotel from ~CHF 20–25/day; Neuchâtelroule by the port for cheap city bikes. Book Saturday delivery.
- Bikes on trains: CHF 14 day pass, buy in the SBB app. Littorail tram covers festival nights without bikes.
- Book ahead: hotel, Château d'Auvernier, bike delivery, fondue table. Swiss train fares drop a lot as advance "supersavers" on sbb.ch.
- Currency: Swiss francs. Cards accepted absolutely everywhere.
- Weather: crisp and clear is the October default — 8–17°C, cold evenings. The lake swim is real but optional.