Saint-Antoine: Fort, Comté and hiking routes

During a stay in Saint-Antoine, you can combine Comté maturing with the fort’s military history and choose between a guided tour, a signposted circular hiking trail and a multi-day gravel tour. The church also offers its own cultural highlight: its carved wooden altarpiece dates from the 18th century. When planning, take note of the reservation required for a fort visit, the need to request the key to the church and the times given for the routes.

Fort Saint-Antoine and Comté maturing

Fort Saint-Antoine was built between 1879 and 1882 as a military fort to protect the eastern border. In 1966, Marcel Petite began converting the structure into Comté maturing cellars. The same building thus brings together two clearly distinct chapters: its military origins in the late 19th century and its later conversion for cheese maturing.

A guided tour of the Caves d'affinage du Fort de Saint-Antoine introduces visitors to the slow maturing process of Comté. It lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes and is available only with advance reservation. If you plan to visit the cellars, make sure to reserve; the duration also makes this visit easy to distinguish from the longer outdoor activities.

The Vélo et Baignade au Lac de Saint-Point cycling loop also passes Fort Saint-Antoine and its Comté maturing cellars before continuing to Lac de Saint-Point. On this route, the cellars therefore come in a clear sequence, with the lake as the next destination.

Church of Saint-Antoine

The church of Saint-Antoine has a carved wooden altarpiece dating from the 18th century. The date refers to the altar. To visit, request the key from the municipal administration. Remember to plan for this if you would like to include the church in your stay.

Hiking the Fort Saint-Antoine circular trail

The Fort Saint-Antoine circular hiking trail is of moderate difficulty, 8.5 kilometers long and takes about 2 hours and 45 minutes. It is marked in yellow and blue; follow route number 10. The difficulty, distance, approximate walking time and trail markings are therefore clearly specified. The trail passes through scenic woodland and communal pastureland and reaches a viewpoint overlooking the Alps and the Grand Combin massif, which is 4,314 meters high.

This loop offers a different kind of visit from the guided tour of the maturing cellars: here, the route, the landscape and the view from the destination are what matter. The approximate duration of 2 hours and 45 minutes makes it easy to distinguish this hike from the hour-and-a-half guided tour.

ReMouthable: a multi-day gravel tour

The ReMouthable tour is a difficult gravel loop covering 122.7 kilometers. It is designed to be completed over two days, but can also be done in three or four days. The tour passes through Saint-Antoine; its section there leads to Fort Saint-Antoine, a former military building converted into Comté maturing cellars, which can be visited with advance reservation. This makes for a clear contrast between a moderate hike taking about 2 hours and 45 minutes and a difficult gravel loop designed to span several days.

More destinations

Discover more destinations: Bremondans, Chamesol, Geney, Montbeliardot, Longevilles-Mont-D'or, Voujeaucourt, Rang, Laval-Le-Prieuré

Go to the main travel overview: Doubs.