Neuchatel, Switzerland

It was a very rainy morning with little chance of clearing so we didn’t rush to move on. When we got driving we were back in vineyard territory.

After 30 minutes we crossed the border to Switzerland. There was a border post but we were waved on without anything being checked. It was looking a bit grim at the end of the lake as we went north and we couldn’t see any mountains.

After an hour we came to our park up for the night in a shopping centre carpark in Neufchâtel next to the lake. It’s a great spot handy for town quiet and with good views.

It works out reasonably cheap compared to around 50 Swiss Francs being charged by campsites.

It’s a very attractive old town which had its heyday in the Belle Epoque in the late 1800s as it was a popular holiday resort.

It has an art area with museums and art galleries and where I counted 5 cinemas.

We climbed up the many stairs to the castle area. Most of the fortifications and towers are now gone but there are traces here and there.

The castle was closed but we could get into the church next to it - with sculptures of medieval knights and ladies in the centre.

There were also cloisters with a lonely looking sheep sculpture on the lawn.

We then checked out the remaining walls and tower.

After that we walked through the lovely market square with many busy restaurants to the lakeside and walked along it back to the van.

I made a warming spaghetti bolognaise - something we haven’t had for ages as it’s been so warm. There was a nice peachy sunset over the lake.