Maison du Comté, Poligny

What You See

The Maison du Comté is the visitor centre of the Comté cheese makers, in a timber building on the road from Poligny to Lons-le-Saunier. The route through it follows the three people behind every wheel: the dairy farmer, the cheesemaker in the village fruitière, and the affineur who ages the cheese in the cellar. Seven sections cover the AOP rules, the land and its biodiversity, the farm, the fruitière and the ageing cellar, with films, models and things to handle. You smell hay in the cowshed, try your hand at milking, and hear the hollow knock of the probe an affineur taps against a wheel to judge it.

Children follow Comtesse, the house mascot, through a trail of games, so the visit works well for families.

The Tasting

The visit ends at a tasting table with a guide. You taste two Comtés of different ages, often a summer and a winter cheese, and learn to tell their aromas apart. The Maison does not sell Comté by the cut. For that, use the list of fruitières on comte.com or drive to one of the cooperative shops on the Route du Comté.

Tickets and Opening Hours

Adults pay €9.40, young people aged 6 to 18 pay €7, and under 6s go free. Students and disabled visitors pay €7 with proof. A family ticket for two adults and two under 18s is €28. Payment is by cash, card, cheque or ANCV holiday vouchers. Groups of 15 or more visit by reservation, in the morning only.

It is open every day of the year except 1 May, 25 December and 1 January, plus an annual closure in January (5 to 18 January in 2026). The ticket desk closes 75 minutes before the doors in normal months, and at 5:30pm in July and August. It stays open on public holidays such as 1 and 11 November.

Events

The Maison runs tastings and workshops through the year. In November 2026 it holds an anniversary day on Wednesday 11 November, with an unusual tasting, a small-scale Comté make and a craft and food market, and an evening on Thursday 12 November pairing Comté with Jura vin de voile, booked online only.

Accessibility

The Maison holds the Tourisme et Handicap label for mental, motor and hearing impairments. Everything is on one level with no steps, including the shop and toilets, and there is seating along the route. Disabled parking is next to the building, a wheelchair and walking sticks can be borrowed at reception, and there is a hearing loop. Videos are subtitled in French, English and German. Note that the film room goes dark and one room has large mirrors. Dogs are not allowed, apart from assistance dogs.

Getting There

The address is 1 rue de la Maison du Comté, 39800 Poligny, and the car park is behind the building. Cyclists are welcome: the Maison has the Accueil Vélo label and sits on the Port-Lesney to Poligny stage of the P'tite GTJ cycle route, with bike racks, free bag storage and e-bike charging.

Nearby

Poligny calls itself the Comté capital, and the fruitières that make the cheese are spread across the Jura plateau. In the Haut-Jura you can walk through the vaulted Comté cellars of the Fort des Rousses.