Caving, climbing and skiing are amongst the many outdoor activities practised in the mountains and valleys; hiking is also very popular, as there are many spectacular views including forests, cirques and waterfalls. With more than 5,000 kilometres of rivers and countless lakes and ponds, this is France's prime fishing area: the national fishing museum is at Ornans, which was also the birthplace of the 19th-century Realist artist Gustave Courbet. His paintings depict modest peasant life, the dramatic landscapes he so loved, and the green, green forests of home.

The capital Besançon is an attractive town with a fascinating range of architecture, from medieval to Spanish, and unusual blue-grey stone buildings. This once-great clock-and watch-making centre is reputed to be the greenest town in France. Vauban's 17th-century citadel (first envisaged by Julius Caesar in 58 BC) dominates: its ramparts provide stunning views of the town, sheltered in a loop on the River Doubs, and of the surrounding hills.

The colourful town of Montbéliard is a ville d'art et d'histoire whose architecture is informed by its heritage: the town was transformed by Lutheran town planner Heinrich Schickhardt, and Germanic and Italian influences can be seen in the steep-roofed houses and Protestant temples.

South-west of Besançon at Arc-et-Senans, the Royal Saltworks is one of the great architectural curiosities of France. Ten years before the French Revolution, Louis XV commissioned the prodigious and futuristic architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux to plan an ideal industrial town. Salt at that time was a very lucrative commodity and highly taxed. The saltworks were obsolete by the end of the 19th century and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Haut-Doubs brings together the tourist areas of Pontarlier and other smaller towns; its specialities are the Comté cheese and charcuterie, which cure well in the dry mountain air. The region is well known as a downhill ski centre, but also hosts the 24 heures des Montbenoît, a cross country ski championship, and the Transjurassienne, an international sled dog race.