Halfway between Besançon and Dijon on the edge of the flat and fertile valley of the Saône, DOLE is a quiet and provincial town. The medieval capital of the Comté region until Louis XI ordered its destruction in 1479, it's a place to stay overnight, or rest, and attractive enough in a subdued way. In search for a Dole hotel, look at this website. Grey-stone houses with barred ground-floor windows stand on narrow streets around the vast, stolid collegiate of Notre-Dame, with its lofty belfry (July & Aug guided visits roughly three times a week; check with the tourist office for the days and times; €4) – worth climbing for the view. Inside the church, there are beautiful windows and a wonderful Rococo organ. The Rhône–Rhine canal washes the feet of the town, and along its bank below the church runs the narrow rue Pasteur, birthplace of the French biologist and chemist Louis Pasteur. The son of a tanner, he is best known for discovering the rabies virus (and its cure), and is commemorated in the process of "pasteurization", another of his discoveries. His house, like those of his father's workmates, backs onto a pretty waterside walkway leading to an island. The house is now a museum (April–June, Sept & Oct Mon–Sat 10am–noon & 2–6pm, Sun 2–6pm; July & Aug Mon–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 2–6pm; Nov–March Sat 10am–noon & 2–5pm, Sun 2–5pm; €3).The gare routière is next to the train station, a ten-minute walk northeast of the Collegiate Notre-Dame down avenue A. Briand. Whatever happens in Dole happens between the Grande-Rue – the street leading to the main bridge over the Doubs – and place Grévy; the tourist office is on the northern side of the square at no. 6 (June Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–noon & 2–6pm; July & Aug Mon–Fri 8.30am–6.30pm, Sat 9am–noon & 2–6pm; Sept–May Mon 2–6pm, Tues–Fri 9am–noon & 2–6pm, Sat 9am–noon; tel 03.84.72.11.22), and cafés on the other. At the top of Grande-Rue is the delightful place aux Fleurs, with its fountain and amusing bronze sculpture of Les Trois Commères (The Three Gossips). There are some reasonable hotels in Dole, including Le Grand Cerf, 6 rue Arney, near place Grévy (tel 03.84.72.11.68; under €30); while for more comfort and prices to match, try La Chaumière, across the river on avenue Maréchal-Juin (tel 03.84.70.72.40, fax 03.84.79.25.60; €55–70). The cheapest rooms, as usual, are at the HI hostel, St-Jean, place Jean XXIII (tel 03.84.82.36.74, fax 03.84.79.17.69, [email protected]; €11.20); take bus #1, direction "Mesnils-Poiset", stop "Les Paters". The local campsite, Camping du Pasquier, is down by the river (tel 03.84.72.02.61; mid-March to mid-Oct). For food, there are various pizzerias and crêperies – such as the canalside La Demi-Lune, 39 rue Pasteur (closed Mon out of season) – and Le Bec Fin, 67 rue Pasteur (tel 03.84.82.43.43), for the gourmands (menus from €16).
Pages in section ‘Dole’: Forêt de Chaux.
|
