Scattered across this Scattered across this bucolic landscape you’llfind a whole slew of gorgeous villages, severalof them carrying the Plus Beaux Villagesdu France label, dotted with churches,monasteries and masses of cultural interest –and the food and wine are out of this world.process of fermentation, and the principleof pasteurisation – was born in Dole, inthe northwest of Jura. However, he lived inArbois, and his well-preserved former home,including his private laboratory, is open asthe Maison de Louis Pasteur. Though hehad an apartment in Paris, this was the onlyhome Pasteur ever owned, which perhapsgives an indication of the affection he feltfor the place, set in the centre of the village,on the banks of the river. Pasteur also ownedvineyards in nearby Montigny-les-Arsures,which as it happened proved a great settingfor the study of micro-bacteria.© Rudolf Abraham© Jerome Genee, via CanvaThe GREAT ESCAPESlow food, waterfallsand Vin Jaune in JuraRudolf Abraham hikes in the unknownand utterly delicious region of theJura in eastern France.Travelling through Jura, it’s impossible toseparate the food, wine and culture fromthe setting. Here on France’s eastern border,rubbing shoulders with Switzerland, thespectacular sun-drenched landscape ofvineyards and woodland is broken abruptlyby a series of limestone cliffs. This is the so-called Jura escarpment, which runs across thelandscape from north to south and definesthe edge of the Jura plateau. Meandering inloops and horseshoe bends these cliffs forma succession of steephead valleys, their rocksseparated into bands like a vast layer cake, andtaking on hues of orange and gold in the glowof the setting sun. The whole place is almostridiculously photogenic. It was Jura’s folded,fossil-rich limestone geology which gave itsname to the Jurassic era – so it’s tempting tonickname it the original Jurassic Park.Arbois lies around 70km southeast of Dijon,a Petite Cité de Caractère (Little Town ofCharacter) at the heart of the Arbois AOCwine region. The River Cuisance runs throughthe centre of the town, gliding below old stonebridges, shooting down the occasional weir,and overhung with closely-packed houses. Themain landmark is the 12th century Église SaintJust, built in Romanesque and Gothic styles,with a prominent 16th century bell towervisible from afar. Actually the bell tower wasoriginally about 20m higher – ArchduchessMargaret of Austria had it built as the tallestone in Jura – but a 17th century fireworksdisplay, unwisely housed in its upper portion,went wrong and blew the top off.One of the best spots to sit in the sun whilesoaking up the atmosphere in Arbois is a clusterof tables beside the river, just behind the church– these are served by the bar just across thewater, Troquet Les Archives. There are plenty ofplaces in the old town centre to taste and buylocal wines – Domaine Rolet for example hasan excellent caveau de dégustation.Louis Pasteur – the great 19th centurychemist and microbiologist, whose pioneeringwork included the development of the earliestvaccines, our modern understanding of the© Rudolf AbrahamJust a little to the east of Arbois, tuckedbelow cliffs at the head of a valley near thesource of the Cuisance, there’s a beautifulset of tufa waterfalls, all lush and green withoverhanging moss, the water cascading into abroad shallow pool. (Tufa is formed by solublelimestone in the water, which is graduallydeposited on the rocks and plants that formthe waterfall over hundreds of years.) There’sa little 11th century church nearby, once partof a former Benedictine abbey. We walked tothe falls from Arbois, following a path abovethe cliffs which form the edge of the Juraescarpment, including some breath-takingviewpoints at Belvédère de la Roche de Feu.Arbois might be the capital of the Jura wineregion – but it’s the tiny village of Château-Chalon which is most closely associated withthat greatest and most prestigious of Jurawines, Vin Jaune.86 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 87
