Grande-Rivière: Lac de l’Abbaye and cultural heritage

Grande-Rivière brings together Lac de l’Abbaye, the history of Abbaye du Grandvaux, a circular hike and a cheese dairy open to visitors. This gives you a range of interests to consider when planning your trip: scenery, a specific route, religious history and a visit focused on cheese. The hiking information provides a tangible time frame, while the other local points of interest lead to landscape and historical themes.

Lac de l’Abbaye: scenery and circular hike

Lac de l’Abbaye is a glacial lake in the Jura, at an altitude of just under 900 metres, on the edge of the Haut-Jura. It lies 7 km south of Saint-Laurent-en-Grandvaux, within the commune of Grande-Rivière. The conditions for visiting are also important for your planning: the lake is privately owned and swimming is prohibited. So, rather than treating it as a swimming destination, include it in your travel plans as a landscape and historical point of interest.

The Tour du Lac de l’Abbaye is a 9 km circular hike that takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes. The hike starts and ends in the hamlet of Abbaye-en-Grandvaux. As the regional park may update the route details, check the latest route description before setting out.

For views of the lake, the Belvédère du Moulin offers a panorama of almost the entire Lac de l’Abbaye. The Silo à images des Guillons offers a different perspective: its 360-degree interpretation explores the lake, the Grandvaux plateau and the Lapiaz des chauvins. Together, they offer two distinct perspectives: a wide view and an interpretation of the landscape and its surroundings.

Abbaye du Grandvaux and historic sites

Abbaye du Grandvaux was founded around 523 by a group of monks from Saint-Oyend (Saint-Claude), led by Aubert. The history of the lake’s name is linked to an abbey that stood on its shore in the 12th century and was dependent on Saint-Claude: Lac de l’Abbaye takes its name from this abbey. These details point to two distinct historical landmarks—the early founding of Abbaye du Grandvaux and the abbey that later stood on the lakeshore.

The present-day parish church of Abbaye du Grandvaux, the Église paroissiale de la Nativité de la Vierge, has a portal with Gothic mouldings dating from the 15th century. A decree dated 3 August 2009 listed the entire church as a historic monument. The portal is a specific architectural detail, while the listing indicates the church’s protected status.

Other sites also reflect different aspects of the area’s history. Jardin du temps et de l'espace is a landscaped garden that brings together memorials to the First and Second World Wars. The surviving structures of Moulin et scierie de l’Abbaye en Grandvaux bear witness to the different activities that developed around the lake. Along with the abbey and its church portal, these sites extend the focus beyond the landscape to religious history, remembrance and former activities.

Cheese dairy in Grande-Rivière

Fruitière de Grande-Rivière / Morbier is a cheese dairy open to visitors, with a shop in Grande-Rivière. It adds a specific place to visit and shop to the landscape and historical themes. If you would like to plan a visit, check the current visiting arrangements in advance.

When choosing Grande-Rivière as a destination, you can weigh up your interests: the circular hike has a set distance and approximate duration, the lake offers different perspectives through its viewpoint and interpretation, and the historic sites cover several distinct themes. This lets you tailor your stay to whether you would mainly like to hike, take in the scenery, explore history or visit the cheese dairy.

Discover more destinations: Rochefort-Sur-Nenon, Prémanon, Le Fied, Nozeroy, Darbonnay, Fort Du Plasne, Villeneuve-sous-Pymont, La Tour-Du-Meix.

For the broader travel overview: Jura.