Between 100000 cheeses, splendid wine and unimaginable scenery

With the orangey-red trees mixed between green and brown, I drove and could not stop thinking about the beauty that Jura would show in the winter. Our stay was not even over, and a few things were ahead of us that day when all I could do was plan the return to this place, preferably just after the biggest snowfall had happened. And preferably — this season.

Jura, so close to Lyon and part of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, is located in eastern France. A region like no other (same as many other regions in France), it is bountiful with lakes, waterfalls, mountains, hills, meadows, cities, villages, and slopes filled with vineyards. Unique not only in terms of its nature but also in terms of being one of the rare French regions living through all four seasons. In summer, it is generous with hot sun and beaches by the stunning lakes; in autumn, it is one of the rare regions standing proudly in yellow-orange-red colours. But, when the winter comes, in some parts of Jura, all of that, so luscious all year long, is covered in snow, making it a great place for cross-country skiing, slowly turning into spring, that, comes with its overflowing rivers, fierce waterfalls, blooming trees and crisp nights combined with warm days. That being said, it is the region where all four seasons meet and greet each other, which is quite rare in France.

Driving through mountains laid out everywhere as soft carpets on the floor, I could not stop admiring the colours so different from the luscious green Jura I experienced in September. Winding through the roads, nature greeted us with green and pale yellow to bright orange and red. It felt like in a movie, where nature makes you question your role in this stunning presence. Slowly, passing by urging rivers and loud waterfalls, we arrived at Le Martinet. Seeing the sign pointing to Cascades de Flumen and dressed very inappropriately, we walked to the waterfall, hearing it more and more with every step taken, admiring its force the moment it showed itself to us. The force of not just one but three of them, different in shapes and sizes, was mesmerising and generous. Being there alone, it made us realise the littleness of human existence in regard to the nature that surrounds us.

One and a half hours later, twisting and turning on the small roads of Jura, we finally arrived at the Chalets Lynx Mountains. One of the rare all-ecological guest houses in France. And, one of the rare with a spectacular view, and the owner so generous with its love for its guests. The day was very gracious, as was the next one, providing absolute sun on blue skies from sunrise to sunset. Although the house was exquisite, I disappeared that evening, walking through the forests and miniature roads to catch that day’s sun slowly fading away, admiring the view from Belvédère du Bulay. I disappeared the following morning to the close-by Sources de la Saine, hiking there for 45 minutes, grasping every little detail on my way, from the tiny haze over the villages on the other side of the valley to goats munching on their breakfast and a lonely man with his dog watching birds so closely that he did not even see me coming. Slowly sipping a chai latte after a sweaty few-kilometre hike, I later sat on the terrace, overlooking the valley that, so colourful now, in a few months, would turn into my cross-skiing lover’s paradise. I did get carried away pretending to imagine myself skiing there, yet the never-ending bell sounds from cows everywhere around, grazing in the meadows to give the best milk that later would be turned into Comté, managed to turn me back to the reality of autumn so stunning.

In just about an hour, we stepped out of the car in one of the most famous cities of this region — Arbois. The morning hike had opened my appetite, so lunch at the local Le Comptoir des Docks with local chicken in vin jaune sauce (a classic) was just about perfect for me whilst sharing beef fat-fried fries, mushroom risotto, and croustillants de tête de veau with the girls. As if that was not enough for midday lunch, we finished with shared plates of religieuse with caramel and spice-poached pear served with cinnamon and speculoos cream, grounding a good base for what was to come — a generous tasting at one of the most classical plus biodynamic wineries in the region — Domaine de la Pinte. The winery, wrapped by hectares of their vineyards that produce the most iconic and incredible wines, made me leave with plenty of new tastes and a box of unplanned purchases.

But then the next morning came with a very different view as the fog was dense, trying to win over rain that was embracing us from all sides. Saying goodbye, we got into the car, driving towards Switzerland to a place I had wished to visit for years: Juraflore Comté cheese cave, with more than 100,000 rounds of Comté cheese silently hiding behind its walls of Le Fort des Rousses, so significant in Frances’s history. By the closed doors, we walked around there almost alone, inhaling every note of the maturing cheese, starting from an intense ammoniac to nutty and creamy notes. A good one and a half hours later, I understood why visiting this particular place is so essential, as it is not just a cheese cave. That is a trip through the history of France and Europe with the bonus of tasting a fantastic cheese at the end. After that, we visited Lac des Rousses lake, where the very traditional brasserie L’Arbézie Franco-Suisse greeted us, giving us the opportunity to eat lunch in France while using the ladies’ room in Switzerland. This place, standing on the border of two countries and letting one enter in France and exit in Switzerland, is unique not just for that but for many (and heavy) local dishes from fondue to potatoes, sausage and cheese bake, just about perfect for a day like ours when wet rain turned into a heavy version and dinner that evening is much later and lighter.

The plan to walk off the lunch while walking up to the Hérisson waterfalls ended in taking a quick glance from the viewpoint, trying to stay dry as the rain was nowhere close to calming down. With window shields going crazy trying to wash off all of the rain, we slowly left this part of Jura and the rain too, and, driving through Morbier, arrived at the very famous hotel Maison Zugno to proudly settle in the Observatoire that I would not have left, so stunning it was if there was no sauna built in the same manner and a jacuzzi waiting for us next to it. With the day getting darker, the mountains on the sides of the valley just in front of our window did let us know that there is a valley someplace down there, but only late in the evening, with rainy clouds vanishing, the view, so full of lights and stunning sky, showed us what we have been missing out. The elegant and elaborate dinner in the main house turned into a very good night’s sleep and a morning view that took our breath away. I would have stayed another day, yet it was almost time to bid farewell to the Jura right after the visit to Domaine Rolet and one of the region’s finest restaurants, La Table du Grapiot. The experience to be read about here.