A cheese dairy on the banks of the Suran, routes with different focuses and several traces of history give Saint-Julien a distinctive character. The Fruitière de la Rivière is known for Comté and regional products; a short cycling loop follows the Suran, while a hiking route leads to viewpoints. Chapels and dates draw attention to the history of the Bourg. When planning a stay, you can therefore focus on cheese, time outdoors or local history.
Comté on the banks of the Suran
The Fruitière de la Rivière is a cheese dairy with a shop on the banks of the Suran. It produces around 18,000 wheels of Comté; most of the cheese is aged on site. The shop offers four varieties of Comté, also aged on site, as well as regional cheeses and other local products. So, alongside Comté, a selection of other regional products is also a focus. For travelers who want to include regional food in their explorations, the Fruitière is a convenient stop in the village.
Cycling loop and hiking trail
The short, family-friendly cycling loop “Boucle 17: Vallée du Suran” starts in Saint-Julien and follows the Suran stream. Since 2019, it has carried the “Vélo et Fromages” label, linking the route with the theme of cheese. The Suran is a first-category river and is popular with anglers. The same river thus features in different contexts: as a companion along the cycling loop and as a waterway of interest to anglers.
The “Circuit des crêtes” hiking trail offers a series of viewpoints over the Suran Valley and part of the Petite Montagne, which is protected as part of the Natura 2000 network. The route goes to Villechantria, crosses the Suran and then climbs back toward Saint-Julien. This makes the hike clearly different from the short cycling loop: its described route includes viewpoints, a river crossing and the climb back.
The two routes suit different interests. The Boucle 17 is a short, family-friendly cycling loop along the Suran; the Circuit des crêtes is a hiking route with viewpoints and a climb back toward Saint-Julien. These details give each route its own focus without reducing them to the same kind of outing.
Chapels and the history of the Bourg
The small Notre-Dame de Pitié chapel is located at the site of the same name below Saint-Julien. It is considered the only surviving remnant of the former Hospital of the Holy Spirit. Its historical significance therefore extends beyond the chapel itself and connects it to a former institution. Another trace of history is the Château chapel, to the right of the church choir: it was completely rebuilt in 1784, completed the following year and blessed on July 30, 1785.
The two chapels highlight different aspects of history: Notre-Dame de Pitié is connected to the former hospital, while the Château chapel has a precisely dated sequence of rebuilding, completion and blessing. The origins of the Bourg of Saint-Julien can also be placed in time, though only as a hypothesis: they are thought to date to the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century.
Another historical marker is the 16th-century statue of Saint Paul. Together with the presumed medieval origins of the Bourg and the work on the Château chapel in the late 18th century, it offers a glimpse of different periods in the village’s history. Saint-Julien can thus be explored not only through its routes and the Suran, but also through specific traces from different periods.
Discover more destinations: Châteauneuf, Gizia, Longchaumois, Pupillin, Orgelet, La Chassagne, Menotey, Mont-Sous-Vaudrey.
See the main travel guide: Jura.
