Baume-les-Messieurs and Arbois (Jura Villages)

This circular Jura day trip pairs two of the most distinctive destinations in the northern Jura: Baume-les-Messieurs, a medieval abbey village nestled in a spectacular natural amphitheater, and Arbois, the wine capital of the Jura appellation. Both lie within the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, approximately 75km southeast of Dijon.

Baume-les-Messieurs sits at the mouth of one of the finest reculées in the Jura — a box canyon carved by glacial erosion — with vertical limestone cliffs of up to 200 metres surrounding the valley floor on three sides. The Abbaye de Baume-les-Messieurs, founded in the 9th century and an original foundation of the Cluny network, is freely accessible and preserves remarkable Flemish altarpieces, a vaulted chapter house, and a 16th-century carved rood screen. A waterfall at the head of the reculée is visible from the valley floor. The cliff-top Belvedere viewpoint above Baume, reached by the D471 before descending into the village, provides a panoramic view over the entire amphitheater and is considered one of the great landscapes of the Jura.

From Baume, a 15-minute drive north along the D469 through vine-covered slopes reaches Arbois, a handsome market town on the river Cuisance. Arbois is the heartland of Jura wine production: the appellation covers Savagnin, Chardonnay, Trousseau, and Poulsard varieties, with Vin Jaune — a dry oxidative wine aged a minimum of six years in old barrels — as the most distinctive and collectible regional style. Several domaines along the Avenue Pasteur and the town centre offer walk-in tastings; Domaine Rolet, Domaine André et Mireille Tissot, and Henri Maire are all well-established producers with visitor facilities. Arbois is also associated with Louis Pasteur, who had his family home and laboratory on the Avenue Pasteur: the Maison Pasteur opens for guided visits in season. Lunch in Arbois is straightforward — the town has several restaurants and a covered market on the Place de la Liberté. A car is essential as no public transport connects Baume-les-Messieurs.