Tour du Jura Vélo - Loisirs

This short stage between Dole and Ranchot sticks, all the way along, to the iconic cross-European cycle route, EuroVelo 6. Before heading off, do make the most of an in-depth visit of Dole. The tourist office can advise you on all there is to see in town so that you appreciate to the full its history, historic centre and culinary stops. After taking a few last photos as you proceed along the picturesque canal-side Avenue de Lahr, time to hit the open road, or rather the cycle route. The Tour du Jura Vélo Loisirs follows the Doubs River and its parallel canal, making use of towpaths, passing locks and small villages lined with fishermen’s cottages. This stage proves a sheer delight for cyclists. The lock-keepers’ houses, the angling pontoons and anglers’ boats, the colourful houses and the pleasure boats cruising along the canal add to the joys of this deeply bucolic stage.

This short stage on the Tour du Jura Vélo Loisirs guides you into a wholly different world from the previous stage, making you follow the Voie des Salines (the Saltworks Route), a cycle route branching off from the major EuroVelo 6 to reach the two extraordinary historic salt towns of Arc-et-Senans and Salins-les-Bains, awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Before reaching them, the route crosses Chaux Forest, one of the largest broad-leafed forests in France, home, for many centuries, to significant crafts centred around wood-working and the use of small ovens, notably attracting blacksmiths, potters, ceramicists, glass-blowers and more. Many regional tales and legends feature Chaux Forest, now a large nature reserve reputed for its remarkable flora and fauna, and a place that has also maintained an air of mystery.

This stage leads you into the Jura wine-producing area. Once past Mouchard, a small town known for its wood-working school run by highly skilled specialists awarded the status of compagnons du devoir, you cross the wine villages of Aiglepierre and Montigny-les-Arsures before reaching Arbois, a little town known as the capital of Jura wines. It lies at the heart of the Pays d'Art et d'Histoire du Revermont area, also including the historic little towns of Arbois and Salins-les-Bains. Do make time to taste the Vins du Jura* as well as exploring Arbois’s rich heritage, notably its iconic 12th-century St Just Church and the family home of famed 19th-century French scientist, Louis Pasteur, a place where he liked to come to relax, although today the house has been transformed into a museum.

This stage, setting out from Poligny, is the longest on the Tour du Jura Vélo Loisirs cycle route, cyclists notching up 42km. Given that the shift in altitude isn’t too marked, you can tackle this stage without any particular difficulties in just a few hours. Riding out from the town known as the Capitale du Comté, you meander along the old Route des Vins du Jura, crossing several wine villages boasting typical regional stone-built houses. Cycling up gentle slopes, you climb rapidly to the Château de Frontenay, with its imposing 12th-century square towers, before heading on to Domblans, very close to the highly picturesque village of Château-Chalon, reputed for its distinctive Vin Jaune. Before leaving the vineyards behind, you cross the village of Arlay, site of one of the Jura’s most beautiful castles, combining an 11th-century medieval fort with an 18th-century château. Next, you reach the area known as the Bresse Jurassienne, following the cycle route named after it, which guides you along a former stretch of railway line now transformed for cycling. You pass many lakes, a feature of the Bresse, taking in the villages of Villevieux, Bletterans, Desnes, Commenailles and, finally, Chaumergy, at the end of this stage.

This final stage on the Tour du Jura Vélo Loisirs takes you via Le Finage Plain from the Bresse Jurassienne area to the town of Dole, declared a Ville d’Art et d’Histoire for its cultural riches. Riding along the Voie de la Bresse Jurassienne cycle route, followed by the EuroVelo 6 cycle route, you cross typical Bresse villages displaying traditional architecture. You pass through agricultural lands often lined by streams or lakes much appreciated by anglers. You also pass close to the Maison des Etangs, an educational place where you can learn about the varied flora and fauna of this area, a large part of which is protected as a Natura 2000 zone. Continue on to Chaussin, then cross the Loue River for Tavaux. There, rejoin the iconic EuroVelo 6 cycle route, leading you to the town of Dole riding alongside the Doubs River and its parallel canal.