A garrison established its quarters around the castle walls, gradually building a modest- sized village, secured by a gate near the castle in the west and Diesse Tower (Tour de Diesse, XII century) in the east. The Market Cross crossroads (Croix-du –Marché) dates back to 1250. The Rue des Moulins also originates in 1250.

The River Seyon was bridged in the second half of the XIII century, which gave rise to the neighbourhoods of Chavannes, Neubourg, Grand’Rue (formerly Rue des Escoffiers) and Rue de l’Hôpital that led to the Hospice built by the Counts around 1350.

In the XIV century, Count Louis built a new castle (the embryo of the castle today) and the small town was surrounded by its first wall.

Over three centuries the town crept closer to the lake.

First the town was built on the Seyon delta, then on artificially reclaimed terrain from the lake.

The Maison des Halles and several elegant residences were built on the right side of the river. On the left side, the town spread over the walls down to the lake, encircling the Temple du Bas that was built in 1696.

The legacy of David de Pury made the building of a new city hospital a reality.

Due to the generosity of the wealthy businessman from Lisbon, the town was able to also build the Town Hall (Hotel de Ville), divert the path of the Seyon, construct the Latin and Terreaux Colleges, and implement many other council projects.

In the XVIII century, the town broke over its boundaries marked out by its former towers to establish patrician residences along the Faubourg de l’Hôpital. The most remarkable among them is the Hotel duPeyrou, built between 1764 and 1771.

Three great fires damaged the town in 1269, 1450 and 1714. Between the latter two, in 1589, water caused by a flood of the River Seyon devastated the town, carrying away its archives in the process.

In 1843, the diversion of the River Seyon allowed for the construction of roads within the city centre.

The town was taken by the urban fever with the arrival of railroads: between 1857 and 1860, the railway opened up Neuchâtel to the mountains, France, Lausanne and Zurich. Suburbs grew on either side of the tracks (Sablons, Fahys, Comba-Borel, Parcs, Côte, Crêt-Taconnet, Vieux-Châtel, Gibraltar, Bellevaux, Saars, Maladière), to the west (Evole, Port-Roulant, Poudrières, Beauregard), in the Ecluse valley and the neighbourhood of Beaux-Arts, which was built from the materials taken at Crêt-Taconnet in order to build the railway station.

The other large neighbourhoods date from the XX century. This is when Serrières (Coquemène, Battieux, Noyers, Pierre-de-Vingle), Maillefer, Vauseyon, Pain-Blanc, Suchiez, Rosière, Valangines, Maujobia, Quatre-Ministraux, Pierre-a-Bôt, Acacias, Portes-Rouges, Cassarde, Plan, Orée, Bel-Air, Pierre-à-Mazel; Maladière and so forth were built.

The outlying suburbs of Monruz, the Favarge, the V’y-d’Etra and the Dîme were incorporated into the commune territory when Neuchâtel and La Coudre merged in 1929.

Neuchâtel has expanded between the mountain and lake. Increasingly heavy traffic is steadily clogging up the town.

In order to give the town a breath of fresh air, the historic centre has been made a pedestrian precinct. Since its inauguration in 1979, it has steadily expanded.

Traffic purely in transit has been diverted under the town by means of a tunnel system that was inaugurated in 1994.