Orbe sits on a hill above a bend in its river, a compact medieval town with the round keep of its old castle, La Tour Ronde, still standing over the rooftops. Just outside it lies the real surprise: the richest ensemble of Roman mosaics in Switzerland, a natural next step if the Roman story at Eburodunum caught you in Yverdon.
The mosaics at Boscéaz, a short way from the centre, are the floors of a grand Gallo-Roman villa built around 160–180 AD, sheltered in five pavilions where you see them where they were laid, with a temple to Mithra among the finds. Below the town, the Orbe runs through a wooded gorge you can walk.
What to do
- See the Roman mosaics at Boscéaz, the finest in Switzerland, in their five pavilions.
- Climb La Tour Ronde, the round keep of the old castle, for the view over the rooftops.
- Walk the Gorges de l’Orbe along the river; it joins the longer hiking routes downstream toward Vallorbe.
Practical notes
- The Boscéaz mosaics are seasonal: roughly May to early November (weekends in spring and autumn, Wednesday to Sunday in summer), 10:00–18:00, adult CHF 10; see mosaiques-orbe.ch.
- ~20 minutes by train, changing at Chavornay for the short Orbe shuttle.
- Allow half a day for the town, the mosaics and a stretch of the gorge.
