3 Best Sights in Fribourg and Neuchâtel, Switzerland

At Fribourg's very core is the Basse-Ville, tucked into a crook of the river. Here you'll find the 11th- through 16th-century homes of the original village, as well as a lively café and cellar-theater scene.

When the Pont de St-Jean was built in the 17th century, making the northern bank of the river readily accessible, the merchant houses and walled cloisters of the Neuveville popped up.

The architecture of the Old Town presents a full range of French styles. Along Rue des Moulins are two perfect specimens of the Louis XIII period, and—at its opposite end—a fine Louis XIV house anchors the Place des Halles (market square), also notable for its turreted 16th-century Maison des Halles. The Old Town has several fine patrician houses, such as the magnificent Hôtel DuPeyrou, home of the friend, protector, and publisher of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who studied botany in the nearby Val-de-Travers. Most of the Old Town is pedestrian-only, though public buses do rumble through. You can stroll as far as Marin-Epagnier (east side) and Vaumarcus (west side).