Alpine

Alpine meadows and pastures are alive with the sound of cow bells. This reassuring ringing means that a longstanding tradition is alive and will continue for the foreseeable future. Summer is a perfect time to explore these vast regions of mountain pasture with their superb grazing conditions and hiking trails.

It is fitting to begin our odyssey in Franche-Comté, since the Jura Massif straddles this region from the edge of Alsace, down to the Rhône-Alpes via Savoie, through to Switzerland and into Bavaria in Germany. This amazing range of mountains, the national parks and the passes are a magnet for skiers in the winter months, but only when the land returns to the farmer do we see how they are linked by agriculture.