Guyot was born on September 28, 1807 at Boudevilliers, near Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He schooled at the college of Neuchâtel, Chaux-de-Fonds. In 1825, he traveled to Germany and lived in Karlsruhe where he met Louis Agassiz. From Karlsruhe he moved to Stuttgart, where he studied at the gymnasium. He returned to Neuchâtel in 1827. He determined to enter the ministry and started at the University of Berlin to attend lectures. While in college, he also attended lectures on philosophy and natural science. His leisure time was spent in collecting shells and plants, and he received an entrée to the Berlin Botanical Garden from Humboldt. In 1835, he received the degree of PhD from Berlin.