Estavayer-le-Lac

Estavayer keeps a well-preserved medieval core above the southern shore of Lake Neuchatel, with walls, towers and the Chenaux castle of the fourteenth century, and its lakefront has a marina and beach. Its museum holds something genuinely odd: a collection of 108 frogs, taxidermied in the 1850s by a Fribourg guard named Francois Perrier and arranged in human poses - playing cards, at a shave, in a classroom, at a political meeting - as satirical tableaux of nineteenth-century society. It is one of very few such assemblages anywhere and is either charming or disturbing depending on the visitor. The town is also known for roses, with gardens planted through the centre.

Background

In Arpitan the town is Estavalyér-le-Lèc, and locally Thavalyi-le-Lé. It lies between Yverdon and Bern, 430 to 460 metres above sea level, and is the capital of the Broye district. Font joined the municipality on 1 January 2012, raising its area from 6.4 square kilometres to 8.9 square kilometres, and on 1 January 2017 the municipality merged with Vuissens, Vernay, Rueyres-les-Prés, Murist, Morens and Bussy to form the new municipality of Estavayer. Farming used 55.9% of the land, and buildings and roads 33.5%. The municipal coat of arms carries three wavy bars and a double rose.

Source: Wikipedia, "Estavayer-le-Lac"

What you'll find

• 108 posed frogs - taxidermy tableaux of 1850s society, satirical and strange.
• A walled medieval core - towers and the fourteenth-century Chenaux castle.
• A lake marina and beach - the shore below the old town.
• Rose plantings - gardens through the town centre.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

What to expect

The frog collection is Victorian taxidermy and unsettles some visitors, particularly children. The museum keeps limited hours and closes on Mondays. The town is small. Rail connections are branch-line.

Nearby

The Grande Caricaie marshes run along the shore; Payerne abbey is south.

Key facts