Two in the Plus Beaux Villages de France

France's official list of its most beautiful villages is strict, and the Jura has two entries. They could hardly be more different from each other.

Château-Chalon, the balcony above the vineyard

Perched on a rocky spur, Château-Chalon is the postcard image of the Jura. Its appellation makes nothing but Vin Jaune — the only one in the world that does — and the village looks straight down on the vines that produce it. Cobbled lanes, stone houses, the remains of an abbey, and a belvedere with a view over the slopes that is the reason most people come. Several cellars in the village receive visitors, so you can combine the walk and a tasting in the same hour.

Baume-les-Messieurs, the village the landscape made

Tucked at the bottom of a dramatic reculée — a blind valley that ends in a wall of cliff — Baume-les-Messieurs is almost hidden between the rock faces. The imperial abbey is the historic heart, but the setting is what holds people: the Cascade des Tufs, the caves of Baume in the cliff foot, and footpaths both along the valley floor and up to the belvederes on the rim. Do the floor and the rim and you have a proper half-day.

The wine towns

Arbois

The capital of the Jura vineyard, and inseparable from Louis Pasteur, who grew up here and worked on fermentation in the family vineyard. Cellars, wine estates, the church of Saint-Just, busy squares and old lanes — Arbois is a town to slow down in rather than tick off. It is also the best base for exploring the Revermont.

Pupillin

A few kilometres above Arbois, entirely surrounded by its own vines, Pupillin calls itself the world capital of Ploussard. The cellars here are informal and welcoming, and it is one of the easiest places on the wine route to taste without an appointment.

Poligny

The capital of Comté. The Maison du Comté, several ageing cellars and a row of specialist shops make it the place to understand how the cheese is made. The old centre is worth the walk too, with its town houses and former winegrowers' buildings — Poligny is both a cheese town and a wine village, which makes it the natural place to do both on the same day.

Up in the mountains

Saint-Claude

In the heart of the Haut-Jura, with a history built on craft: pipe-making and diamond-cutting made the town's name, and a museum and several workshops keep that alive. The cathedral, the abbey and the mountains around it make this a different Jura from the vineyard — and it is the obvious gateway to the Haut-Jura regional park.

Nozeroy

Once the capital of a powerful lordship, Nozeroy has kept its fortified gates, sections of rampart, old houses and medieval lanes. It is quieter than the headline villages, which is exactly the point.

The one almost nobody visits

Saint-Hymetière-sur-Valouse has a Romanesque priory church considered one of the finest religious buildings in the Jura, above a peaceful village in green hills. It is well off the usual circuit, and all the better for it — this is the stop to make if you want the Jura without anyone else in the photograph.

Smaller stops along the way

• Voiteur, at the foot of Château-Chalon — the practical village below the famous one.
• Bonlieu, the gateway to the Hérisson waterfalls.
• La Chaux-du-Dombief, between lakes and forest.
• Frontenay, under its medieval château.
• Clairvaux-les-Lacs, a pleasant village on the water, and a good family base.
• Orgelet, our own village, with its square, its arcades and its cooperative dairy.

How to put it together

Two sensible day itineraries rather than a scattergun tour:

The vineyard day. Arbois in the morning for the cellars and Pasteur, Pupillin for a tasting, Poligny for Comté, and Château-Chalon at the end of the afternoon when the light is on the vines. That is a full but comfortable day.

The cliff day. Baume-les-Messieurs first — abbey, caves, waterfall — then the belvederes on the rim, then the cirques of Ladoye and Baume on the way back. Spring is best, when the water is high.

Practical advice

• Park outside. Château-Chalon and Baume-les-Messieurs both have narrow lanes and limited parking. Leave the car at the edge and walk in.
• Sundays and Mondays are quiet — many shops and cellars close. Plan tastings for the rest of the week.
• Shoes. Cobbles and steep lanes in the villages, limestone paths on the belvederes.
• Off season. Some sites reduce their hours between November and Easter. The villages themselves are open air and free, and arguably better empty.

Where to stay

Our gîtes are in the Orgelet and Lake Vouglans area, in the south of the department. Lons-le-Saunier is about thirty minutes away, Château-Chalon about fifty, Baume-les-Messieurs a little more — all comfortable day trips without changing accommodation.

• Gîte du Sapin and Gîte Cadet Roussel, in the Orgelet area.
• Our flat in Montmorot, beside Lons-le-Saunier and the closest to the vineyard villages.
• The Bernardines town house, if you would rather be in a town.

For the vineyard villages in detail, see our guide to the Jura wine route; for Poligny and the cheese, Comté and the fruitières. If you want to walk between the views, hiking in the Jura covers the paths.

Questions before booking? The easiest way to reach us is by email: write to us in English and we will reply in English.

Question fréquentes The most beautiful Jura villages: your questions