Loop 20: The Vineyard

Champagnole, the Pearl of Jura perched at 540m altitude on the Ain river, is a renowned Gallo-Roman site thanks to the remains found on Mont Rivel. The route starts near the archaeological museum heading towards the plateau through the Moidons state forest - where a superb cave can be visited - to the village of La Chatelaine, perched above the Planches cove.

The descent to Arbois, city of Louis Pasteur, wine capital of Jura, offers multiple panoramas over the vineyard before wandering between vines and meadows to Poligny, a Small Characteristic Comtoise Town nestled under the Roche du Dan. Crossing the "Bon Pays" - another name for Revermont - via Frontenay castle (12th century) leads to Menetru-le-Vignoble with a magical view of the Château-Chalon rock.

The rest is a dream sequence with the cove and Baume Abbey (10th century) beneath 200m high cliffs, the climb to the Granges-sur-Baume viewpoint, the descent to the Ain valley at Pont-du-Navoy and the final climb back to Champagnole via Loulle where 500 dinosaur footprints dating back 155 million years were found in 2004.