Discover Buffard: Church Art and Geocaching

Buffard offers visitors several concrete points of interest: Saint-Hilaire Church, historic architectural features in the village, walking trails with different focuses, and Franche-Comté cuisine. When planning your visit, it is worth distinguishing between the options based on your interests and how you plan to get around. This will help you decide whether to focus on architecture and history, a hike, or a drive by car or motorcycle.

Church and local history

Saint-Hilaire Church has a Flamboyant Gothic choir dating from the 14th century. Its style and date give the building a clearly identifiable architectural character. The term Flamboyant Gothic places it within a particular form of Gothic architecture.

A local legend says that the church once housed the relics of the Three Kings for one night after Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa is said to have taken them from Milan Cathedral. This story has been passed down as a legend, not as a verified historical event. Alongside an architectural perspective on Saint-Hilaire, it offers a distinct way to explore local traditions.

Other architectural features in Buffard include winegrowers’ houses with vaulted gateways. Rue de la Fontaine leads you to Buffard’s second washhouse. The winegrowers’ houses, washhouse and church offer different points of interest for exploring the village’s cultural history. The Loue is also a useful landmark: a road to the right leads to its banks in Buffard.

Walking trails with different focuses

A walking trail from Buffard leads to a 14th-century oratory protected as a historic monument. The focus here is on a named destination, its date and its protected status. This makes the trail particularly interesting for visitors who want to combine a walk with a cultural history theme.

Les Vignes is a walking route with geocaching elements that starts in Buffard. Along the way, you collect clues to find the GPS coordinates of a treasure. The route follows small paths behind Buffard’s gardens and houses and introduces you to the vineyards there. Choosing between the two walking options therefore depends mainly on your interests: the oratory trail focuses on a protected historic building, while Les Vignes is all about the treasure hunt and vineyards.

A discovery route by car or motorcycle

The Arc-et-Senans–Chenecey-Buillon discovery route also takes visitors to Buffard. It is intended for travel by car or motorcycle. This sets it apart from the walking trails: the mode of transport is explicitly part of the planning for this route. So, when weighing up the different options for your visit, you can choose between driving the discovery route and taking one of the walking trails described above.

Regional cuisine and finding a hotel

The Auberge de Buffard serves traditional dishes and Franche-Comté specialties. Its cuisine is prepared with fresh local produce. Check the service details before your trip if you plan to visit the inn.

If you are looking for a hotel for a trip to Buffard, you can decide in advance what to focus on: local history, a walking trail with geocaching, a drive by car or motorcycle, or regional cuisine.

Discover more destinations: Amancey, Saint-Point-Lac, Lavans-Vuillafans, Pontarlier, Grand'Combe-Châteleu, Morteau, Sochaux, Laval-Le-Prieuré.

For the overview of the wider area: Doubs.