This Tuesday, Europe 1 takes you to Franche-Comté. This cultural and historic region of eastern France is known for its natural calm and walks in the forest. A good way for some tourists to cut the daily grind of big cities for a week or more. But what to visit in the region? In the program Et si on partait , Tuesday on Europe 1, our columnist Jean-Bernard Carillet offers you a short tailor-made itinerary.
The traditional skills of Doubs
"The Doubs is a department in which we manufacture. In the Doubs, there are many traditional skills to discover. It is fairly well organized. On site, I discovered the existence of a network which is called Made in Chez Nous, which brings together a certain number of companies, which open their doors to the public to make them discover their exceptional know-how. There are many areas between those of industry, agro -food, crafts and atypical trades.
There is a strong watchmaking tradition in Besançon, and this know-how has always fascinated me. Utinam, in Besançon, is for example a watchmaking factory where you can observe the craftsmen who assemble the watches in the workshop. Thoroughness, attention to detail, it looks like haute couture. After all it is a local product, like the county!
You can even put yourself in the shoes of a watchmaker by learning this know-how with a professional. For this we participate in workshops of one to three hours, supervised by a master watchmaker. We discover the world of the infinitely small, the assembly of parts with dimensions to the tenth, even to the hundredth of a millimeter. We can then chat with the master watchmaker and some have been exercising their talent for 30 years.
Visit the Jura by train
To explore the Jura, there is nothing better than the train. There is a very special railway line called the Swallow Line. It is not a small tourist train but a regional TER line which crosses the Jura from Dole to Saint-Claude, 123 km of travel between plains and mountains.
The journey is slow, quiet, we have time to savor the landscape, and what a landscape! We pass through the Chaux forest, the Jura vineyards, the Grandvaux valley, a pass at an altitude of 948 m ... The route is full of impressive sections with breathtaking views and full of viaducts and tunnels to cross.
Discover Haute-Saône, a little-known department
Haute-Saône is a largely unknown department. But we are wrong to make fun of. In terms of nature, the Plateau des Mille Étangs is one of my favorite corners of France when I need to disconnect. To access it is quite a small adventure. I took the road from Luxeuil-les-Bains, small companion roads lead you to this natural paradise backed by the first foothills of the Vosges. The place is fascinating, bewitching even with ponds, meadows, moors, peat bogs ... It is a mixture of Ireland, Scotland and Scandinavia. When you get there, don't forget your walking shoes. It is on foot that this green paradise reveals its secrets thanks to six hiking trails accessible to all.
As for culture, do not miss a site of contemporary architecture that I really like, it is the Notre-Dame-du-Haut chapel in Ronchamps, between Vesoul and Belfort. As I approached, I felt like I was facing a spaceship stranded on a hill with this disconcerting and original architecture. The reinforced concrete construction, white lime facades and steeple in the shape of a large cylinder is by Le Corbusier. I really liked this futuristic and offbeat side, surrounded by nature. "