Quingey: Hotels between the Loue, hiking trails and cultural heritage

Between the Loue and the Côte de Moini

Quingey lies on the banks of the Loue, between limestone cliffs and green meadows. Above the town, the Côte de Moini sits on a wooded slope that borders the Loue’s floodplain. Here, you’ll encounter riverbanks, hillsides and calcareous grasslands as distinct landscape features. Nature and cultural heritage offer two specific focuses when choosing your destination: hiking routes bring together the area’s natural and local history, while historic buildings are associated with different periods in Quingey’s past.

Hiking on two route options

The Bois de Moini route starts and ends at the Roches car park above Quingey. From the ENS grasslands, it offers views of Quingey and the Loue Valley. Another option is a set of three circular routes on the Côte de Moini. They start at the goat farm car park on the RD 13 towards Abbans-Dessus and pass through calcareous grasslands. Along the way, they bring the area’s characteristic flora and fauna, as well as its history, to life.

The two options can be distinguished by their starting points and focus: the Bois de Moini route offers views of the town and the valley, while the three circular routes focus on the landscape, flora and fauna, and local history. If you’re planning your stay around a particular hiking theme, these differences may help you choose.

The Loue as another nature-focused theme

You can take walks and bike rides along the banks of the Loue near Quingey. A fish pass is located in the centre of Quingey. It has helped preserve or increase the population of the endangered Rhône streber. So, alongside the grasslands and hiking routes, the nature theme also includes the riverbank and a specific connection to the population of this endangered fish species. Walks and bike rides by the water offer a different focus from the paths across the grasslands.

Historic traces and buildings

The former forges of Quingey are part of the town’s industrial heritage and later became a small metalworking factory. The “molins” of Quingey were already mentioned in a document dating from 1477. The early documentary mention and the industrial use of the forges thus offer distinct points of reference for the town’s history.

The comital castle was built in the 13th century and remodelled in the 15th century. It has been listed as a Monument historique since 1991. It is also considered the probable birthplace of Pope Callixtus II. The connection to the pope is explicitly a matter of conjecture; the construction and listing dates, by contrast, place the castle in a specific historical context.

Other buildings also represent different periods in Quingey’s history. The chapel of the Brotherhood of the Cross dates from the 17th century. The bridge over the Loue dates back to 1590 and was rebuilt slightly upstream in 1844. The Church of Saint-Martin was rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries and houses paintings signed by Giacomotti. These building histories differ both in their dates and in the changes documented over time.

Set aside an hour for a guided tour

The guided tour “Il était une fois… Quingey” is led by a certified tour guide and lasts one hour. You can set aside this time during your stay, then prioritise the other focuses—hiking routes, the banks of the Loue or historic buildings—according to your interests.

Discover more destinations: Saint-Antoine, Maîche, Arc-Et-Senans, Châtelblanc, Sochaux, Loray, Bonnay, Rennes-Sur-Loue

For the overview of the wider area: Doubs.