This Sunday, we followed the sun! The sky was looking a little grey in Geneva so we hopped on a train to Biel, where the sun was shining and the lake looked inviting!
If you have never been here before, I would highly recommend it. Located one and a half hours away by train from Geneva, Biel is situated in canton Bern and lies on the North-Eastern shore of Lake Biel. The town is sat at the foot of the first mountain range of the Jura mountains and the scenery on the train journey and in Biel itself is lovely.
Interestingly, Biel also lies on a language boundary between the French and German speaking parts of Switzerland. The town is therefore entirely bilingual (known as Biel in German and Bienne in French) – although from our brief experience, there seemed to be slightly more German spoken in restaurants and bars.
On arrival at the train station, if you head away from the lake, after 10 minutes walking, you will find yourself in the beautiful and historic old town of Biel. It is worth spending time wandering around this area and enjoying the cafes and terraces.
After exploring the old town, we walked along a beautiful, tree lined path following the Schüss river down the Schüsspromenade. This was great for a pushchair and also went past the beautiful Parc Elfenau, which is a great stop for a picnic.
We continued walking to Strandboden, which is a park next to the lake. (Of course, in the summer we would have stopped at the Biel Lido, but sadly it was closed in late September). We really loved this park; lots of space for our baby to crawl and explore, shade, swimming in the lake, a play area and a great bar for drinks and light meals – Dock 4. The atmosphere in Biel feels more relaxed than other parts of Switzerland and the people are very friendly – we loved visiting this town and we will definitely visit again!
Baby Steps 