So many fun, beautiful and interesting things to do in the Val de Travers region in western Switzerland. We already had a few favorites in this region, including Creux du Van cliffs and the Areuse gorge. But spending the weekend there gave us the opportunity to discover more treasures here, including the mountain coaster & scooters at La Robella, hiking on raised walkways the Poetta Raisse gorge, and exploring the dark tunnels of the asphalt mine.
Here’s everything we did during our summer weekend in Val de Travers. If you stay overnight, you get a free Neuchâtel Tourist Card, which includes public transportation and many of attractions mentioned below. This tourist card makes a trip to Val de Travers very affordable, particularly for families. I hope you like it there!
This trip was a paid collaboration with Val de Travers tourism
Where is Val de Travers?
Val de Travers is a lovely quiet valley in western Switzerland, west of Bern and Neuchâtel.
Here’s everything we did on a map. One thing I really like about this area is that all the attractions are close to each other and easy to access by public transportation. It’s only about 25 mins by car or train from one side of the valley to the other.
Getting around Val de Travers
Val de Travers is easily accessible by car or train. There is a train line running from Neuchâtel through the whole valley, with hourly service. Parking was easy and generally free at the attractions we visited.
If you stay overnight in the region, you get the Neuchâtel Tourist Card for free. It includes public transport in the whole Neuchâtel canton (train, funicular and bus), return chairlift ride at La Robella, cruise on Lake Neuchâtel and Saut-du-Doub, entry to 28 museums (including the Asphalt Mine and Absinthe Museum mentioned here), and 1 day bicycle rental. This tourist card makes a trip to Val de Travers very affordable!
Where to stay in Val de Travers • Hotel de l’Aigle
We stayed at Hotel de l’Aigle (Grand’Rue 27, 2108 Couvet), a cute traditional hotel in a tiny village in the center of the region. Our spacious rooms were very comfortable and had a nice view of the village. This was a great base for exploring the region. The bus stop is just outside the hotel and it’s only a 2 min walk from the train station. We were traveling by car and there was plenty of free parking.
Dinner was particularly nice on their terrace. I loved the French atmosphere of this hotel and restaurant so close to the border of France.
I liked that many of their ingredients were locally sourced and highlighted regional flavors. For example, this absinthe flavored crème brûlée, a surprisingly delicious combination. I also enjoyed my Swiss entrecote with three flavored butters: Pinot noir, Café de Paris and lemon.
La Robella • Mountain coaster & scooters
We started our weekend at the La Robella mountain resort, which has lots of summer amusements including a mountain coaster, mountain biking & scooter trails, pumptrack and lots of hiking.
www.robella.ch • Pl. de l’Abbaye 2, 2115 Buttes
You can pay for the attractions individually. But its better value to get a Robella day pass (or half day pass), which includes unlimited use of the mountain coaster, chair lift and scooter rental. If you travel by public transportation to this area, you get a 20% discount on the day pass (details). Just show your train ticket at the Robella ticket office. The chair lift is included in the Neuchâtel Tourist Card, Magic Pass and Val de Travers pass.
We spent most of the morning on the fantastic 1.2 km Féeline mountain coaster. No lines even on a sunny Sunday, so great! We got so many rides in that I think my boys are satisfied for the rest of the summer.
Lots of twists and turns, fast action, a really great coaster.
Then switched to the mountain scooters. We rode to the top of the chair lift and picked up our kick scooters and helmets. The scooters looked like tricked out beach cruisers, very cool. There are three colored coded paths: green (easy), red (medium), black (difficult). We chose red, which starts on the paved road and ends on an off-road section.
Nice views down the valley on this 4km scooter path.
For the last 1 km, the red trail leaves the paved road and follows an off-road section, which has lots of bumps and rocks. It was fun but also challenging for our family because we don’t have experience mountain biking on such lumpy terrain. If you have little kids, best to do the green trail, which stays on the paved road.
At the bottom of La Robella, there is a Pumptrack course and BMX bike rental, included in the day pass. We didn’t have time for this but lots of kids were enjoying this.
Lunch at alpine hut • Les Preisettes
For lunch, we rode up the chair lift and did a short hike to Les Preisettes, an adorable alpine hut in the hills above La Robella. This restaurant is part of the Télérösti package, which includes a return trip on the chair lift, 2 coaster rides or 1 coaster ride and 1 scooter ride, and a CHF 17 voucher for one of the mountain restaurants, including Les Preisettes where we ate.
It was about a 30 min walk from the top of the chair lift to Les Preisettes. From the trail you get beautiful views of the Travers valley and alpine meadows above.
Les Preisettes has such an idyllic setting in the middle of big alpine fields. There is swing set and toys for kids.
We had their signature dish, Rösti-Pizza, which everyone seemed to be eating. You get one big pan to share with your group. On the bottom it has grated potatoes like rösti and on the top, it has tomato sauce, ham, onions, mushrooms, cheese like pizza. A tasty and fun lunch to share with the family.
Poëta-Raisse Gorge Hike
After lunch, you can hike back down to the Robella chair lift and ride scooters or the chair lift down. But we continued hiking through the alpine meadows to the Poëtta-Raisse gorge and down to the Môtiers village, where we could take the train or bus back to our car.
From the top of the La Robella chair lift, the hike is about 10.8 km through the gorge, ending in Môtiers. It took us about 4 hrs walking pretty slow.
Most of the hike is walking through alpine meadows and forest.
After about 6 km, you reach the dramatic gorge section with raised walkways through the narrow passages. This section is rather short but definitely worth the long walk.
Môtiers Art en Plein Air
The gorge trail ended in the Môtiers village, which every summer hosts Art en plein air, an open-air art exhibition with over 40 art pieces scattered around the town. After we ended our hike , we wandered around the village checking out the art.
Like any art, some are pretty, some are cool, some are confusing and weird. I liked this dead tree, which was cut in half and repurposed as art.
A saloon storefront with a pun for a title.
You buy a ticket for the installation in the center of the village, near the junction of Grand Rue and Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau (see on map). Your ticket includes a map of the installations that includes a short explanation of each art piece. If you are there after closing time (18:00), you can see the art for free by just wandering the town.
Asphalt Mine
On day two, we started our day at the Mines d’Asphalte, a mine that was active from 1721 to 1986, exporting asphalt all over the world for road construction. Now you can do a guided tour inside the mines and learn how the tunnels were created, about the lives of the workers, how asphalt was transported through the mines, what tools were used, etc.
There are 100km of tunnels deep into the earth but most are underwater now. As part of the tour, you explore about 1 km of tunnels near the surface. It’s chilly inside, about 8C, so best to bring a jacket. The cool temps make it a good choice for both rainy days and hot days when you need a break from the sun.
It’s not lit inside, so you carry flashlights, provided by the tour, which my son thought was really fun. The ground can be wet and uneven and some stairs, so make sure to watch your step and use your flashlight to light your way.
Mines d’Asphalte
Site de la Presta, 2105 Travers
Open: April to October, daily tours at 10:30 & 14:00. In July/August, tours also at 12:00, 16:00 and 17:30. From Nov to March, daily tour at 14:00 but must reserve in advance for weekdays.
Price: CHF 16/adult, CHF 10/child, CHF 42.50/family (2 adults, up to 3 children).
Entrance included with your Neuchâtel Tourist Card
Tours are conducted in French or German.
At the mine café, you can try some regional specialties including ham baked in asphalt, absinthe flavor ice cream, and cream tart, all very tasty!
Miners Garden Theme Trail
Next to the asphalt mine, there is a lovely nature habitat with a short walking path and shady picnic areas. There is a theme trail for children, with puzzles to solve and lots to learn about the animals and plants that live in this area.
To do the activities, you need to rent a tablet that has the instructions and an explorers satchel, with tools that help you solve the puzzles (CHF 10, included with the Neuchâtel Tourist Card). If you solve the secret code, you get a small prize back at the mine.
I liked how the activities made us more observant and gave us time to appreciate the smaller details.
Creux du Van
Just a short drive up the mountain from Môtiers, you’ll find Creux du Van, an impressive natural rock arena with panorama views of the region. At the top, you can stroll along the cliffs, about 2 km one way to the end. The path is set back from the edge, but if you want more safety with children, you can walk behind a rock wall that lines the cliffs. We like to bring a picnic to enjoy with the view. Or you can lunch at the restaurant near the parking. If you are staying in the area, it would be great to enjoy sunrise or sunset next to the cliffs.
By car, you can park very close to the cliffs at Le Soliat (see on map), then a short 5 min walk to the viewpoint. By public transport, you have to hike up from the train station.
Trail map and details in my Creux du Van post.
Areuse Gorge
This beautiful hike is along a rushing river, through fields and forests, with several narrow sections with dramatic cliff walls, waterfalls and stone bridges. It’s a long hike at 11km, but mostly downhill and not difficult. It starts in the Noiraigue village in Val de Travers and ends near Lake Neuchätel, where you can take a train back to your starting point. The train journey is covered by your Neuchâtel Tourist Card.
Trail map and details in my Areuse Gorge hike post
Absinthe Museum
The village Couvet in Val de Travers is the birthplace of Absinthe, an anise-flavored spirit, nicknamed the “green fairy.” It was extremely popular, particularly with artists and creatives, until the early 1900s, when it was banned in many countries including Switzerland. The temperance movement claimed it made people insane and blamed it for violent crimes. Turns out this was just propaganda and absinthe isn’t any more dangerous than other alcohol spirits.
In Môtiers, you can visit the Absinthe museum, which tells the history of this mysterious adult beverage. Your museum visit can optionally include an absinthe tasting. Many restaurants and cafes in the area serve a wide variety of absinthe and absinthe-flavored food.
Maison de l’Absinthe
Grande Rue 10 2112 Môtiers
Open: M-S 10:00-18:00, Sun 10:00-17:00
Price: CHF 12/adult, CHF 6/child, CHF 22/family.
Entrance included with your Neuchâtel Tourist Card
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