France Unfiltered
Discovering the Richness of France's Interior
This journey is not a catalogue of places but an invitation to notice. Rooted in Franche-Comté, with time spent across Haute-Saône and Doubs, and stretching into the Jura and Bourgogne, the focus is on how landscapes shape daily life and how that life is sustained by land, food, and history. Time unfolds between towns, mountains, forests, markets, and paths meant for walking, creating room to observe rather than accumulate.
This journey is less about ticking boxes and more about seeing how each region lives, produces, and sustains itself through food, craft, landscape, and history.
Your Week at a Glance
The week unfolds through a balance of landscape, culture, and everyday life. Time is spent moving through ancient terrains and working landscapes, alongside moments rooted in towns, markets, and places shaped by long histories. Walking provides one way of understanding the region, while food offers another, from regional cuisine and cheese to small producers and distilleries tied closely to their land.
Days are varied but not exhaustive. Some are shaped by time outdoors among waterways, forests, and low mountains, others by slower exploration of historically significant spaces and daily rhythms. The pace favors depth over coverage, allowing places to be encountered through repeated presence rather than constant movement.
Day 01
Departure - Long Travel Day
Guests make their way from the U.S. to Paris. This is a full travel day with arrival the next morning.
Day 02
Arrival in Eastern France
After arriving in France, we make our way to our home base in Franche-Comté, giving time to settle in and begin adjusting to the local pace.
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Day 03
Everyday Life in
Franche-Comté
The first full day moves into the Jura foothills, offering an introduction to small-town life shaped by agriculture, production, and local knowledge. Time may be spent in and around Arbois, where landscape, food traditions, and scientific history intersect. The day emphasizes understanding how place informs practice, with walking and observation guiding the experience.
Day 04
The Jura Landscape
This day focuses on dramatic natural settings where water and geology have shaped settlement over centuries. Time may be spent on waterfall walks, visits to ancient religious spaces, and exploration of historic areas known for vineyards rooted in Roman-era landscapes. The day balances time outdoors with moments of rest and shared meals.
Day 05
Bourgogne Traditions
Attention turns to a neighboring region to explore contrast in land use, architecture, and food culture. The goal is not comparison for its own sake, but deeper understanding of how different terrains give rise to distinct traditions and ways of life.
Day 06
Haute-Saône Countryside
The focus shifts to forms of making that remain part of everyday life. Time may be spent engaging with traditional crafts and regional production, observing how local materials are shaped into objects and foods still used today. Villages and working landscapes frame the day.
Day 07
Besançon and the Doubs
This day centers on urban history and shared civic life. Walking through a historic city shaped by rivers and fortifications offers insight into how geography, defense, and daily movement have influenced collective identity over time.
Day 08
A Slower Day
An intentionally lighter day with no long travel planned. Time may be spent revisiting a place from earlier in the week, remaining close to the home base, or taking space for rest and reflection.
Day 09
Paris, Quietly
We travel by train to Paris for a short, contained afternoon in a neighborhood that embodies the city’s quieter rhythms, offering a calm transition before departure.
Day 10
Departure
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Independent departure from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
This journey is part of our Core Journeys, a small collection of long-form trips designed around time, place, and regional understanding. Reflections from travelers on similar journeys can be found in our Traveler Stories.