This easy walk retraces a turning point in Swiss history. In 1476 the army of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, was routed near here by the Confederates, and the trail links Grandson, with its great lakeside castle, to the battlefield at Concise, running the whole way through vineyards and villages above Lake Neuchâtel.
The walk
It is a gentle 13 km, about 3 hours, and easy underfoot, starting beneath the towers of Grandson castle and threading the Bonvillars vineyards and the wine villages of Champagne, Onnens, Corcelles and Concise. Along the way it crosses the Chassagne nature reserve, a warm, almost Mediterranean pocket of dry grassland, with the lake open below for most of the route. It ends at Concise, where the battle was fought, and a harbour for a rest by the water.
The exact route and the official signposting are maintained by the regional tourism office (linked below); the marked trails are also shown on the swisstopo map above.
Getting there
Start at Grandson station, a few minutes from Yverdon, and return from Concise on the same line, so the walk works in one direction without a car. See getting here for trains to the region, and the Grandson page for the castle and town.
Good to know
- History on foot. The 1476 battle was one of the defeats that broke Burgundian power; the walk is the easiest way to read the ground.
- Combine it. Pair it with Grandson and its castle at one end, and a swim or a stop at Concise harbour at the other.
- Source. Distance, route and access are from the regional tourism office: Yverdon-les-Bains Region. Map data © swisstopo.
