Regions of France

Franche-Comté is a less well known part of France which nonetheless offers the traveller some of France’s best countryside with very contrasting scenery. Bodies of water abound here, with there being over eighty lakes, innumerable rivers and even waterfalls. Over half of this region, which enjoys a continental climate and shares the border with Germany and Switzerland, is covered with forests.

This picturesque area is ideal place in which to try some of the local cheeses and wines. The local Comté cheese is hand made in what the French call “fruiteries”. Regional wines include the Jura, Château-Chalon and Artois wines. Charming little towns are dotted throughout the countryside, with plenty of historic interest and in one of them, Besançon, a famous music festival is held annually for two weeks in September.