Swiss Jura: Doubs gorges and the Creux du Van
A medieval river town, the horse country of the Franches-Montagnes, watchmaking La Chaux-de-Fonds and a rock amphitheatre above Neuchâtel.
- Distance
- 105 km (65 mi)
- Driving
- 1 h 27 min
- Suggested days
- 4
- Stops
- 7
- Countries
- Switzerland
- Updated
- July 26, 2026
At a glance: 4-day road trip of about 105 km (65 mi) with 7 stops, from St-Ursanne to Neuchâtel. About 1 h 27 min of driving in total.
Route description
St-Ursanne is a walled medieval town on a loop of the Doubs, with a stone bridge and a collegiate church; it lies a short detour west of Glovelier on main road 18. From here climb onto the plateau of the Franches-Montagnes.
The Étang de la Gruère is a peat-bog lake in the forest, lovely in the morning mist. Saignelégier, a few kilometres away, is the capital of the Freiberger horse country and hosts a big horse show in August; pastures with horses and cows grazing among the spruce stretch in all directions.
Follow road 18 to La Chaux-de-Fonds, a watchmaking town laid out on a grid and listed by UNESCO together with Le Locle, and the birthplace of Le Corbusier. From Les Brenets, walk or take the boat along the gorge lake of the Doubs to the Saut du Doubs waterfall.
Head south across the Val-de-Travers, the home of absinthe, to the Creux du Van, a huge rock bowl where ibex are often seen on the rim. Finish at Neuchâtel on its lake, with a yellow-stone old town and a castle. The Jura is ideal in late spring and autumn; snow comes early on the high plateau.
Stop-by-stop itinerary
In driving order. Distances are estimates between consecutive stops.
- 1Start
St-Ursanne
Switzerland - 220 km
Étang de la Gruère
NatureSaignelégier, SwitzerlandA dark peat-bog lake ringed by spruce and birch, with a path around it of about an hour. Keep to the trail: the bog is protected.
- 35 km
Saignelégier
Switzerland - 427 km
La Chaux-de-Fonds
Switzerland - 511 km
Saut du Doubs
NatureLes Brenets, SwitzerlandA 27 m waterfall where the Doubs spills out of a gorge lake on the French border. Walk along the lake from Les Brenets in about an hour, or take the boat.
- 621 km
Creux du Van
ViewsVal-de-Travers, SwitzerlandA rock amphitheatre 160 m deep and over 1 km wide in the Jura, home to ibex. A narrow road leads to a mountain farm near the rim; the classic hike climbs from Noiraigue.
- 721 km
Neuchâtel
Switzerland
