It is the largest village in its eponymous valley, Vallée de la Brévine.

The toponymy of the name La Brévine is disputed; some sources interpret it as a variant of the word abreuvoir ("watering hole"), while others trace it back to a Common Celtic *Bebrona ("beaver stream").

In the middle of the 19th century, baths were built there, thanks to a subsidy by King Frédéric-Guillaume IV of Prussia, who was then still Prince of Neuchâtel.

The largest lake in the valley, the Lac des Taillères, is located 2 km (1+1⁄4 mi) from the village.

The highest point of the valley, the Crêt du Cervelet, is located 3 km (2 mi) from the town.

[citation needed] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure bordered Or, a Fountain Argent.

[13] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][14] The Double House is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

[10] Three hundred fifteen municipality residents were used in some capacity, of which women comprised 41.6% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector, 28 or 35.0% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 16 or 20.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 17 or 21.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was the insurance or financial industry, 3 or 3.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 8 or 10.0% were in education.

47 (or about 7.26% of the population) belonged to no church, were agnostic or atheist, and 39 individuals (or about 6.03%) did not answer the question.

[11] La Brévine is known as the “Siberia of Switzerland” on account of its climatic extremes, being the inhabited locality where the lowest temperature was ever measured.

[19] La Brévine is often popularized as the coldest location in the country, although many towns in the high Alps, for instance, Samedan, experience a much colder climate in general.

La Brévine has a borderline subarctic climate (Dfc) with mild, rainy summers and cold, snowy winters.

The wettest month was July when La Brévine received an average of 131 mm (5.2 in) of rain or snow.

The driest month of the year was February, with an average of 79 mm (3.1 in) of precipitation over 11.2 days.

[25] As of 2000[update], 18 students in La Brévine came from another municipality, while 30 residents attended schools outside the city.