La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Watchmaking Town Planning Historical Site

Address: La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Website: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1302

La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle are adjacent Jura plateau towns in the Canton of Neuchâtel whose urban plans and buildings were shaped by an intensive watchmaking industry and associated social organisation.

Street grids and building types visibly reflect an industry-oriented planning logic: long facades with large windows, integrated home-workshop arrangements and aligned street patterns that facilitated workshop lighting and production flow. Museums and conserved workshops present tools, movements and objects that illustrate watchmaking techniques and local industrial history.

Both towns expanded rapidly with the rise of precision watchmaking from the 18th century; fires led to rebuilding on systematic plans that later guided industrial and residential development. The urban form and building types evolved specifically to accommodate small-scale artisanal and later factory-based horological production.

The towns lie on the Jura high plateau in the Canton of Neuchâtel, western Switzerland, forming a contiguous industrial and urban region adapted to the plateau landscape.

• Planned urban layout for industry: Both towns were redesigned after major fires and developed a regular, geometric street plan that accommodated production, daylighting and transport for watchmaking workshops.
• Horological museums: La Chaux-de-Fonds houses specialized horological collections and museums that document local watchmaking techniques and history.

What to See#

• La Chaux-de-Fonds: The town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, laid out on a regular grid and containing integrated workshops and houses used for watchmaking production.
• Le Locle: The neighbouring town of Le Locle, similarly planned to support the watchmaking industry with workshops, factories and workers’ housing arranged to facilitate production.
• Watchmaking museums and workshops: Museums and preserved watchmaking workshops that document the technical and social history of the region’s watch industry.

Both towns are served by regional rail from Neuchâtel and La Chaux‑de‑Fonds has its own station. Le Locle is connected by rail to La Chaux‑de‑Fonds and Neuchâtel; regional buses complement the rail network.

• Use a local guide or watchmaker museum guide to understand the urban planning logic that tied factories, worker housing, and public spaces to production rhythms.
• If possible, visit during the week when some watch factories or workshops have demonstrations.
• Walk rather than drive the two towns to see the grid logic linking production and domestic life.