Our favourite farmhouse inns
From the field to your plate, it doesn't get more local than this! After hiking, there's nothing like a hearty meal at one of these traditional farms. In a rustic setting typical of the Jura Mountains, share quality time with family or friends along with delicious products straight from the farm. Simple, generous, authentic flavours that have built the reputation of our soils. Some establishments even have accommodation, if you fancy prolonging the experience!
A mountain farmhouse inn
In a remote location on the Haut-Doubs plateaus, the Tartot farmhouse inn is a favourite haunt of hikers and fans of traditional cuisine.
The meals are based essentially on farm produce from the local area but also feature snails that are bred and prepared on the premises.
Here, the menu changes daily: pork hotpot, beef stew, roast farm chicken, Montbéliard sausage and much more, not forgetting the star dessert: the famous homemade 'gâteau de ménage'.
- Where? At Fournets-Luisans in the Doubs-Horloger Regional Nature Park.
- That extra little something: snails from the farm shop.
- To visit in the surrounding area: Morteau and its clockmaking museum, Tuyé du Papy Gaby, the Consolation natural site.
A restaurant in a sheepfold
Now this is our kind of place!
In the hills of Val d’Épy, La Chevrière is a typical inn run by the expert hands of Annick, who is past 80 and has spent 42 years cooking for guests.
You'll love this sheepfold and the friendly atmosphere of its rustic dining room occupying a converted barn. Not to mention the warm welcome "like at nanny & grandad's" and the animals that are bred here (sheep, rabbits, hens, etc.). Served in generous helpings, the dishes are of high quality, prepared with the site's own produce and ingredients from neighbouring farms.
- Where? At Val d’Épy on the edge of the Bresse natural region.
- That extra little something: takeaway dishes to order... and the on-site gîte.
- To visit in the surrounding area: the mysterious cave of La Balme-d’Epy. Vouglans Lake, 45 minutes away.
An inn at a Franche-Comté farm with a smokehouse
In the heart of the Pays Horloger, the restaurant Le Gey is easy to recognise with its very large roof and enormous chimney stack... The typical silhouette of a traditional Franche-Comté farmhouse with a 'tuyé', or smokehouse!
And where there's a smokehouse, there have to be cured meats, smoked the traditional way... and even salmon that's been smoked by the owner himself!
On the menu you'll also find fried carp, fondue, trout and other country recipes.
- Where? At Maîche, capital of the Comtois horse, in the Pays Horloger region.
- That extra little something: free guided tour of the smokehouse (book ahead)
- To visit in the surrounding area: the Château de Montalembert in Maîche and the Échelles de la Mort natural site.
Table d'hôte meals among the goats and sheep
Picture it, 300 ewes and goats scampering around 150 hectares of flower-festooned fields… That's the magical setting of this organic mountain sheepfold set 1,100 metres above sea level on the Retord plateau.
It is run by a couple who are both herders and cheesemakers, and the cheese and meat are sold directly at the farm shop as well as featuring in their pleasant table d'hôte meals and country snacks, all served up with a few fun facts about life as a herder.
- Where? At Haut Valromey, in the Bugey massif.
- That extra little something: the sheepfold visit and 'hiking with the herd' (book ahead!)
- To visit in the surrounding area: Nantua and the lake, the Retord Plateau hiking routes.
Farmhouse meal and a show
Here's a farm where you can dine near the sheep and where the stage actors happen to be farmers!
As herders and cheesemakers who own 350 sheep, Carmela, Christian and their children have created a farmhouse inn that reflects who they are, featuring vast tables where guests enjoy moments of togetherness and views of the sheepfold, amid laughter and entertainment.
In the kitchen, Carmela excels in the art of transforming organic farm produce into succulent confit, fillet and other lamb specialities.
- Where? At Thoiry, in the Haute Chaîne du Jura National Nature Reserve.
- That extra little something: the 'boulevard theatre' meals with a show.
- To visit in the surrounding area: 10 minutes away, skiing or hiking at Crêt de la Neige via the Flerney gondola lift.
A lively farmhouse inn
Farm shop, guestrooms, gîte, visitors' gallery, milking time at 5pm, walking tour, baby goats festival and, of course, meals... You'll never be bored at the Rondeau Farm!
In the lovely restaurant, you'll try house specialities such as tourte au fromage (cheese pie), croûte forestière (mushrooms in cream sauce), civet de sanglier (wild-boar stew), chevreau à l’ail doux (confit of kid with sweet garlic), feuilleté à l’épeautre (spelt puff pastries), traditional desserts and more… All prepared with over 90% organic farm produce.
A farmhouse inn almost in the city
The most urban of them all... But in the heart of nature!
This lovely farmhouse inn decorated in wood stands at an ideal location between the Doubs valley and the Loue valley, with stunning views over Besançon and the surrounding countryside.
The farm's own meat, milk, eggs and seasonal vegetables are all on the menu, as well as produce from neighbouring farms, but the milk from the 80 dairy cows is used to make Comté and Morbier cheese (PDO)... which you can also try here!
- Where? At Vorges-les-Pins, 15 minutes away from Besançon.
- That extra little something: gîte + 5 guestrooms with sheltered outdoor pool, and the view.
- To visit in the surrounding area: Besançon and the Citadel (UNESCO), the Loue valley.
The hikers' stopover
Hikers, this is the place to stop!
Surrounded by hiking paths, MTB trails (Grande Traversée du Jura, Chemins de la Contrebande, etc.) and the soothing sound of cowbells, this 16th-century Franche-Comté farmhouse has been renovated with taste and finesse. It features five guestrooms, an inn, an organic farm and a garden full of perennial plants.
In the same vein, the restaurant promises succulent house specialities, prepared from the farm's own produce by the dairy cow and goat farmers themselves. Real food by cordon bleu chefs!
- Where? At Fournet-Blancheroche, in the Haut-Doubs region, a stone's throw from Switzerland.
- That extra little something: The beautiful decoration with an authentic feel, and the 5 superb rooms.
- To visit in the surrounding area: the Saut du Doubs waterfall, 25 minutes away... and the multiple hiking trails!
In the heart of the nature reserve
Imagine a 500-hectare nature reserve oozing with remarkable wildlife and vegetation. In the heart of this protected wilderness, pigs, milk calves suckled by their mothers, lambs and Highland cows roam about in the great outdoors. Welcome to La Ferme du Marais, a small family farm located on the edge of the Lavours Marsh.
Take a seat on the terrace, sample the house charcuterie, a pork burger or a seasonal hot dish. But most of all, enjoy the panoramic view!
- Where? Ceyzerieu in the South Bugey region, at the foot of the Grand Colombier mountains.
- That extra little something: The panorama, the mini farm and the farm shop.
- To visit in the surrounding area: the Lavours Marsh and the viewpoint at the top of Grand Colombier.
From the farm to the plate
Occupying an old farm building, this family inn features an inviting dining area with a fireplace, and a terrace with a view of the garden.
The meals are prepared exlusively from the farm's own production of certified organic meat and responsibly-cultivated vegetables from the garden. The knife-cut steak tartare, roast leg of kid, fried offal with port, fig crumble, vegetarian dishes, etc. are all produced here! Even the wheat and the milk and processed on site to produce flour and cheese.
- Where? At Arvière-en-Valromey, between the Hauteville plateau and the Grand Colombier massif.
- That extra little something: from the field to the table, the family take care of every stage of the process.
- To visit in the surrounding area: the Grand Colombier, the Cerveyrieu waterfall.
A stopover on the EuroVélo6 cycling itinerary
Cycling along the EuroVélo6, you cannot miss this family farm and its guinea fowl, hens, ducks, rabbits, donkeys and cows.
Their table d'hôte meals (with the exception of the croûte aux morilles) are prepared entirely from their own authentic farm produce: rabbit terrine, guineau fowl with morels, mik veal, smoked ham, sausages, pies and fondues… A whole slice of the countryside served on a plate.
- Where? In Baume-les-Dames, in the Doubs valley.
- That extra little something: on the EuroVélo 6 cycle route and close to the A36 motorway: the ideal stopover with its 5 guestrooms.
- To visit in the surrounding area: Cusancin valley and the Source Bleue (blue spring).
