Franches-Montagnes

The Chemins de fer du Jura serve the whole plateau. The line from Glovelier climbs to Saignelégier and Le Noirmont, the one from La Chaux-de-Fonds reaches Les Bois and Le Noirmont, and the one from Tavannes comes up through Les Breuleux. From Basel or Biel, travel via Delémont and Glovelier. By car you climb up from Delémont or from Tramelan, on roads that stay snowy well into spring.

Good to know: the stations sit in the middle of the villages, and CarPostal completes the network towards Les Genevez. Allow extra time, as services are less frequent than in the lowlands.

The path around the étang de la Gruère alternates boardwalk and packed gravel: fine with a wide-wheeled pushchair, hard work with a city one. The pastures around Saignelégier are open and level, ideal for letting a three-year-old walk. Horses graze right up to the fences along the paths, which is usually outing enough on its own. The pool at the Centre de Loisirs des Franches-Montagnes is indoors and heated, with step-free access.

The plateau holds snow longer than the rest of the Jura and fills with cross-country ski trails between Saignelégier, Les Breuleux and Les Genevez. The train runs in all weather, so you can walk or sledge out from one village and come back by rail from another. Dress the children as you would for the mountains: the wind is sharp and nothing stops it on these open pastures.