What if the best trip this summer required no flight, no passport and no eight-hour drive? There’s something deeply satisfying about discovering (or rediscovering) a beautiful place an hour from home, without the stress of jet lag or crowded airports. A staycation is exactly that: a real escape, without going far.
Neuchâtel is one of those Swiss cities people know by name but rarely visit, and that’s a shame, because it ticks every box for a successful summer getaway. A vast lake, hillside vineyards, a charming old town, restaurants facing the water and that lakeside rhythm that invites you to slow down the moment you set foot on the quays. Hôtel Beaulac, right on the lakeshore, is the ideal place to settle in for a weekend or a week. Book your stay at the Beaulac and give yourself the summer you deserve, no boarding pass required.
The staycation: the art of travelling without going far
A staycation isn’t a lesser holiday. It’s a choice, and an increasingly popular one. The idea is simple: instead of travelling far, you pick a destination close to home, book a good hotel, settle in and experience the place like a genuine traveller, with the curiosity and openness of mind you usually save for trips abroad.
The result is often surprising. Free from time lost in transit, oversized suitcases and the fatigue of long journeys, you arrive rested and start enjoying yourself immediately. The first day isn’t sacrificed to travel. Neither is the last.
Switzerland lends itself remarkably well to this kind of break. The country is compact, the landscapes change dramatically from one region to the next, and the quality of accommodation, dining and infrastructure is among the finest in Europe. But paradoxically, it’s often the nearest cities that we know least well. How many people in Bern have never set foot in Neuchâtel? How many in Geneva have never walked along its lakeside quays? A staycation sets that right.
What changes fundamentally is the quality of the time you spend. Two nights in a lakeside hotel, with no jet lag, and the ability to be home by train in under an hour, may well be the most efficient holiday formula there is. Less stress, more lake.
Why Neuchâtel is the ideal staycation destination
Neuchâtel brings together a rare combination of qualities in a single city, and that’s what makes it such a compelling staycation destination.
The lake, first. Lake Neuchâtel is the largest lake lying entirely within Switzerland, and its scale impresses from the first glance. It offers a wide horizon, shifting light and a relationship with water that the better-known towns along Lake Geneva don’t provide in the same conditions of tranquillity. In summer, you can swim in it, sail on it, paddleboard across it, or simply sit on a bench and watch the sunset behind the Jura. The lake isn’t a backdrop: it’s the heart of the experience.
The city, next. Neuchâtel is a human-scale town that makes everything easy. The old town can be covered on foot in an hour, the markets fill the squares on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and the terraces are plentiful yet never packed. You’ll find excellent restaurants, winemakers’ cellars just minutes from the centre, and an architectural heritage that surprises with its richness (the castle, the Collegiate Church, the Renaissance townhouses).
The surroundings, finally. From Neuchâtel, you can reach the Areuse gorges, the Jura ridges, the vineyard and the picturesque lakeside villages in under half an hour. Within an hour, you can be in Murten, at Lake Biel or up in the Val-de-Travers. It’s a territory of excursions that you won’t exhaust in a single weekend.
And then there’s the atmosphere. Neuchâtel isn’t a tourist city in the conventional sense. It moves at its own pace, without crowds, without queues, without the frenzy of over-popular destinations. That calm is precisely what makes it such a pleasant place for a staycation.
Votre staycation au Beaulac : ce que l'on y vit
L’Hôtel Beaulac est situé exactement là où une staycation prend tout son sens : au bord du lac, face à l’eau, au cœur de la ville. Quand on pousse la porte de sa chambre et que le lac remplit la fenêtre, le dépaysement est immédiat, sans avoir parcouru des milliers de kilomètres.
Le rythme d’une staycation au Beaulac pourrait ressembler à ceci. Le premier soir, installation, puis apéritif au rooftop Waves face au coucher de soleil. On dîne au Lake Side, le restaurant de l’hôtel, au bord de l’eau, et on se laisse surprendre par la lumière du soir sur le lac. Le lendemain matin, petit-déjeuner face au lac, sans réveil, puis balade le long des quais ou dans la vieille ville. L’après-midi, excursion dans les vignobles pour une dégustation, ou baignade sur l’une des plages du littoral. Le soir, deuxième dîner en ville ou retour au Waves pour des sushis en terrasse. Le troisième jour, brunch tranquille, dernière promenade, et retour chez soi reposé, bronzé et satisfait.
Ce programme n’a rien d’extraordinaire, et c’est justement ce qui le rend si efficace. Pas besoin de courir, pas besoin de tout voir, pas besoin de cocher des cases. La staycation, c’est l’inverse : c’est le luxe de ne rien s’imposer tout en ayant tout à portée de main.
Pour les couples, c’est une parenthèse romantique sans effort logistique. Pour les familles, c’est un changement de décor accessible même avec de jeunes enfants. Pour les amis, c’est un week-end convivial qui ne demande ni budget aérien ni préparation compliquée.
Your staycation at the Beaulac: what it feels like
Hôtel Beaulac sits exactly where a staycation makes the most sense: on the lakeshore, facing the water, in the heart of the city. When you open the door to your room and the lake fills the window, the sense of escape is immediate, without having covered thousands of miles.
The rhythm of a staycation at the Beaulac might look something like this. The first evening, settle in, then drinks on the Waves rooftop as the sun sets. Dinner at Le Lake Side, the hotel’s restaurant, right by the water, letting the evening light on the lake take you by surprise. The following morning, breakfast facing the lake with no alarm, then a stroll along the quays or through the old town. In the afternoon, a vineyard excursion for a tasting, or a swim at one of the shore’s beaches. That evening, a second dinner in town or back up to the Waves for sushi on the terrace. On the third day, a quiet brunch, one last walk, and home feeling rested, sun-kissed and content.
There’s nothing extraordinary about this programme, and that’s exactly what makes it so effective. No rushing, no trying to see everything, no boxes to tick. A staycation is the opposite: the luxury of imposing nothing on yourself while having everything within reach.
For couples, it’s a romantic break with no logistical effort. For families, it’s a change of scene that’s manageable even with young children. For friends, it’s a convivial weekend that demands neither airfare nor complicated planning.
Conclusion
Summer doesn’t need to be far away to be beautiful. Sometimes all it takes is a lake, a good hotel, a terrace with a view and two or three days without a schedule to feel as refreshed as if you’d gone to the ends of the earth. Neuchâtel offers exactly that, and Hôtel Beaulac is the best way in.
Fancy a lakeside staycation this summer? Book your stay at Hôtel Beaulac and discover that the best trip is sometimes the one that starts an hour from home.
