Franche-Comté is a region tucked between Alsace, Burgundy and Switzerland, and it borrows a little from each: the mountain character of the Swiss border, the rolling vineyards of Burgundy, and the forested quietness of Alsace. It is one of France's least-visited regions, which is precisely why it is worth visiting.
The landscape is defined by water. Some 6,000 km of navigable rivers thread through the hills, along with more than 80 lakes and hundreds of ponds. The rivers — the Doubs, the Loue, the Lison, the Hérisson — cut dramatic gorges and drop into spectacular waterfalls. The Loue valley is the most celebrated, but the rivers of the Département of Doubs could fill a week of exploration on their own. For swimming, kayaking, canoeing and rafting, this is some of the best terrain in France.
The forests above the rivers are equally rewarding. Hundreds of kilometres of hiking and cycling paths wind through beech and fir trees, and in winter much of the higher ground becomes cross-country ski country.
Culture is not neglected. Besançon, the regional capital, has a beautifully preserved old centre and a famous astronomical clock inside its cathedral. The Royal Salt Factory at Arc-et-Senans — a visionary 18th-century industrial complex — is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and worth a detour for anyone interested in architecture or history. The region also produces some excellent cheeses, above all Comté, and pairs them with wines from the Jura vineyards just to the south.
