Latenium

In 1857 finds at a site called La Tene on the northern shore of Lake Neuchatel - swords, brooches, chariot fittings, deposited where a river met the lake - proved distinctive enough that archaeologists took the name for the whole later Iron Age culture of Celtic Europe, so La Tene is now a period label used from Ireland to Anatolia. The Latenium opened in 2001 to hold the cantonal collections and covers fifty thousand years, running from Neanderthal material through the lake-dwelling settlements - part of the Alpine pile-dwelling UNESCO listing - to Roman and medieval finds. Outside, a free park along the shore reconstructs a lake-dwelling village, a Bronze Age dugout and a Roman barge.

Highlights

• The type site of an era - La Tene, which named the later Iron Age everywhere.
• Fifty thousand years in one collection - Neanderthal to medieval.
• Lake-dwelling material - from the UNESCO-listed pile settlements.
• A free outdoor park - reconstructed village, dugout and Roman barge.

When to go

All year; the park is best April to October. Half a day.

Things to know

The museum closes on Mondays. Labelling is in French with partial translation. The outdoor reconstructions are interpretive, not excavated remains. The actual La Tene site is a field and is not the museum.

Nearby

Neuchatel old town is west; the Grande Caricaie marshes are south.

Key facts