[en] Magnetostriction and thermal expansion measurements on CeAl₂ in and near the antiferromagnetic (AF) phase have established the AF phase boundary in the H-T plane; the nature of the reorientation of the AF domains in field, the evolution of the AF order parameter in field and the nature of the AF fluctuations above T/sub N/; and that the magnetic exchange between Ce atoms is ferromagnetic in large fields. Inelastic neutron scattering measurements reveal a new and yet unexplained feature at 17.5 MeV. The compound CeAl₂ is an Anderson lattice system in the local moment regime, which appears to display a competition between spin fluctuations and indirect magnetic exchange. In this paper we summarize the results of an extensive study of the macroscopic thermodynamic properties of CeAl₂ and present some preliminary results of an ongoing neutron scattering study