Doubs

Understand

thumb|300px|Haut-Jura regional park

The entire area formed the heart of the Kingdom, and later Duchy, of Burgundy for 1000 years in the middle ages, but was absorbed into the Kingdom of France from the 15th century onwards. In 2016, the two regions of Burgundy and Franche-Comté voluntarily merged to form the present Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, as part of national territorial reform. They were the only two regions to have already bilaterally expressed a wish to merge before the national law was passed, probably due to their strong historical ties.

Burgundy and Franche-Comté have a rich architectural inheritance of remarkable buildings, including castles and major Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals. The vineyards of the region are some of the most prestigious in the world, with the Burgundy wine region including Beaujolais and Chablis. Aside from cities and towns, many of them walled, the countryside is dotted with numerous pleasant and picturesque villages.

The region also offers natural beauty. Burgundy has lakes and forests, and plenty of opportunities for fishing, walking or riding. A gentle landscape of hillsides covered with vineyards lines the river Loire. The Nièvre holds a vast area of wild countryside ideal both for sport and cultural activities. The Jura is a low range of wooded mountains with many gorges, caves and rocky peaks, which gave its name to the Jurassic period.

Get in

thumb|270px|View of part of Auxerre, featuring the Abbey of Saint-Germain

Get around

thumb|Boat on the Doubs River in Besançon

See

thumbnail|The salt works of Salins-les-Bains thumb|Bief de la Ruine, Jura Two historic salt production sites in the region are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List; the Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans and the saltworks of Salins-les-Bains. Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, a chapel designed by the architect Le Corbusier. It's one of 17 buildings worldwide by Corbusier to be listed as a World Heritage site. Villages - Many villages of the region have old medieval centres. Walk around, find a bar, drink a glass of wine and enjoy. Castles - there are hundreds of castles in Burgundy. Many can be visited. Wikipedia has a list of all the castles of the region. Guédelon Castle in Treigny near Auxerre is an archaeological experiment to recreate a 13th-century castle started in 1997, it is being built using only tools, materials, and techniques known in medieval France in that era. All handling, transport, and masonry work is completed with manual labour. Construction is expected to be completed in 2029. The construction site is open to the public. MuséoParc Alésia near Semur-en-Auxois is an archaeological museum with a multimedia exhibition, reconstructed fortifications, the remains of a Gallo-Roman city, statue of Vercingetorix. The Région des Lacs consists of nine lakes of crystal blue water. Here motor-powered boats are prohibited and fishing regulated. It runs from Clairvaux-les-lacs, to Doucier Via Les Frasnois and the Cascades du Herisson. The lakes are a haven for locals…