The Orlogeur

This first stage begins at the Musée de l’Horlogerie du Haut-Doubs in Morteau. You then cross the Morteau plain, the remains of a Palaeolithic lake, in the middle of which the waters of the Doubs lazily flow. The ascent begins at the bottom of a small valley, reaches the village of Derrière le Mont and continues through the countryside to reach the Vieux Châteleu farmhouse inn, closely linked to the story of the Resistance fighter Michel HOLLARD “the man who saved London “485 Please note that there are no refreshments along the route.

After leaving “Vieux Châteleu”, you pass through “Les Cernoniers” to discover the Chapelle Sainte-Anne and the old tuyé farmhouses, typical of the Haut-Doubs region. The trail then heads towards “Meix Lagor” and joins the Gardot Nordic site. There is a picnic room open from April to October and picnic tables outside. You then walk along the border, where stone boundary stones mark the boundary between the two countries. After the “Meix-Musy” viewpoint, the path finally takes you to the hamlet of “Sur la Roche”, where this second stage comes to an end.

You descend to Villers le Lac on the GR5/GTJ. The route then runs alongside Lac de Chaillexon, overlooking the Doubs basins and reaching the Saut du Doubs site. From the lookouts you can see the impressive waterfall, even at low water. Self-catering room on site. Please note: to reach the end of the stage, you must take the NLB boat, on the Swiss side, located after the footbridge (last departure around 5 p.m. in high season; check with the company for timetables and sailing conditions).

From Le Brenets, you head back in the opposite direction along the ponds. After the Saut-du-Doubs, a fairly steep but pleasant climb through the forest takes you to the pastures of the “endroits”. Once you’ve completed this climb, after a visit to the Le Locle watchmaking museum in the “château des monts” estate, all you have to do is head back down to the town of Le Locle and its watchmaking town planning, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Don’t miss the exotic museum: https://exomusee.ch/home-e/ Please note that there are no refreshment facilities along the route.

The path follows the first stage of the revolutionary route taken by the inhabitants of the Neuchâtel mountains in 1848 to overthrow the government in Neuchâtel. The trail leads back down to the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, whose watchmaking town planning is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can visit the international watchmaking museum and the watchmaking town planning area to understand how this know-how was implemented and its repercussions on architecture. Return to Morteau by train.