Hello!!
We are moving to Neuchatel (from Boston) in a month and we are still looking for an apartment. We are lucky that my in-laws have been visiting apartments for us. I wanted to see if you would be able to tell me your experiences and views about some parts of the city where we have potentially found some good apartment options.
My husband will be working at Microcity in Maladiere, so we found a couple apartments around Jardin Anglais. Are Rue de la Pierre-à-Mazel and Av. Du premier Mars very busy and loud? Is the one street down (Rue Des beaux Arts) much quieter? Is the area mainly a student area with the university there, or is it family-oriented (we have 2 girls under 4 years old). How about schools, are they close by and good? And last, can you swim in the lake from the closest beach I can see in the map?
How about your views of St-Blaise and Hauterive?
Thank you very much for your time! We are looking forward to discovering more of Neuchatel very soon!
Best,
Bahar
Hi there,
I don't live in the roads you've mentioned but I think they're fine (obviously Pierre à Mazel is just perfect for your work). None of the places you mentioned are in the town centre so they should all be relatively quiet. As for schools I can't help but yes, the lake is super close and you can most definitely all the way along from the Maladière to Jeunes Rives (near the funicular).
I've never lived in St Balise or Hauterive but I know people that so and they like it well enough. Do you have any specific questions about those areas?
Hauterive or St Blaise would be my choice, as long as you keep away from the main road. Your OH could then take the bus or even walk or cycle to Microcity.
The avenue de premier Mars and the Rue-à-Mazel do have a lot of through traffic and can get quite busy so they have the potential to be noisy ( depending in the flat and how well isolated it is.) There is potential for a lot if noise when there are any major sporting events happening as they are very near to the stadium.
The rue des beaux arts will be much quieter in terms of traffic noise.
There is a ( supposedly) good school near the Hotel Beau Lac/place du port which I suspect will be the nearest one to those areas but I have no idea what it's actually like.
It's a very convenient area for playgrounds and the lake for swimming and also for shopping.
We live further out near Marin and really like the St Blaise and Hauterive ( as long as it's not too far up the top if Hauterive) areas and they are both incredibly family friendly and have direct bus links to Microcity. The school in St Blaise us very good from my experience. Personally I would choose one of those two areas.
Beaux-Arts is a very nice street, with old, elegant houses. Quiet as well. I would avoid Pierre-à-Mazel - lots of traffic and right next to the football ground. Premier Mars is also very busy with traffic.
The nicest streets in Neuchâtel, in my opinion, are a bit higher up: Rue de la Côte and those around it.
Saw some wonderful old maps of Neuchâtel the other day at a Conference on the history of Neuchâtel wine. Wtih the open Seyon river being the Eastern frontier, and the Tour des Prisons the Western one- and the whole of the rest covered in Vineyards- including the whole Hill behind the Castle- and rue des Parcs being the old main Roman road to Burgundy. Thought about you Stephen and your great old flat.
Thank you so much for all the information. This is very helpful, as I did not understand how busy these roads can get due to the stadium. We are looking into an apartment on the 4th floor with a terrasse, but might not be the best options...
There is not much in St Blaise and Hauterive so far, but hopefully something will come up!
Thank you again, it is so nice that you all took some time of your busy day to chime in this thread.
Have a good day/evening, it seems both Neuchatel and Boston is having some snow today
Bahar
I live in the mountains above Neuchâtel, and we have about 6 feet of snow, and snowing some more, after a lovely sunny afternoon.
The stadium only generates noise once a fortnight... and not much at all these days, given that the football club is going through lean times. But it could definitely be an issue if they get back into the top division.
The traffic noise is not related to the football though - Premier Mars and Pierre-à-Mazel between them make up the main east-west route through town for all local traffic, so lots of buses, delivery lorries and generally people going from place to place. Through traffic is in tunnels under the town centre so not a problem.