La Chaux-de-Fonds

I took the train from Bern via Neuchatel to the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, which is close to the French border. The town is quite high up in the Jura region at an altitude of around 1000m and, despite it being a sunny day, it was noticeably cooler here than down in the Swiss lowlands.

La Chaux-de-Fonds is the centre of the Swiss watchmaking industry and its grid iron street pattern is a novelty in these parts. For those reasons the town is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

This blip is taken on the Main Street not far from the rail station. The tall building is the Tour Espacite a 14 floor structure whose storey offers fabulous views of the surrounding region. Alas, it being a Sunday, the tower was closed.