French Alps & the Jura Mountains

Citadelle de Besançon

Besançon

Dominating the city from Mt St-Etienne, more than 100 vertical metres above the old town, the 17th-century Citadelle de Besançon – designed by Vauban for…

Aiguille du Midi

Chamonix

The great rocky fang of the Aiguille du Midi (3842m), rising from the Mont Blanc massif, is one of Chamonix’ most distinctive features. The 360-degree…

Mer de Glace

Chamonix

France’s largest glacier, the 200m-deep 'Sea of Ice', flows 7km down the northern side of Mont Blanc, scarred with crevasses formed by the immense…

Musée de Grenoble

Grenoble

For lovers of European art, this museum is an uplifting place to get lost for a day. There's an even spread of artistic eras on display: an antiquities…

Ville Ancienne

Chambéry

Chambéry's medieval Old Town reveals its beauty gradually. Rush through its lanes and you risk missing hidden courtyards, murals and well-preserved 14th-…

Musée Archéologique

Grenoble

This highly impressive museum unveils the secrets of a 12th-century church and cloister using light effects, a haunting choral soundtrack and an…

Musée du Temps

Besançon

Literal and figurative interpretations of time are woven together at the Musée du Temps, which places allegorical paintings about the passage of time next…

Musée des Charmettes

Chambéry

Geneva-born philosopher, composer and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a key figure of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, lived the happiest years…