"Neuchatel... memories of Suchard chocolate" Top 5 Page for this destination Canton de Neuchâtel by CdnJane

Canton de Neuchâtel Travel Guide: 124 reviews and 260 photos

This book describes what I had - a belle epoque

What brought me there initially

Neuchatel Switzerland holds very fond memories for me. I spent from September 1975 to June 1976 living there, and attending the Canadian school, Neuchatel Junior College. It was a way to live in Europe, get my Ontario Grade 13, and experience a world of new things.
We were billeted in Swiss family homes, although in truth, many students were actually in pensions of the true meaning - more or less boarding homes, run by widows who needed the extra money that having a student brought in. I was quite fortunate to find myself living with a family who really made me one of their own. For 10 months I had 2 younger brothers, and it was a great experience.

About the School Year

We had to get our set number of days of schooling in, which meant that we had a couple of Saturdays when we went to classes to make up for days missed.
We started our year getting to Neuchatel by flying first to London, and spending a couple of days at Oriel College of Oxford University. (I can say honestly that I read at Oxford - it was an Agatha Christie novel!) This was a chance for us to get to know one another, and learn about what we were in for... more or less. We then spent a couple of days in Anzerre, in the Valais region of Switzerland, where we were introduced to some of the wonders of Swiss cuisine - Raclette and the wonderful Fendant wine of the Valais region.
Our trips over the school year took us to the Beaujolais region of France, a Christmas trip to France & Morocco, Easter trip to Italy (included an audience with the Pope - Pope Paul - along with about 20,000 others), and ski weekend trips to Zermatt and Grindelwald, day trips to Berne & Zurich. A classmate & I went to Luxembourg City for a weekend, and I spent a weekend in Geneva with family friends. What a time... Christmas in Fez, New Year's Eve in Paris, and Easter in Venice! Life is good.

Pros and Cons

Pros:train connections everywhere, the lake, the Jura, Chocolates! Fete des Vendages
Cons:the roadways that have crossed through the city
In a nutshell:Neuchatel - I can understand their French!

Last visit to Canton de Neuchâtel: Oct 1987
Intro Updated Apr 23, 2003
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Reviews (3)

Neuchatel Waterfront - Canton de Neuchâtel

Spend time by the waterfront Things to Do (1)

When the weather is great, a terrific place to be is along the water front. Perhaps just to walk and enjoy. Maybe you... more travel advice

CHOCOLATE! Warnings Or Dangers (1)

It can happen to you in Neuchatel... or elsewhere in Switzerland... you get an attack of the chocolates! Suchard...... more travel advice

A hole in the wall creperie Restaurants (1)

It was just a tiny little place but the crepes were to die for! It truly seemed to be a "hole in the wall" place... so... more travel advice

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Comments (1)

ateach52 Sep 10, 2006 at 10:11 AM Report Abuse

The crèperie you remember from your student days is actually still there, although there are numerous others now too. Bic and Buck is the best one, on the 1ère Mars. Check it out!