Discover Arbois: Culture, Pasteur and Wine

The sights offer a range of different highlights, from historic interiors to a wine walk with views across the town and vineyards.

Louis Pasteur’s House and Laboratory

The Maison de Louis Pasteur is the only house Louis Pasteur ever owned. It is listed as a Monument historique and has held the “Maisons des Illustres” designation since 2011. It has been preserved as Pasteur knew it, offering insight into both his living environment and the setting for his scientific work. In 1991, the house was bequeathed to the Académie des sciences. A visit therefore brings together the history of a 19th-century home and Pasteur’s work.

The house also contains the scientist’s only fully preserved laboratory. Original laboratory notebooks, flasks and glass globes kept there are connected with his work on wine fermentation and pasteurization. The Maison et laboratoire de Louis Pasteur offers self-guided visits with an explanatory information sheet. It is available in French, English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Russian and Italian. Check access details before your trip if you plan to visit.

Museums, Art and Architectural History

The Musée Sarret de Grozon has officially been designated a “Musée de France” since September 17, 2003. The Musée d’Art Hôtel Sarret de Grozon opened in 1934, after the Sarret family bequeathed its hôtel particulier, along with its furnishings, collections of objects and works of art, to the town in 1902. Preserved interiors include historic rooms and wood paneling. The collections also include paintings, 18th-century silverwork, faience and furniture. They are joined by pastel portraits of Arbois residents made by Louis Pasteur as a young man. The collection thus ranges from decorative arts to traces of his early artistic work.

The Église Saint-Just also reveals several layers of artistic and architectural history: its Romanesque nave dates from the 12th century, and its Gothic vault from the 13th century. A 14th-century Madonna and Child adds another layer. La Tour Gloriette stands at the southeastern corner of the fortifications. The fortifications were built in the second half of the 13th century; after the flood of 1503, the tower was rebuilt. It was restored in 1989 to accommodate temporary exhibitions.

Winegrowing and Local Traditions

The Musée de la Vigne et du Vin du Jura is located in central Arbois and occupies part of Château Pécauld. Outdoors, reconstructed grapevines illustrate the past and present work of winemakers in Franche-Comté, as well as the grape varieties grown in the region. Inside the museum, different winemaking methods are presented alongside the history and traditions of the winemaking community. This offers two perspectives on wine: the vines and their regional varieties, and the production process and the history of the work involved.

For Le Biou, Arbois winemakers bring white and red grapes to the Maison Vercel on Saturday; on Saturday afternoon, they make the Biou. This sequence offers insight into the tasks involved and the communal nature of the tradition, without conflating it with the exhibitions on winemaking.

Arbois on Foot and from Above

For views over the town and its vineyards, the Balade en Arbois wine walk leads to the Tour de Curon, also known as the Tour Canoz. From there, and along the walk, you can enjoy panoramic views across Arbois and the vineyards. The Cuisance, meanwhile, winds between the lanes of the old town, which is best explored on foot.

Discover more destinations: Les Bouchoux, Les Arsures, La Favière, Lons-Le-Saunier, Montbarrey, Grusse, Maisod, Le Larderet.

Return to the main travel overview: Jura.