Though even the most ardent Francophiles in my circle of friends reached for the Michelin atlas when I told them I was making a welcome return to the area.īut with the realignment of French regions last year, this eastern outpost has, at least, become geographically easier to pinpoint. There are high-speed rail links, too, from Paris to Besançon, Belfort and other cultural hubs. There’s no international airport here nor is the countryside bisected by motorways, although it’s easy enough to turn off the north-south highway and head east. Yet Franche-Comté is still one of the country’s best-kept secrets a predominantly rural area with a population significantly lower than the French national average. After the conquest by Louis XIV in 1678, the different départements were united under French rule but the name remained. ![]() And the name? It’s a legacy of the time when the area was an independent ‘free county’ under the jurisdiction of the Holy Germanic Roman Empire. Landlocked between Burgundy to the west and Switzerland to the east, Franche-Comté has seen rulers come and go here across the centuries – from the Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, to the Habsburgs and the Kings of France. Whatever else you love about France, you’ll find it in this glorious area in abundance: lush countryside splashed with areas of dense forest the mountains of the Jura and southern Vosges for summer and winter sports lakes and rivers for cruising holidays and recreation and a rich history that’s guaranteed to stir the imagination through heritage towns and cultural sites. If your perfect French holiday isn’t complete without sea, sand and seafood, then Franche-Comté is unlikely to be your holiday destination of choice. Gillian Thornton reveals a few incentives… With two mountain ranges, abundant rivers and a clutch of heritage towns, Franche-Comté has oodles to offer the holidaymaker, and yet many Francophiles have yet to discover it.
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