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Haut-Jura and Regional Natural Park
Haut-Jura is located at the heart of the Regional Natural Park. It is the most authentic of French mountain ranges with its villages nestling at the foot of the valleys, its farms scattered in the landscape, its famous "Montbeliardes" cows and the sound of their bells...
The variety of its landscape, lakes, mountains and valleys are an endless invitation to leisure and numerous activities ... |
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Haut-Doubs
Sharing a border with Switzerland, Haut Doubs is a mountainous region with an altitude exceeding 800 meters.
In winter, skiers discover a nordic ski paradise and the beauty of its preserved wilderness.
Summer is just as attractive a season as winter, thanks to the many lakes and rivers where swimming, sailing, canoeing, canyoning and fishing can be enjoyed. |
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Loue Valley
Stretching over 126 km, the Loue river, a resurgence of the Doubs river has carved its bed in the plateaus of Jura between Besancon and Haut-Doubs before merging into the Doubs river downstream from city of Dole. Thus giving its name to the valley.
The water flows along a deep, mostly wooded gorge in the Jura plateau and offers some remarkable scenic points. The valley is most interesting between the source of the Loue river and Ornans, the capital of the Loue Valley. |
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Jura Wine Road
From Salins-les-Bains to Saint-Amour, this nearly 80 km long route winds its way past the winegrowing towns and villages and through the Jura vineyards where the area's best vintages are produced in the finest tradition, dating back more than a thousand years.
Chateaux, abbeys, churches and huge estates still bear witness to this tradition. The Wine Museum and Louis Pasteur's House (where the great scientist conducted experiments which served as the basis for the modern science of winemaking) are located in Arbois, capital city of the Jura wine. |
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Lakes Region
The "Lakes Region" is a picturesque and touristic area of Jura with its lakes, viewpoints and remarkable sites such as the Herisson waterfalls. The Lakes Region offers a multitude of activities; special trails throughout the region are ideal for hikers, horse riders and mountain bikers ... |
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Lakes Route
The Lakes Road, 150 km long, connects the main centers of interest in the Region : museums, exhibitions, crafts, local gastronomy, blind valleys, belvederes, natural sites and other curiosities. It is an unique itinerary to discover the 20 lakes of this region. |
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Fir Tree Route
Between the town of Levier in the Doubs and Champagnole in the Jura, the Fir Tree Route takes you to the heart of some of Franche-Comté's most beautiful coniferous forests.
The 50 km route crosses 10,000 hectares of national and municipal forestland in the massifs of Levier, la Joux, and Chapois, the most renowned fir forests in Europe due to the enormous size of their trees, some of which measure more than 45 m in height and 1.2 m in diameter.
In addition, the route conveniently links the 2 scenic areas of the Loue and Ain river valleys. |
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Travel on Rivers and Waterways
The Franche-Comté region has 5,500 km of rivers including 320 km of navigable waterways with ports, nautical stopovers and moorings, through the picturesque and romantic Saone Valley or the wild beauty of the Doubs Valley. |
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Regional Techniques and Skills
This special circuit includes 10 museums scattered throughout the region. The "Musées des techniques et cultures comtoises" (Museums of Technology and Cultural Heritage of Franche-Comte) tell and explain how the exploitation of natural resources, such as wood, iron, coal and water, was used to create crafts and industrial activities. |
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Louis Pasteur Route
This historic route covers Pasteur's native region: the two main sites of Arbois (Pasteur's home, laboratory, school, monument) and Dole (Pasteur's birthplace, statue) are linked by a number of reminders of Pasteur and his family: Aiglepierre (his school), Lemuy (home of his ancestors), Marnoz (experiments on spontaneous generation), Salins-les-Bains (his father's house) and Villers Farlay (vaccination against rabies). |
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Comte Cheese Route
This road crosses the Franche-Comte region from Saint-Hippolyte in the north to the southern tip of Jura, travelling along the Dessoubre, Doubs and Ain rivers, bordering lakes Saint-Point, Chalain and Vouglans and intersecting the "Fir Tree Route".
An itinerary which will help acquaint you with Comte cheesemaking, through visits to small town cheese dairies where traditional cheesemakers work at their impressive copper vats. The visits include the cheese cellars where the cheese is aged over a period of several months before being sold. |
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Petites Cités Comtoises de Caractère
An itinerary through 23 charming "Little Towns of Character" to discover their architecture, crafts, festivals, daily life, gastronomic specialties,... |
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Vauban's Fortifications
The area lying between the Vosges Mountains, the Saone and the Rhone rivers, and the Franco-Swiss border (essentially the historical Franche-Comte) boasts a large number of fortifications erected in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. |
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The "Monts et Merveilles" Historical Route
Discovering cultural and industrial heritage through visits to castles, museums and gardens.
The Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans (Claude-Nicolas Ledoux's architectural masterpiece) and the Peugeot Museum are also located along the route. |
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