In 2027, Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday. That small detail changes the planning: the night that really counts, the one where you dress up a little and do not have to be anywhere early the next morning, is Saturday 13 February. Which makes 2027 a good year to turn Valentine’s into a proper weekend away rather than a single dinner. If Paris feels predictable and Venice feels crowded, look at Neuchâtel: a French-speaking Swiss lake town with a castle, an old town built in honey-coloured stone and not a queue in sight in February. At Hôtel Beaulac, right on the lakeshore, there is a dedicated Valentine’s package with a decorated room, a champagne aperitif and a celebration menu. Rooms for this weekend go quickly, so book early at beaulac.ch or on +41 32 723 11 11.
Saturday or Sunday: how the 2027 calendar changes things
When Valentine’s falls midweek, there is not much to decide: you book a table on the 14th and go home afterwards. In 2027 you have two options.
The first is to arrive on Saturday 13 February, make that the big night, with an aperitif, dinner and a night by the lake, and keep Sunday free. It is the more relaxed choice, and it leaves room for a walk and a long lunch before you head off.
The second is to keep Sunday 14 February as the date that matters: arrive on the Saturday and book dinner for the Sunday evening. That means a second night and a slow Monday morning, but it also sidesteps the Saturday, which is usually the busiest evening of the weekend.
For visitors from the UK, the first option fits neatly into a Friday evening flight to Geneva or Basel and a Monday return. Either way, book the room and the table together. It is what makes the evening easy: no taxi to wait for in the February cold, and the lake outside the window in the morning.
Hôtel Beaulac's Valentine's package
For Valentine’s, the hotel prepares its rooms accordingly, with romantic decoration and homemade macarons waiting on arrival. To start the evening, you can add an aperitif served in the room: a half-bottle of champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries. It is often the moment that stays with you: half an hour on your own, watching the lake darken before you go down to dinner.
On 14 February, a Valentine’s menu is served in two settings. At the Lake Side, the brasserie by the water, you dine at lake level. At Waves, the seventh-floor rooftop bar, you dine higher up, with the town and the lake spread out below. A glass of champagne comes with the menu.
Details for 2027, including prices and available nights, are published on beaulac.ch in the run-up to February. Rooms can be booked at hotel@beaulac.ch or on +41 32 723 11 11.
A day for two in Neuchâtel in February
February is not terrace season, but it is the season of low light and uncrowded walks. Neuchâtel suits it well: everything is walkable and nothing needs rushing.
In the late afternoon, walk up to the castle and the Collegiate Church. In mid-February the sun sets shortly before six, and at that hour the esplanade looks out over the rooftops, the lake and, on a clear day, the whole chain of the Alps. Come back down through the lanes of the old town, where the yellow Hauterive stone turns almost golden at dusk. It is the stone that led Alexandre Dumas, so the story goes, to compare the town to a toy carved out of butter.
On Sunday morning, if Neuchâtel is under low cloud, take the Chaumont funicular: in February the sea of fog is still common, and you often climb out of it into sunshine. On a clear day, a walk through the vineyards between Auvernier and Boudry shows the lake at its quietest.
If you would like something a little different, check the programme at the Théâtre du Passage, a few minutes’ walk from the hotel. Concerts and dance travel well even if your French does not.
Getting around is on foot or by public transport, which is free for the length of your stay with the Neuchâtel Tourist Card, issued from your first night.
Booking without the stress
Book early. Valentine’s weekend is one of the busiest of the winter, and the lake-view rooms are the first to go.
If it is a surprise, say so when you book, and the team will make sure nothing gives it away before you arrive.
Mention any allergies or dietary requirements in advance. The celebration menu is prepared ahead, and a few days’ notice makes adjustments easy without taking anything away from the evening.
And if you cannot decide between the Lake Side and Waves, ask yourselves one question: would you rather have the lake at eye level or the town at your feet? Both work. They are simply not the same evening.
A Valentine's that lasts all weekend
Valentine’s 2027 offers something the calendar rarely does: a Saturday to celebrate and a Sunday to take your time. In Neuchâtel, that means an old town to wander, a lake that changes colour by the hour, and a table waiting for you with no journey home at the end of it.
Book your Valentine’s weekend at beaulac.ch or on +41 32 723 11 11. For more ideas for a stay for two at other times of year, our guide to a romantic weekend in Neuchâtel is on the blog.
