Arc-et-Senans, France - September 1, 2020: Front view of the southern facade of the former Guards building of the Royal Saltworks, with a neoclassical portico, only entrance to the site. 1297741639 peristyle

Getty Images

Saline Royale

The Jura Mountains

LoginSave

These wondrously symmetrical early–Industrial Age saltworks were designed to be an 'ideal city' by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. Though Ledoux's plans never came to fruition, the 18th-century saltworks and its outbuildings were listed by Unesco in 1982 for their visionary composition and are renowned in France as an architectural masterwork. They now house displays dedicated to the design concept, Ledoux's life, and the history of salt.

Three-star accommodation is available on site.

Through modern eyes, this masterpiece of industrial design has a sinister side: radiating out from a central columned hall, its semi-circular shape ensured no worker could escape their supervisor's eyes for even a moment.

Arc-et-Senans is 35km southwest of Besançon, on route D17.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • A picture taken on July 10, 2008, in Besancon, eastern France shows the fortification of the town's citadel, which was added to the list of World Heritage sites by UNESCO on July 7 2008. The fortification represents the "finest examples" of the work of Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban, a military engineer of King Louis XIV. The total number of World Heritage sites now reaches 878 sites in 145 countries. AFP PHOTO JEFF PACHOUD (Photo credit should read JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images)

    Citadelle de Besançon

    18.27 MILES

    Dominating the city from Mt St-Etienne, more than 100 vertical metres above the old town, the 17th-century Citadelle de Besançon – designed by Vauban for…

  • Musée du Temps

    Musée du Temps

    18.32 MILES

    Literal and figurative interpretations of time are woven together at the Musée du Temps, which places allegorical paintings about the passage of time next…

  • The Caves of Baume Interior.

    Grottes de Baume

    24.57 MILES

    The 30-million-year-old Grottes de Baume are secreted away in the cliffs 2km south of Baume-les-Messieurs. On guided tours, visitors can weave their way…

  • Museum of Fine Arts and Archeology in Besançon, France.

    Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie

    18.44 MILES

    France's oldest public museum, founded in 1694, is famous for its stellar collection of local Gallo-Roman archaeology; its Cabinet des Dessins, with some…

  • BESANCONS, FRANCE/EUROPE - SEPTEMBER 13: Astronomical Clock in Cathedral of St Jean in Besancon France on September 13, 2015; Shutterstock ID 323711300; full: digital; gl: 65050; netsuite: pot; your: Barbara Di Castro 323711300

    Horloge Astronomique

    18.33 MILES

    The base of 18th-century Cathédrale St-Jean's bell tower houses an incredible astronomical clock, powered by 11 weights, that has run the church's bells…

  • The black gate in Besançon.

    Porte Noire

    18.34 MILES

    Erected in AD 175 in honour of Marcus Aurelius, this 16.5m-high Roman triumphal arch stands very near where the columns of a Roman theatre and the…

  • Maison Natale de Victor Hugo

    Maison Natale de Victor Hugo

    18.34 MILES

    This spiffy museum gives an engaging account of the life and works of Besançon's best-known literary son, Victor Hugo, famous for masterpieces such as Les…

  • Grande Saline

    Grande Saline

    7.96 MILES

    The salty history of the Jura is well-explained in the town of Salins-les-Bains, which derives its very name from the salt trade. Step inside the Grande…

View more attractions

Nearby The Jura Mountains attractions

1. Grande Saline

7.96 MILES

The salty history of the Jura is well-explained in the town of Salins-les-Bains, which derives its very name from the salt trade. Step inside the Grande…

2. Maison de Louis Pasteur

8.67 MILES

Louis Pasteur's laboratory and workshops have been preserved at his familial house, which still sports its 19th-century fixtures and fittings. Digital …

3. Musée de la Vigne et du Vin du Jura

8.86 MILES

The history behind the Jura's prized vin jaune (barrel-matured wine with a distinctive yellow hue) is told at this understated museum, between the turrets…

4. Musée Pasteur

13.99 MILES

Louis Pasteur (1822–95), who developed the first rabies vaccine and, of course, pasteurisation, spent his first three years in Dole. His childhood home in…

5. Citadelle de Besançon

18.27 MILES

Dominating the city from Mt St-Etienne, more than 100 vertical metres above the old town, the 17th-century Citadelle de Besançon – designed by Vauban for…

6. Musée du Temps

18.32 MILES

Literal and figurative interpretations of time are woven together at the Musée du Temps, which places allegorical paintings about the passage of time next…

7. Horloge Astronomique

18.33 MILES

The base of 18th-century Cathédrale St-Jean's bell tower houses an incredible astronomical clock, powered by 11 weights, that has run the church's bells…

8. Église de la Madeleine

18.33 MILES

This 18th-century neoclassical church towers over place Jouffroy, at the foot of the Battant district.

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "france/arc-et-senans/attractions/saline-royale/a/poi-sig/1236550/1323711",
  "destination": "The-Jura-Mountains",
  "continent": "Europe",
  "country": "France",
  "region": "The-Jura-Mountains",
  "position": "superzone"
}