The lake Joux is on an altitude of 1004m in the northwest of Switzerland. It is one of the bigger lakes (9km long) in the hills of the Jura.
La vallée de Joux (the Joux valley) is in the French speaking part of Switzerland and belongs to the canton of Vaud. During winter often the surface of the lake freezes up and becomes a natural ice skating range. There is a modest skiing area too. In summer this spot is also nice to visit for the beauty of it. Some great fish restaurants are easily located.
In la vallée de Joux you will find four famous watch companies: Audemar-Piquet, Blancpain, Breguet and Jaeger-Lecoultre. Also, if you are interested in watches, check out the small watch making museum in Le Sentier.
The border to France is in close proximity. Over 300 years ago many Huguenots (French protestant Christians) escaped a religious persecution in France by slipping across the border into the Jura of Switzerland where they lived in isolation. There some of them continued to develop the art of watch making. Many of today’s famous watch making companies in this area have roots going back to the Huguenots.
