About Franche Comte and the Jura
An amazing region of lakes, mountains, rivers and waterfalls
The Franche- Comté and Jura
Franche -Comté is located in central Europe and eastern France. It borders with Switzerland and is close to Germany and Italy.
This mountainous region, where much of the Jura is found, has 5350 km of rivers, of which 320 km are suitable for fishing. This area eighty large lakes, at least 1000 ponds and many spectacular waterfalls.
The Jura is one of the four departments of the Franche-Comté, the prefecture of which is the town of Lons-le- Saunier. It is among other bordering departments of Saône-et-Loire and Côte-d’Or (Burgundy region).
Tourism is an important part of the economic development of this department, which is why 12% of it’s properties are second homes.
The main towns are :
- View our properties in Lons le Saunier >>
- View our properties in Bletterans >>
- View our properties in Dole >>
- View our properties in Chaussin >>
- View our properties Poligny >>
- View our properties in Claivaux -les-Lacs >>
- View our properties in Louhans >>
The main attractions
Major lakes: The famous Lac de Vouglans (the third largest artificial lake in France), Lac de Chalain and the lakes of Les Rousses.
Waterfalls: The most spectacular in the Jura are the Cascades du Herrisson, and the famous Cascades of the gorge of Baume- les-Messieurs.
World Heritage of Unesco sites: Les Salines de Salins-les-Bains, and the sites of Clairvaux and Chalain
Ski: Les Rousses , Métabief Mont d’Or, Monts Jura Grandvaux, Bellefontaine, Foncine -le-Haut .
Activities
Chalain and Vouglans offer many water-based activities such as swimming , sailing and fishing.
Winter tourism is also important with downhill skiing in the resorts of Les Rousses and Métabief, and with more than 1000 km of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, the Jura excels.
Green tourism also offers hiking and biking activities through forests of beech, oak and pine . Horseback riding and equestrian activities are also popular .
It is also possible to play golf (Lons- le-Saunier Chapelle Voland), or relax in the spa at Lons -le- Saunier and Salins -les- Bains ….
Food and Drink
With its many markets and many restaurants, you can enjoy excellent local cuisine ( Bresse chicken, morel mushroom pie and sausages) . The department is very proud of its cheeses the favorite being Comte. You will also find , Morbier , Vacherin Mont d’Or or and cream cheese .
The Jura also has original vineyards with uniquely tasting wines. It is widely known for its white wines. The Savagnin grapes are used for the famous Vin Jaune . The festival of Vin Jaune has become the biggest event of Jura with 43,000 visitors in 2014.
There are also sweet wines such as Macvin or Vin de Paille .
How to get there
Dole/Tavaux Airport provides direct links with England via Ryanair. The airports of Geneva Cointrin and Lyon Saint Exupéry are also close by.
The TGV Train will take you from London to Dijon in less than 6 hours or from London to Dole in 7 hours.
The road network is well developed with the A36 motorway linking Germany to Lyon and Marseille via Dole and the A39 motorway which connects Dijon to Bourg-en-Bresse via Lons-le-Saunier .