Granges-Narboz: Wetlands, Routes and Building History

Granges-Narboz offers several starting points for planning a trip: wetlands, named routes and historic buildings. If you are looking for a hotel, you can first consider whether nature, outdoor activities or local history matters most for your stay. Specific features of the area include the Étang des Granges-Narboz, the peat bogs and several buildings with documented histories.

Pond, peat bogs and landscape

The Étang des Granges-Narboz was formed on former peatland. It is used by anglers and is important for birds. The pond and surrounding peat bogs are part of a Natura 2000 site. Peat bogs also stretch along the Drugeon; the lower-lying part of the Frasne-Pontarlier Plateau is often marshy. The pond, the bogs along the Drugeon and the lower-lying section of the plateau represent different landscape features. The Laveron Massif reaches an elevation of 1,026 metres in Granges-Narboz. The Château de Joux can be seen from La Fauconnière.

Walking and mountain biking routes

For walkers, the Les Granges Dessus route leads to the hamlet of Granges Dessus, which is part of Granges-Narboz. Two other named routes pass through Granges-Narboz: Le Laveron No. 93 and Le Fort de Joux No. 80. The Le Fort de Joux route is a 22.5-kilometre mountain biking loop. It is therefore identified as a loop with a specific distance; for the other routes, the focus is on their course through the area or their destination. As route conditions can change, check the latest information before setting out.

Farming and absinthe

Ferme de l’Absinthe is a dairy farm in the Drugeon Valley, within a Natura 2000 site. It produces milk and grows wormwood for absinthe. Farm visits and the opportunity to watch the milking are available; check the specific arrangements with the farm in advance. The farm also offers numerous hiking and mountain biking routes. Distillerie Marguet-Champreux provides another link to absinthe: the Route de l’Absinthe lists it as a participating distillery in Granges-Narboz.

Churches and building history

The parish church of Sainte-Brigide has a nave dating from the 17th century, a choir dating from around 1815 and a bell tower built in 1867. These dates mark different periods in the construction of parts of the same church, giving its building history a sequence of stages. The Chapelle Notre-Dame was built in 1879 by the priest Frelet and his family. It stands beside the road between Granges Dessous and Granges-l’Église. For a trip focused on cultural history, you can consider the dated parts of the parish church and the chapel’s year of construction as distinct historical points of reference. The nave is the space for the congregation; the choir refers to the area around the altar.

Discover more destinations: Fournet-Blancheroche, By, Étalans, Buffard, Besançon, Malbuisson, Lods, Montbéliard

For the overview of the wider area: Doubs.