Preserved nature
Areuse gorges, fir forests, mountain pastures. Marked hiking trails, mountain biking, wildlife observation.
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— The place
A hamlet of about forty residents, two kilometres from La Côte-aux-Fées.
Areuse gorges, fir forests, mountain pastures. Marked hiking trails, mountain biking, wildlife observation.
The Creux du Van above, the Jura balcony, Lac des Taillières and the Vallée de la Brévine with its silent expanses. All within reach.
Generous buffet breakfast included: homemade butter braid, homemade breads, homemade yogurt, cereals, cheese, ham, butter, egg, regional jam and honey.
Mont-de-Buttes
Mont-de-Buttes, a hamlet in the canton of Neuchâtel clinging to the slopes of the Val-de-Travers. Around forty year-round residents, a road that ends in a footpath.
The Val-de-Travers is served by the Neuchâtel — Buttes line (TransN), with a connecting bus to the hamlet. A car remains practical for getting around the region.
Buttes or Sainte-Croix station (Bern — Neuchâtel — Val-de-Travers and/or Yverdon — Sainte-Croix lines). Then a regional bus or taxi for the last few kilometres.
Free parking on site, next to the house. Road open all year — cleared in winter, but snow tyres required from November to March.
Charging station for electric vehicles available on site, on request at booking time. Rate: 0.52 CHF/kWh off-peak (12:00–17:00 and 23:00–07:00), 0.62 CHF/kWh peak hours. Perfect for arriving from Lausanne, Geneva or Bern without range anxiety.
Indicative, by car via the motorway.
The Jura on foot
Rocky cirques, alpine lakes, fir forests, mountain pastures. Wildlife remains visible — chamois, roe deer, red deer, marmots, foxes, raptors — to those who walk quietly. Some have even spotted the wolf…
Creux du Van · 1465 mMonique SchmidRock cirque at 1465 m, 160 m cliffs, panorama as far as Lake Neuchâtel. A legendary Jura hike.
Le Chasseron · 1607 mSummit at 1607 m, 360° view to the Alps on a clear day. Reachable on foot from the hamlet.
Small mountain lake ringed by pastures, swimming possible in summer, natural skating in deep winter.
Trail along the narrow river, footbridges and stone bridges, guaranteed cool in summer.
Wildlife you may see
Chamois (Creux du Van, Chasseron and 500 m from the house), marmots (south-facing slopes), birds of prey — sometimes bearded vultures, kestrels, red kites. At dusk, roe deer, foxes and occasionally a red deer or chamois cross the meadows.
Ibex at Creux du Van — photos by Monique Schmid
Local history
Two singular industrial legacies: absinthe, born here in the 18th century, and asphalt mines, worked for two centuries. Both living museums, fifteen minutes away.
Maison de l'Absinthe
The historic birthplace of the Green Fairy. Museum in the former courthouse of Môtiers, working distilleries in the village, tastings. 20 minutes by car.
La Presta
Underground galleries worked from 1712 to 1986, guided visits by mine train, restaurant « Café des Mines » serving ham cooked in asphalt. 15 minutes by car.
Altitude shapes the seasons: late spring, mild summer, blazing autumn, long winter. Each period has its reasons to visit.
Snow from December to March, snowshoeing from the doorstep, cross-country skiing at Les Cernets, skating on the frozen Taillières lake.
Meadows of gentians and narcissi (April-May), migratory birds returning, perfect cool weather for hiking.
Mild temperatures (15 at night, 25 by day), long evenings, swimming at Lac des Taillières, dinners outside.
Russet and golden forests (September-October), morning mist, tasting of the new absinthe, the calm returning.
A few rare moments captured from EssenceCiel — light, wildlife and silence when you take the time to look.
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