France – Dole (En)

The historical-artistic city of Dole forms a harmonious whole, with its canals, houses and the collegiate church that dominates the town. The well-preserved historic centre of Dole has been declared a protected area.

Where to stay

We stayed in the town’s motorhome park (47.089904, 5.497114). It is a free parking lot, in the city, in front of little Venice and the old town. It does not have any services but is very large and easy to access. It’s also safe and you have incredible views.

What to see

We crossed to Little Venice, a small and romantic walk that borders the Curtidores canal. Louis Pasteur, the inventor of the rabies vaccine, was born in this neighbourhood in 1822. Pasteur’s birthplace is now a museum tracing the life and scientific work of the famous savant.

During our walk through the city, we discovered a large number of ancient buildings such as the collegiate church of Notre Dame (16th century), a historical monument, built in 1509. The building is Gothic, and the furniture is Renaissance, such as the world-famous organ since it has remained the same since the 18th century. The entire building, as well as the decoration of the chapel, are protected. Since 1951 the church has been considered a basilica and was restored between 2007 and 2009.

We continue touring the city where you find the old Hospital, which currently houses the media library, the l’Arc school, which transformed into a high school, the old Carmelite convent, the Jesuit chapel, the Palace of Justice (former convent of the Cordeleros) and palaces such as Froissard and Champagne.

And we returned crossing the river through another area, when we arrived at the parking lot we discovered that a circus was going to establish itself there, to our surprise we saw horses, a dromedary and llamas!

Our next visit is to the historical-artistic city of Besançon, the capital of the Franche-Comté region, which is dominated by the imposing silhouette of its citadel, and which you will be able to see in the next blog!