Vineyard, terroir and nature weekend, a taste of the Jura way of life

Dazzling Arbois and its majestic surroundings…

On the Jura vineyard road

After an essential visit to the new Comté Centre in Poligny, head for Arbois and the winegrowing villages in the surrounding area, like Montigny-les-Arsures, the Trousseau and Pupillin capital, known worldwide for its Poulsard grapes.

These charming winegrowing villages are full of beautiful ochre buildings, a typical feature of the Arbois vineyard. Visit the winetasting cellars where the winegrowers invite you to sample their wines:

• white wines (Savagnin and Chardonnay grapes),
• red wines,
• Crémant and Macvin du Jura AOP wines,
• not forgetting the famous Vin de Paille (straw wine) and Vin Jaune (yellow wine)!

In Arbois, visit Louis Pasteur's family home where the famous "father of modern oenology" conducted his experiments on wine fermentation and vine diseases.

As you walk around the town, soak up the soothing charm of the River Cuisance, the narrow streets, the arcades, the private mansions and the wonderful gardens... And to sample the local delights, head for Les Chocolats d'Edouard, where the chocolates made by Edouard Hirsinger, winner of the best chocolatier in France award, are a pure delight!

Discover Arbois

Salins-les-Bains, temple of wellbeing

The salt of life…

Since the 8th century, Salins-les-Bains has successfully exploited one of nature's unique gifts: salt. The town prospered by collecting the salty water and allowing it to evaporate.

After an amusing tour of the incredible Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains, a UNESCO World Heritage feature, enjoy a pleasant, re-energising session at the Therma Salina thermal baths, where you'll relax in the swimming pool, sauna, hammam and whirlpool baths, enjoy beauty treatments and wellbeing massages... and benefit from the health-giving properties of the naturally salty waters of Jura, rich in trace elements!

Evidently, it's your lucky day. So why not try for the jackpot at the nearby casino?

Discover Salins-les-Bains

Baume-les-Messieurs and Château-Chalon

Among the most beautiful villages in France

Perched on a clifftop, Château-Chalon watches over the vineyards that produce the famous Vin Jaune. Born from the castle of the same name and a Benedictine abbey, the "viewpoint village" still has the remains of a keep and the romanesque church of St. Peter.

From this lovely village full of character, you can walk along the hillsides or into the heart of the steephead valleys, unusual landscape features carved out of the first Jura plateau. At the bottom of the most spectacular among them, you'll discover Baume-les-Messieurs, the famous "village at the end of the valley", with its abbey, caves, waterfalls and much more...

Lons-le-Saunier and the lakes of Bresse

Capital of Jura, ancient salt town

Lons-le-Saunier, the capital of Jura, beckons you! This picturesque, former salt town and birth place of Rouget de Lisle, creator of the Marseillaise (French national anthem), is the perfect place to wander and admire the rich architecture, the old hospital apothecary, and the thermal baths in the lush green gardens of the Parc des Bains.

Families will enjoy a shopping spree in the town centre and on the main street with 146 arcades, or a meal at one of the restaurants on the main square with water jets, and will also have fun at the Laughing Cow® Museum!

At the end of the day, go for a walk at the lakes of the Jura part of the Bresse region, where the typical fauna and flora peacefully flourish, to admire the sunset on the water...

This is also your chance to discover the typical half-timbered Bresse farmhouses and the famous Bresse chicken at one of Jura's poultry farms! It's delicious served with a morel sauce, Bresse cream and Vin Jaune!

                   Discover Lons-le-Saunier