The «Time-museums»

Rare is business in the upper canton of Neuchatel that isn’t, one way or another, connected with the measure of time. Veritable living memories of that epic story that surrounds watch and clock making, the towns of La Chaux-de-Fonds and le Locle remain, even today, what Marx would have termed «a great factory». Among the treasures that you can discover: the «Villa turque», one of Le Corbusier’s early works which today forms part of the world heritage. In 1987, the Villa became the public relations centre for the watch making firm of Ebel and is open to the public on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month from 11.00hrs to 16.00hrs (www.ebel.ch). Don’t miss the «Villa Marguerite», built in 1918 by the entrepreneur Charles Nuding and taken over by Girard-Perregaux which turned it into their museum in 1999 (http://www.girard-perregaux.com/musee/musee_fr.aspx). Once past the front door and the stylised façade, you will discover a collection that covers the two hundred year old history of watch and clock making. Take time to admire the furniture and the decoration of the museum that pays homage to the architects of the beginning of the century. Also see the international museum (www.mih.ch) that traces the history of time-keeping and the chateau of the Monts at Locle that house, in a magnificent Louis XVI building, a collection of clocks and old watches.