Cheese Travel in France

The Cheese Regions

Jura and Doubs: Comté, Mont d'Or, Morbier

Comté is made in small cooperative dairies called fruitières, and many have a viewing gallery and a shop. Start at the Maison du Comté in Poligny, then follow the Route du Comté to a fruitière in the morning and the Fort des Rousses cellars. From September to May, Mont d'Or is in season in the Haut-Doubs.

Savoie and Haute-Savoie: Beaufort, Reblochon, Abondance

Eight cheeses carry Savoie appellations. Watch Beaufort being made for free at the Beaufort cooperative, take a summer farm tour above La Clusaz on the Reblochon trail, and use the Route des Fromages de Savoie to find the rest.

Normandy: Camembert, Livarot, Pont-l'Évêque

The Maison du Camembert sits in the village of Camembert itself, next to a dairy where the cheese is ladled by hand. Nearby, Graindorge in Livarot has free glazed galleries over its workshops. The Normandy cheese route links them into a day, and Pont-l'Évêque holds its cheese festival each May.

Massif Central: Roquefort, Laguiole, Saint-Nectaire, Cantal, Salers

The Roquefort caves in Aveyron are the big draw. On the Aubrac plateau, the Jeune Montagne cooperative in Laguiole gives free guided visits. In Auvergne, the Route des Fromages AOP d'Auvergne links farms where you can watch the milking and the make: see Saint-Nectaire farm visits and Cantal and Salers.

Alsace: Munster

In the Munster valley, the Maison du Fromage in Gunsbach runs live cheesemaking demonstrations with a tasting.

Paris

Taste at the Musée Vivant du Fromage or a cheese and wine class (cheese tasting in Paris), shop the great fromageries (best cheese shops), or join a small-group cheese tour.

When to Go

• Spring: the Pont-l'Évêque cheese festival and the Printemps du Reblochon Fermier in Annecy fall in early May, and the Aubrac transhumance is around 25 May.
• Summer: mountain farms are up on their pastures, the Ferme de Lorette runs tours above La Clusaz, and most visitor centres have their longest hours. Roquefort Société runs its longer cellar tours.
• Autumn: Mont d'Or goes on sale on 10 September, with the Coulée du Mont d'Or in Pontarlier; Coulommiers celebrates Brie in September; the Fête des Fromages de Savoie is in early October.
• Winter: Mont d'Or season, and the fruitières and cellars stay open. The Maison du Camembert closes from November to March.

All the dates are on the French cheese festivals calendar. Whatever the season, go in the morning on a weekday to see cheese being made. Most dairies make cheese early, some make none on Sundays, and by 10am or 11am much of the work is done.

A Suggested Route

For a week in the east: two days in the Jura (Poligny, a fruitière gallery, the Fort des Rousses), a day in the Haut-Doubs for Mont d'Or and the Fort Saint-Antoine, then two or three days in Savoie for Beaufort-sur-Doron, the Aravis and Abondance. For three days in Normandy, base yourself in the Pays d'Auge: Camembert and Livarot on one day, Pont-l'Évêque the next, with cider farms in between. Roquefort and the Aubrac pair well on a southern loop.

Getting Around

A car makes the most sense, since fruitières, farms and cellars sit in small villages and on mountain roads. A few places work by train: Livarot is a bus ride from Lisieux station, Pont-l'Évêque is on the line from Paris to Deauville, and the Haute-Tarentaise cooperative faces Bourg-Saint-Maurice station. Book guided cellar tours ahead; free galleries rarely need a booking.

More Places to Visit

Smaller dairies, museums and tastings, beyond the pages above: