Magazine - 01/08/04

© E. Boucher / ViaMichelin Arc-et-Senans: a theatrical entrance.

To do this trip at a leisurely pace, allow for 4 to 5 days (click here for a detailed route plan).

Besançon suffers unfairly from its reputation as a garrison town, as your first steps in the old town will prove. Nestling in an almost perfect loop of the Doubs River, the old town's architecture is instantly appealing. A pleasantly consistent ensemble of grey and cream-coloured stone buildings greets your eyes: 16th and 17th century houses combined with 18th century town mansions.
 
Allow 2 to 3 hours for a visit on foot. Start at the Quai Vauban with its imposing row of 17th century arcaded houses. Then stroll along the Grande Rue, where you will see a fine collection of buildings: the former Couvent des Carmes (convent), the Town Hall (16th century) with its embossed stone facade, and the Renaissance Law Courts. Continuing along this shopping street, you will reach Besançon's star attraction, the famous Palais Granvelle built in 1542 for Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle, chancellor to Charles V. In the past, Besançon has been Spanish, part of the German Empire, and only became attached to France during the reign of Louis XIV. Further along this street, you will pass under the Porte Noire (a 2nd century Roman triumphal arch) before reaching the Cathédrale Saint-Jean (12th-18th century) whose church tower houses an astronomic clock, a marvel of ingenuity designed in 1860.

But Besançon's emblem is, of course, its Vauban citadel towering 383 feet above the Doubs River. For those who want to walk up, the slope is steep but pleasantly shaded by trees. Alternatively, you can drive up and park at the foot of the citadel.
 
Leave Besançon by the D106 and then take the D105 towards Boussières, crossing gently undulating open countryside, a patchwork of wheat fields, meadows, copses and round-topped wooded hills. As it crosses the Doubs valley, the road is rather winding and offers beautiful views. On this terrain, the 407 offers excellent performance with its rigid chassis and road handling derived from Peugeot competition cars. The front double wishbone suspension design and the multi-arm rear suspension with horizontal dampers, set new standards in performance, handling, and stability. Again, the road handling brings to mind German cars like the Audi A4 and the BMW 3 series.

After Boussières, where the church has a fine example of a Franch-Comté steeple, continue along the D107 and then take the D13 towards Byans-sur-Doubs and Villars-St-Georges. Before Villars, a detour to the Grottes d'Osselle is a must: turn right onto the D400 and follow the Doubs River. These caves, which open onto a cliff overlooking the river, are undoubtedly one of the oldest tourist attractions in France, visited since Renaissance times (the guided tour takes approximately 1 hour-a cool break greatly appreciated in hot weather).

On leaving Osselle, head for Villars-St-Georges, then Fourg by the D441, and lastly Arc-et-Senans by the D12 and D17 via Liesle.

At Arc-et-Senans, nothing seems to justify the presence of the famous royal salt works designed by Claude-Nicolas. There has never been any salt here, amazing as that may seem. When this project was launched in 1773, it was considered easier to transport salt than the wood needed to extract it, hence the location of the salt works close to the Chaux forest. Therefore this monument of industrial architecture (a UNESCO World Heritage site), the foundation for a model city never built, appears unnecessary. It is a perfect half-circle positioned east-west like the course of the sun, a piece of utopia lost in the ploughed fields. Once you pass the entrance, you come into a vast half circle of noble buildings with a great unity of style, making you feel rather meditative. The focal point of this ensemble is the Director's House with its peristyle columns featuring alternate square and cylindrical drums, so typical of Ledoux and his amazing modernism.

35 miles, taking approximately 2 hours.
 
To reach the Loue valley, backtrack to Villars-St-Georges and Byans, head east to Quingey via the D13, and then take the D101 which you leave just before Rurey by turning right towards Lizine (D135). After Lizine, take the D103, then the D101 again and finally, the D67 straight to Ornans.
 
The scenery remains very open until Quingey where it gradually closes in as you descend into the Loue valley, becoming canyon-like with steep white cliffs as you approach Ornans. Between Quingey and Ornans, the road is very picturesque, especially where the Loue and Lison rivers meet at Cléron. Pause for a break in this village - on the small bridge over the Loue River, you'll have a splendid view of Château de Cléron (14th-16th century) and its mirror image in the river.
 
Ornans is, above all, known for Gustave Courbet and his famous painting, A Burial at Ornans, which caused a scandal in his day and does not give a cheerful image of the town to say the least. Nevertheless, this small town is charming and Courbet remained fond of it. Turn right to cross the bridge over the Loue River, where there is a good view of Ornans and its old houses built along the riverbanks. Just to the left of the bridge is the Gustave Courbet museum exhibiting some fifty of his works, based in Courbet's birthplace, a 17th century house.
 
Enjoy a brief rest and a drink under the shade of the poplars in the little square opposite the Courbet museum. Next, head towards the church, passing two magnificent town mansions—the hôtels Sanderet de Valonne (17th century) and Grospain (15th century) on the way.
 
If you fancy a barbecue, visit the master pork butcher, Jackie Pernet, renowned for his 'Ornanaise', a little low-fat sausage garnished with plenty of mushrooms. For those travelling with their family, they can earn kudos from their children by suggesting an acro-branch session: climbing up trees and moving from tree top to tree top by wiggling across hanging bridges. Another activity, mountain biking, first arrived in this French region from America: Ornans and the Loue valley have a superb 87 mile VTT (vélo tout terrain = mountain bike) circuit. Lastly, Ornans boasts a kayak base, from where you can kayak down the Loue—a classic descent like that of the Ardèche... but without the crowds.

19 miles in approximately 4 hours.
 
The road through the valley between Ornans and the source of the Loue River (via the D67) is an attractive drive, with the valley sides becoming steeper as the road climbs in altitude. The river descends 745 feet in 12 miles, with a few rapids in between. Tightly built between the wooded slopes and the white water of the Loue, you'll see sleepy villages which have escaped becoming tourist traps: Vuillafrans, with its old houses and pretty 16th century bridge, Lods and its waterfalls where you can spot the odd wiggling trout the size of your forearm...
 
Then there is Mouthier-Haute-Pierre located at the heart of a rocky amphitheatre and worth a stop. It's a superb site, best appreciated from above: drive up the D244 to the Roche de Hautepierre overlooking the valley from a height of 2,866 feet (3 miles from the village of Hautepierre-le-Châtelet. Park in the car park in front of the cemetery and continue on foot, 30 minutes return walk). Enjoy a quiet moment at this viewpoint, gazing at the Loue gorges and the Jura mountains with the sound of tinkling cow bells drifting up from below.
 
If you are feeling a bit peckish after your walk and it's close to a meal-time, then enjoy the local cuisine (especially the 'truite au vin jaune et morilles') at the La Cascade restaurant at Mouthier.
 
Leaving Mouthier by the D67, you will soon reach the Nouailles Gorges, a deep and narrow opening in the limestone plateau, a real canyon with walls over 1,000 feet high. The road climbs, becoming winding and tough but luckily, the excellent 6-speed manual gearbox is up to the task. Despite its 1.5 tonnes, the 407 is very nimble, driven by a 2.2 litre 160 hp engine. All in all, with its superb road handling, it is one of the best cars of its category.
 
The Loue source is reached by taking the D67, then the D41 to Ouhans and finally, the D443. Leave your car in the car park and take the footpath down into the valley (30 minutes return walk)...you'll be in for a surprise! This is one of the Jura's most beautiful sites: not just a thin trickle of water emerging between two rocks, but a frothing torrent gushing from a huge cave at the foot of a towering cliff. Whatever the season, the flow is always high because the Loue river is fed by the Doubs waters.

Approximately 37 miles, allow a full day.
 
After returning to Ouhans, head in the direction of St-Gorgon-Main, then take the N57 for roughly 2 miles and turn right towards Arc-sous-Cicon. From there, head for La Chaux and then Gilley.
 
Soon the scenery changes completely: a wide plateau with mountain pastures with rock outcrops; a pre-Alpine environment; large, squat farms with stone walls covered with tavaillons (strips of wood) on their upper part and a tuyé on the roof. This large pyramid-shaped chimney, characteristic of the Haut-Doubs, smokes meats using logs and sawdust from conifers, giving their delicate fir flavour to cured meats. The jewel of the local delicatessen products is, of course, the 'Morteau sausage' and, for heftier appetites, its big brother, the Jésus' weighing 2 pounds... If your mouth is watering and you can't wait until Morteau (only 7 miles away), stop in Gilley for a tasting session at Tuyé du Papy Gaby, renowned for its prize-winning Morteau sausage. There, you can also taste the delicious Cendrée' sausage, an original creation which, eaten raw, is matured in cinders and has a strong smoked taste.
 
Taking the D132 towards Morteau, you'll descend into the Doubs valley, which you will reach at the D437 junction. The nearby scenery is truly alpine! Rather than heading straight for Morteau, take the D437 in the opposite direction for a few miles, towards Monbenoît. The road follows a winding gorge, Défilé d'Entreroche, between two limestone cliffs. En route, stop for a while at Notre-Dame de Remonot, a rather kitsch cave-cum-chapel.

On the way to Morteau, the road and the railway wind along the Doubs River between steep, wooded slopes. On your right, roughly 2 miles before Morteau (cross the railway and the bridge over the Doubs river), the village of Grand'Combe-Châteleu has ancient farms with tuyés, some converted into museums. On your left, opposite the bridge, on the D437, you'll pass Auberge de la Roche where chef Philippe Feuvrier prepares modern Franche-Comté cuisine, including 'Jésus de Morteau en brioche' and the delicious dessert 'sabayon à l'absinthe de Pontarlier'.
 
And then there's finally Morteau at last! A chance for the children to stretch their legs, because even though there are three real seats at the back of the 407 (the floor is practically flat due to the lack of a central tunnel), it's been a long drive... Keep a visit to Château Pertuisier, an elegant Renaissance mansion housing the Clock-making Museum (Musée de l'Horlogerie) for later. Instead, let the kids have some fun, for example, at the local acro-branch park. There are plenty of sports activities to be found locally: Val de Morteau is a paradise for mountain bikers with a 66 mile long circuit. You can also go kayaking on the Doubs from Morteau or Villers-le-Lac...where you will be heading to finish this section of the trip (via the D461).

Villers-le-Lac, the last town before the Swiss border, is located at the southern end of Lac de Chaillexon. From here, you can go on a boat trip to the Saut du Doubs waterfall. The last part of the trip is the best as the Doubs winds through the gorges forming a fjord. Once you arrive at the landing stage, a signposted footpath takes you (30 minutes return walk) to the viewpoint which overlooks this river as it falls some 90 feet!

A good way to leave Villers-le-Lac with an excellent memory is to have a meal at the restaurant at Hôtel Le France where Hugues Droz prepares a lighter version of the local mountain cuisine. Admittedly, tradition is maintained here with the 'saucisse de Morteau grillée au genévrier et sa salade de pommes de terre tiède à l'échalote', but generally speaking, the best of the local cuisine is reinterpreted to suit modern-day appetites. On the menu: 'fromage franc-comtois aux morilles', 'escargots du Petit Mercey à l'infusion d'absinthe', or 'sandre à la réglisse et quinoa'...why not stay a bit longer?