About the marionNEttes Festival
The marionNEttes Festival is one of the most distinctive cultural events in the Neuchâtel calendar. It celebrates puppet theatre, object theatre and physical performance in all its forms — from traditional hand puppets to cutting-edge contemporary pieces that challenge what performance can be. The festival presents both children's matinées and adult evening shows, making it one of the rare events that genuinely works for the whole family.
The 2026 edition runs from Friday 6 to Sunday 15 November, with performances spread across multiple venues in the city.
Programme and tickets
The full programme is announced in October on the festival's official website. Tickets are available online and at the box office. For popular weekend matinées — particularly those aimed at young children — selling out a few weeks in advance is common. For adults seeking evening shows, booking a week or two ahead is usually sufficient.
Prices typically range from CHF 12–18 for children and CHF 22–35 for adults, with family packages available for some performances.
Venues across the city
Performances are spread across the Théâtre du Passage, the Salle des Musiques, and various partner spaces including some unconventional locations — warehouses, school halls, or pop-up stages. One of the pleasures of the festival is discovering performances in unexpected places. This also means transport planning matters: your evening might take you to three different corners of the city.
Getting there with children
For families with young children, a taxi is the most practical option for the marionNEttes Festival. After a matinée performance, children are typically tired and excited. The last thing you need is a long walk to a car park in the November cold, or a complicated bus connection home.
A taxi from the venue to your front door: simple, warm and exactly as fast as possible. For the evening shows — which sometimes end at 22:00 or later — the night T2 rate applies, but a city-centre return typically costs CHF 15–25.
Coming from outside Neuchâtel
The marionNEttes Festival attracts visitors from across the canton and beyond. If you are travelling from La Chaux-de-Fonds, Biel or the surrounding region for a specific show, a taxi from Neuchâtel train station to the venue and back to the station makes the evening seamless.
Going to the marionNEttes Festival with the family?
Book a taxi for warm, comfortable journeys home after the show.