Le Locle was able to preserve in parts old habits and structures. There is a flock of retailers around the Guesthouse. The people, „Les Loclois“ are surprisingly cosmopolitan: friendly, curious, highly cultured. Human traits which are typical for border towns, but also for a very long industrial and commercial tradition.
Watchindustry has stayed important up to this day.
Tourists are often attracted by the Jura mountains and the rich gastronomic offer.
The Guesthouse is surrounded by small stores: the Charmillot bakery, the Epicerie de Marie, the organic store Âme verte, the BiDrogerie, the delicatessen LaPerrote, the butcher's store Nicolet, the Laiterie Loubry (with 43 different types of fondue), an old-fashioned haberdashery and a hardware store.
The town is proud of its rich gastronomic offer too (except on Sunday evenings).
The urban architecture of Le Locle, leading the town to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site is marked by the need of hundreds of pre-industrial watchmakers to have a well-lit workplace. Le Locle and it's sister town La Chaux-de-Fonds have still a strong hold in precision industry and applied arts.
During the Art Nouveau times, around 1900, whealthy, openminded industrials let their buildings be embellished. It was the time when Le Corbusier started his career as an architect building his first houses in the two towns.
Le Locle is situated between 925 and 1100m above sea level and belongs to the Swiss mountain regions, famous for their healthy climate. The is imbedded in a valley between chalk hills. The landscape opens up like a flower: the higher up you go, the less steep it gets. You can walk for days on trails leading through forests, silvopastures and through magical, moss-covered woods. It’s a paradise for rare animals as lynx and wildcats. And for us.
Walking in the Jura mountains is in every season rewarding. Wintertime is special. As soon as snow conditions allow, more than 300km of tracks for cross country skiing are prepared. And the lakes freeze for weeks or months to the delight of ice skaters.