Altkirch | |
A small town in Alsace, which was fortified in the Middle Ages. Most of the wall has disappeared over the centuries, but it is still visible in the alignment of the houses and certain facades. Of the two original gates, only the western one, the Gate of Belfort, remains. |
Dole | |
Dole is located on the banks of the Doubs in the Jura department. It is part of the cultural and historical region of Franche-Comté, of which it was the capital until 1676, when the region was part of the county of Burgundy. Its well-renewed old town is superb and well worth a visit. |
Eguisheim | |
Situated just a few kilometres from Colmar, the small medieval winegrowing town of Eguisheim is rightly considered one of the most beautiful towns in Alsace. Overrun with tourists, it is nevertheless a truly unmissable destination. |
Faucille (Col de la) | |
This road pass culminating at 1323m connects the Pays de Gex, gateway to Switzerland, and the French Jura. A little below, the view of Mont Blanc is superb on a clear day. The top of the pass is a popular destination for hikers in summer and skiers in winter. |
Hirtzbach | |
A typical long Alsatian village, a few kilometres south of Altkirch. Just one long street on either side of a stream which gives the village its name and a large church crowned with a stork's nest. |
Maîche | |
Halfway between Montbéliard and Morteau and about ten kilometres from the Franco-Swiss border, Maîche is a small town in the Doubs department, in the French part of the Jura mountain range. It is the place of origin of the famous Comtois horse. |
Morteau | |
The birthplace of the delicious Jura sausage that bears its name, the small town of Morteau lies 10km from the Swiss border, on the picturesque road that links La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle (in the Neuchâtel Jura) to Pontarlier (in the Doubs Department). |
Mouthe | |
A linear village in the French Jura, located in the Doubs department at an altitude of just over 900m, Mouthe is a winter sports resort and, in summer, a region offering great hiking opportunities. |
Munster | |
At the end of a valley that runs from the Alsace plain into the Vosges mountains, this small town is the birthplace of the fragrant cheese used to gratinate flammekueche and its rooftops are a paradise for storks. |
Remonot (Grotte-chapelle de) | |
On the picturesque road that runs along the Doubs from Morteau to Pontarlier, this former hermitage has become a very surprising place of Catholic worship, as it is located in a cave at the foot of a cliff at the entrance to the Entreroches gorge. |
Saint-Hippolyte | |
On the road between Morteau and Montbéliard, Saint-Hippolyte is a very pretty village on the banks of the Doubs, with a rich architectural heritage including a 14th century church and an old Ursuline convent. |
Saut du Doubs | |
Near the villages of Les Brenets (Switzerland) and Villers-le-Lac (France), the Doubs river flows lazily between cliffs, then quickly drops 27 m at the Franco-Swiss border, before resuming its calm course further on. |
Vosges | |
The Vosges are a medium-altitude mountain range located between the Lorraine plateau and the Alsace plain, north of the Jura chain. They reach an altitude of 1424m at the Grand Ballon and are a heavily wooded massif. |