Camping Onlycamp de Besançon

If you’re following the EuroVélo 6 cycle route (15 minutes by bike) between Basel and Nevers, this “Accueil Vélo” (Cycling Welcome) site makes a handy overnight stop, with secure bike storage available for free. There are also numerous Franche-Comté hiking trails to explore, from riverside walks in the Loue Valley (40 minutes’ drive) suitable for toddlers to more arduous routes in the scenic Gorges de Nouailles (50 minutes). Kids will be excited to explore caves at the Grotte d’Osselle (40 minutes), where underground paths twist and turn past other-worldly limestone formations or the coloured light shows deep underground at the Gouffre de Poudrey (half an hour). Another natural phenomena that they’ll surely love is the Source du Pontet (45 minutes), where a spectacular waterfall bursts out of the rocks at the source of the River Loue. Several gorgeous Franche-Comté villages are worth a peek, including riverside Ornans (40 minutes), the birthplace of artist Gustave Courbet, and Mouthier-Haute-Pierre (50 minutes), dominated by its mighty castle and regarded as the gateway to hiking in the Jura. But if there’s one sight you really should try and see, it’s handsome Besançon (15 minutes) and its sprawling, UNESCO-listed hilltop fort and citadel, designed by Vauban and completed in 1711.