Hotel St Petersinsel, Biel/Bienne

The GuardianAug 17

Away with the ferries: exploring Switzerland’s forgotten lake district by boat

The Jura and Three Lakes region is often overlooked by visitors, but on a lake-hopping adventure I discovered its gentle beauty as well as great food and wine The ferry cuts across the waters of Lake Biel, creating soft ripples, as if someone has taken a brushstroke to a blue canvas. To starboard, as we approach St Peter’s Island, are gentle mountains; to port side, lie golden fields. Straight…

Housed in a monastery dating back to 1127.

17 things in this story

Lake BielSightFringed by tidy vineyards and linked by canals.
St Peter’s IslandSightRousseau, Dumas, and Goethe stayed on this peninsula.
Jura MountainsSightHome to the country’s gentlest summits.
Hotel St PetersinselHotelHoused in a monastery dating back to 1127.
Zihr canalSightConnects Lake Biel to Lake Neuchâtel.
zander with lemon risotto and summer tomatoes with burrataRestaurant
Elsewhere
Lake NeuchâtelSightNeuchâtel, SwitzerlandLake Neuchâtel lies primarily in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Andrey SchafisRestaurantLigerz, SwitzerlandFifth-generation family cellar overlooking the water.
VinifuniPlaceLigerz, SwitzerlandShort, steep funicular through vineyards in Ligerz.
ChasseralSightPrêles, SwitzerlandJura’s flat-topped mountain, near Prêles.
Hôtel de l’Ours PrêlesHotelPrêles, SwitzerlandFamily-run hotel sitting high above the lake.
BLZ beerRestaurantPrêles, SwitzerlandA cold beer from nearby Orvin.
Broye canalSightNeuchâtel, SwitzerlandConnects Lake Neuchâtel to Lake Murten.
La Grande CariçaieSightMurten, SwitzerlandThe country’s largest marshland.
Lake MurtenSightMurten, Switzerland
St Michael’s ChapelSightLigerz, Switzerland
entrecôte steak and profiterolesRestaurantPrêles, Switzerland

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Hotel St Petersinsel

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Away with the ferries: exploring Switzerland’s forgotten lake district by boat