3 Best Sights in Fribourg and Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Fribourg's grand cathedral rears up from the surrounding gray, 18th-century buildings. Its massive tower was completed in the 15th century, two centuries after construction began in 1283. Above the main portal, a beautifully restored tympanum of the Last Judgment shows the blessed few headed toward Peter, who holds the key to the heavenly gates; those not so fortunate are led by pig-faced demons into the cauldrons of hell. Inside you can see the famous 18th-century organ, as well as the restored 1657 organ. The exceptional stained-glass windows, installed between 1873 and 1983, are executed in a number of styles, including Pre-Raphaelite and art nouveau. In the Chapelle du St-Sépulcre (Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre), a group of 13 figures dating from 1433 portrays the entombment of Christ. If you can handle the 368 steps, climb to the tower for a panoramic view. During services, entry is not allowed.

Crowning the storybook village of Gruyères is the town's famed château. Between 1080 and 1554, 19 counts held political power over this region, and they built and expanded this medieval castle. Little is known about them except for the last one, Michel. A lover of luxury and big spending, he expanded the estates and then fled his creditors in 1555. In 1849, a wealthy Geneva family bought the castle and encouraged painter friends to decorate a room now known as Corot's Room, because it features four of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot's landscapes. Also worth seeing is the Knights' Room with its impressive 19th-century fresco cycle depicting local legends, and the aptly named Fantastic Art Room, hung with contemporary work. An 18-minute multimedia show called Gruyères, which brings to life the history of the castle in animated form (available in eight languages), shown daily in the old caretaker's lodge, is worth your time.

Thanks to a remarkable curator, the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire displays a striking collection of paintings gathered under broad themes—nature, civilization—and mounted in a radical, evocative way. The 15th-century allegories, early impressionist paintings, and contemporary abstractions pack the walls from floor to ceiling, interacting, conflicting, and demanding comparison. You may climb a platform (itself plastered with paintings) to view the higher works. This aggressive series of displays is framed by the architectural decorations of Neuchâtel resident Clement Heaton, whose murals and stained glass make the building itself a work of art.

This novel museum also has the honor of hosting three of this watchmaking capital's most exceptional guests: the automates Jaquet-Droz, three astounding little androids, created between 1768 and 1774, that once toured the courts of Europe like young mechanical Mozarts. Pierre Jaquet-Droz and his son Henri-Louis created them, and they are moving manifestations of the stellar degree to which watchmaking had evolved by the 18th century. Le Dessinateur (the Draughtsman) is an automated dandy in satin knee pants who draws graphite images of a dog, the god Eros in a chariot pulled by a butterfly, and a profile of Louis XV. La Musicienne (the Musician) is a young woman playing the organ. She moves and breathes subtly along with the music and actually strikes the keys that produce the organ notes. L'Écrivain (the Writer) dips a real feather into real ink and writes 40 different letters. Like a primitive computer, he can be programmed to write any message simply by the change of a steel disk. The automatons come alive only on the first Sunday of the month, at 2, 3, and 4 (more often in summer; days and times are posted on the museum's website), but the audiovisual show re-creates the thrill.