Baume-les-Messieurs travel guide

Visit Baume-les-Messieurs (Burgundy-Franche-Comté, France)

Baume-les-Messieurs is a picturesque village eight kilometres to the north-east of Lons-le-Sauniere in the Jura department of Franche-Comte. In a splendidly scenic setting, Baume-les-Messieurs is surrounded by steep wooded slopes rising to high cliffs - this is the Cirque de Baume, the meeting place of three impressive valleys.

Exploring Baume-les-Messieurs

France This Way review: Baume-les-Messieurs is a very small village that does not take long to explore but is very pretty and in an exceptional location so a visit is certainly recommended.

The village itself is small and contains a perfect ensemble of unspoiled, not too renovated, streets and houses winding quietly into the baume gorges, and a small river runs through the centre of the village. Baume-les-Messieurs is also classified as one of the 'most beautiful villages of France', and in our opinion is one of the most attractive among these villages.

Within the village the benedictine abbey of Saint-Peter is the main monument of importance. The abbey dates from the early 11th century and was built to replace an even older abbey in the same location - the village was founded around 869.

The 13th century abbey church is a mix of roman and gothic elements, and also contains some remarkable decorative highlights. You can also see the chapel, and various of the other buildings associated with the abbey.

Given the isolation of the location we can well believe that it was a suitably quiet spot for monks to meditate - when we visited in March we were the only tourists in the village (and there was no sign of residents either), so can well imagine how peacful it was before the advent of roads!

It is the scenery around the village that is the main attraction for visitors with caves, waterfalls, and magnificent viewpoints - so a visit to Baume-les-Messieurs should also include time to appreciate the surrounding countryside...

Very close to the village it is worth visiting the Baume-les-Messieurs caves, and the adjacent waterfall. The great cavernous stalactite filled 'rooms' have been carefully lit (and filled with music in one or the caverns) for maximum impact.

There is a lovely viewpoint down to the village from the cliffs at the 'belvedere des roches de Baume' which is also recommended as one of the scenic highlights of the region: Baume-les-Messieurs is the village at the bottom of the gorges while Granges-sur-Baume is the distant village above the gorge.

Attractions nearby

To the north-east of Baume-les-Messieurs is the pine forest of the Foret de la Joux, with many magnificent old pine trees lining the numerous marked walks. A few kilometres south of the village, don't miss the Hérisson waterfalls - they are easily accessed and very impressive!

Just a few kilometres north of here you can also explore another picturesque village at Chateau-Chalon: combine the two as part of the same trip and you have a good day ahead of you!

You can find more travel ideas in the Jura guide and the Franche-Comte guide.

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Chateau-Chalon

One of the key reasons to visit the pretty village of Chateau-Chalon is its hilltop position with lovely views across the vineyards in the valley below

Chateau-Chalon guide