WHERE TO LIVE Jura
KEEPING OLD dotting the hillsides were produced there – the most extensive collections of eyewear TRADITIONS ALIVE and you can still witness this awe-inspiring and optical instruments. Craftsmanship abounds in the Jura process as you peer through the window mountains with everything from bell of Obertino’s workshop in the little town of WINES WORTH DISCOVERING founders to gem cutters and pipemakers Labergement-Ste-Marie. It isn’t just the many time-honoured who have managed to preserve their St-Claude not only boasts more than skills that are intertwined with the ancestral traditions. a century of stone-cutting expertise, but culture of ‘montagnons’, as the people of Watch and clockmaking was brought it was there that pipe-making factories the Jura mountains are called, but also over by Swiss Protestants during the appeared in the late 19th century. By a hearty appetite for robust fare paired second half of the 16th century and took 1925, there were approximately 6,000 with distinctive wines and served with off in the 17th century as a way for local pipemakers, and although the town a generous helping of hospitality. The farmers to keep active during the long and only counts half a dozen today, it is still French concept of ‘produits du terroir’ harsh winter months. considered the pipe-making capital of is exceptionally well-represented in In Morteau (known to produce one the world. At the Musée de la Pipe et specialities such as pork charcuterie which of the region’s most famous smoked du Diamant, you can learn more about is dried and smoked in large, pyramid- sausages), you’ll find the Musée de these important crafts while admiring an shaped chimneys called tuyés and robust l’horlogerie, established in 1985. Housed impressive collection. cheeses such as Mont d’Or, Morbier, Bleu Closer to in Château Pertusier, a bourgeois home Some 30km to the north-east of St- de Gex and, of course, Comté. Made from built in 1576 by one of the oldest families Claude is the town of Morez where in raw milk from Montbéliarde cows, Comté in the area, the museum tells the story of 1796 nail manufacturer Pierre-Hyacinthe has a mildly peppery flavour and an clockmaking in the Jura mountains. Cazeaux had the clever idea to bend a earthy, somewhat nutty aroma. It received Another craft that has been proudly nail into the first pair of eyeglasses. By AOC status in 1958 and is the most popular maintained is that of bell-making. 1820, more spectacle manufacturers had cheese in the country. The Obertino bell foundry has been settled in town. Today roughly 10 million In order to fully appreciate the cheese, manufacturing bells since 1834 and is frames are produced there annually. You a visit to Fort St-Antoine – a military one of the last to remain in France today. can spend an afternoon immersed in the fort built between 1879 and 1882 and Waterfalls in Doubs Many of the bells gracing the necks of the history of this important invention at the now home to the prestigious ageing nature russet-and-white Montbéliarde cows seen Musée de la Lunette which houses one of cellar of affineur Marcel Petite – is highly
Jura is one of the most unspoilt areas of France, perfect for A regional salad with cheese those wishing to embrace a peaceful and traditional French and charcuterie lifestyle of days gone by, as Paola Westbeek discovers
oasting a scenically diverse veil of mist crowning the area’s peaks in Haute-Saône in 1972, Barry went on to and impressive landscape or the panoramically winding roads teach in Besançon, a vibrant city located aune/Pixabay
with charming rural villages that give way to sprawling views of hilly on the edge of the Jura mountains and d a unscathed by the hands of green pastures with lazily grazing cattle the capital of Doubs. It is the birthplace S time, the Jura mountains are in summer, it’s the idyllic winters with of Victor Hugo (1802) and known for its Blocated at the border with Switzerland and towering snow-covered spruce trees, cosy UNESCO citadel designed by military Selection of regional cheeses stretch out over approximately 250km in wooden chalets and 3,000km of slopes. architect Vauban. Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Auvergne- A vast 43% of the region consists of According to Barry, who now resides Rhône-Alpes. forests that date back more than 7,000 in the town of St-Claude nestled in the
They unfold in Doubs, the greenest years and are inhabited by boar, deer and Haut-Jura, in comparison to places such as te; Com Dezlab/Pixabay; Manuel Lons-le-Saunier department of France, named after the lynx. In fact, the name ‘Jura’ is a Gaulish the south-west, there aren’t many expats 453km river that flows through it, and word meaning ‘forest land’. who have made the Jura mountains their
extend into Ain where they reach their The landscape is also characterised home, but he doesn’t really miss the gne-Franche- o
summit at 1,720m in Crêt de la Neige. In by lakes, rivers and waterfalls that invite contact with English speakers. urg this land of traditions, one can indulge one to sail, swim, fish or simply admire. Living there enables him to ‘embrace Bo ly/ all the senses – from breathing in crisp This is one of the least explored areas of to the full’, the kind of life he was looking o mountain air in one of the most unspoilt the country, which means it hasn’t been for when he first decided to settle in the parts of the country to discovering the tainted by mass tourism and still offers the country. When asked what he enjoys many artisanal products that are part of its same traditional lifestyle of days gone by. most about life there, he replies: “The unique heritage. It was that authentic French way of life spectacular mountain scenery, the westbeek;la Michel J o that attracted Barry Whittingham, writer closeness to nature and the peaceful, SPECTACULAR SCENERY of the Call of France trilogy and retired small-town environment where traffic A visit to the Jura mountains is guaranteed English teacher to the Jura department jams are unheard of and where everybody rski, Pixabay; rski,Pa Pixabay; to leave a lasting impression. If it isn’t more than 45 years ago. knows everybody.” This is definitely o Local charcuterie the ethereal beauty of the early morning After a teaching exchange programme France at its most pure. © Jaw
38 Living France October 2018 completefrance.com completefrance.com October 2018 Living France 39 WHERE TO LIVE Jura recommended. Approximately 100,000 wheels (each weighing a whopping 35 kilos) slowly mature to perfection at low temperatures for an average of 14 months. Comté is served on cheese boards and added to many dishes, much like the regional wine it pairs best with – the amber-coloured vin jaune. Similar to sherry, this aromatic wine has hints of hazelnut and dried fruit. It is made from savagnin grapes (which only grow in Jura) and aged in oak barrels for a period of six years. A must-try dish made with the wine is the delectably creamy poulet au Pipes at the Musée de la Pipe et du Diamant vin jaune et aux morilles (chicken with vin jaune and morels). Though Jura is France’s smallest (and a rather unknown) wine district, its vineyards spread out over 40 hectares in seven appellations are certainly worth the Bugey-Cerdon appellation. discovering. Approximately 140 vignerons And for those looking for an enjoyable produce red, white, rosé, sparkling and way to burn off all the region’s gourmet sweet wines made from chardonnay and delights, the Grandes Traversées du Jura savagnin grapes for white, and poulsard, is a network of trails that connects the Master piper Sebastien Beaud trousseau and pinot noir for red. mountains from north to south and is A vineyard adventure is always off to perfect for hiking, cycling, horse riding, a good start in the region’s wine capital, snowshoeing and skiing. It starts in the the medieval town of Arbois, where you north of Doubs in Pays de Montbéliard and Property Prices can sample the wines at restaurants, extends to Bugey in the department of Ain. Jura wine shops and the local wine museum €130,000 (Musée de la Vigne et du Vin du Jura). After TURN BACK THE CLOCK Average house price that, head out on the 80km wine route It was the scenery and tranquillity that €1,240/m2 and feast your eyes on some of the most brought Dinand and Miriam Westerveld Average apartment price idyllic panoramas or stop and explore and their two young children to Source: Notaires de France pretty villages such as Poligny (the capital Villerserine, a sleepy village located in the of Comté cheese) and Château-Chalon, middle of the Revermont hills. Originally where you can visit the 12th-century Eglise from the town of Nieuwkoop in the and living here feels like turning back the St-Pierre. Netherlands, they had been visiting the clock 50 years. If you continue further south area on family holidays before deciding to “Life revolves around having the basic towards Ain, the vineyards of Cerdon make it their permanent home in 2005. necessities and is one of simplicity. Little produce refreshing sparkling wines that Four years later, they transformed things such as enjoying a picnic with are delicious as an apéritif. Especially part of their 300-year-old farmhouse into the neighbours under our oak tree are memorable are those of Lingot-Martin in luxury accommodation Les Tulipes. important to us.” Poncin, an association of four growers with Miriam says: “Jura is sparsely populated Though the locals are friendly, making teCom an effort to integrate and learn the language is essential.
“Very few of them speak or are willing gne-Franche- o to speak more than the odd word of urg English, so a non-French speaking expat ire/ Bo would have difficulty being accepted,” says o
Barry Whittingham. “Generally, people lain D A from the Jura mountains are not renowned for their extroverted, demonstrative nature
and you have to reach out to them. Once westbeek;la o a they have given you their friendship, p however, it’s real and durable,” he adds. te; Com If you’re looking to live in a place that offers space, serenity and a rustic charm
firmly shaped by cherished traditions, then gne-Franche- o the Jura mountains is an area definitely urg
worth considering. Bo CRT
montagnes-du-jura.fr/en ©
40 Living France October 2018 completefrance.com