Cycling leisurely from Belfort to Dijon

You arrive in the beautiful city of Belfort. Behind the Vauban citadel and Bartholdi's lion sculpture, which made it famous, is a magnificent city with its wide shopping streets, its squares, its Haussmannian buildings with cheerful facades covered with geraniums. Belfort pulsates with life and is a wonderful gateway to the Franche-Comté.

You leave Belfort along the banks of the Savoureuse river. You will have the choice between continuing straight along the canal or crossing the forest and following the Rhine-Rhone canal. Your bike route takes you to Sochaux to the Peugeot museum. Stop to discover this industrial epic before entering the small Renaissance town of Montbéliard.
Go up to the castle of the Dukes of Wurtemberg, see the Saint-Martin temple, the oldest religious building of the Reformation in France, and stroll through the streets of medieval origin admiring the houses with colorful facades. In the evening, don't forget to taste the famous Montbéliard sausage!

Your bike ride of the day makes you discover the magnificent loops of the Doubs. You will leave Montbéliard and ride along the bucolic banks of the Doubs river in complete peace and quiet. From Isle-sur-le-Doubs the valley becomes majestic and very wild. You wind your way through the valley between sheer cliffs, which are a delight for rock climbers. Very beautiful arrival on the small city Baume-les-Dames, labeled "City of character" at the foot of the Babre cleft.

The Doubs valley is particularly spectacular after Baume-les-Dames. The cycling itinerary is very diverse: green banks on a background of karstic rocks falling steeply and reverberating in the peaceful waters of the Doubs, small villages with colored tiled bell towers, towpaths lined with plane trees and old brick paper mills stretching their narrow chimneys to the sky. At the bend of a loop you arrive without even noticing it at the foot of the citadel of Besançon. I love this vibrant and cultural student city.

Besançon is very rich in historical and cultural heritage. But there is more to Besançon than just the citadel, which includes not only the Vauban fortification, but also several museums and a zoo. It is also a city full of energy!
Stroll through the semi-pedestrian shopping streets of the city centre and meet the many students, especially in the bars along the Doubs. This City of Art and History is also a Mecca for watchmaking; don't miss a visit to the astronomical clock and the superb time museum. Finally, you can follow in the footsteps of Victor Hugo, who was born in Besançon.

Leave Besançon on a quiet little cycle path along the Doubs to the Thoraise breakthrough: an amazing river tunnel under a waterfall. By bike you have to go up to the village and then come back down with a beautiful view of the valley. Shortly afterwards you can choose to continue along the meanders of the Doubs or to make a small diversions to the caves of Osselle.
When you arrive in the small village of Ranchot, you leave the banks of the Doubs to cross the Chaux forest and reach the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Sénans. This 18th century saltworks is one of the first modern "factories". It was used to extract salt from the brackish water drawn from Salins, 20 km away.

You cross the Chaux forest again to reach the banks of the Doubs. You ride along the canal towpath. You pass by beautiful limestone cliffs and fortified villages. In Rochefort-sur-Néron you can climb the cliffs and admire the beautiful view over the valley. By the towpath lined with plane trees you arrive at the marina of Dole at the foot of the cathedral. We were charmed by this city of Art and History, birthplace of Louis Pasteur. You will admire the cathedral, the covered market, but also at each street corner, here a coat of arms above a gate, there a carved door etc.

In Dole you leave the Doubs and continue to follow the Rhine-Rhone canal to join the Saône just before Saint-Jean-de-Losne. The atmosphere changes when you leave the last foothills of the Jura to arrive on the plains of Burgundy. This change can be seen not only in the landscape, but also in the architecture of the church towers or in your plate.
Because of its location at the confluence of the Saône and the Rhine-Rhone Canal, Saint-Jean-de-Losnes is the capital of inland navigation and the largest river marina in France. A little further on, in a dead branch of the Saône, there is a small village of barges.

From Charrey you drive through the forest of Citeaux to the abbey of Notre-Dame de Citeaux. A short guided tour is necessary to better understand the life in this Cistercian monastery. You continue through the plain to join the Burgundy vineyards at Clos Vougeot, a place created by the monks of Citeaux. The visit will enlighten you on the architecture of the place but also on the rites of the brotherhood of the Knights of Tastevin. A detour to Nuits-Saint-Georges is also possible.
You continue to Dijon, the former capital of the powerful Dukes of Burgundy. This lively city welcomes you warmly in its remarkably preserved pedestrian center.

Described as the "city of a hundred steeples" by François I, Dijon was the capital of the powerful Dukes of Burgundy. The city has thus inherited architectural jewels such as the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, the Church of Notre Dame with its famous sculpted owl or the mansions of the old Dijon. The city is also a gastronomic stopover rich in specialties such as gingerbread, crème de cassis, nonettes or the famous mustard.