Seasons
The Swiss Jura in autumn
Autumn is the season of colour, and the Jura is no exception: September and October are probably the finest months for walking there.
Published on 2 October 2026 · 1 min read
Clear light and far-reaching views
After the summer heat, the autumn air is drier and clearer. From the ridges of the Chasseral, the Creux du Van or La Dôle, the Alps stand out sharply on the horizon, from Mont Blanc to the Bernese Oberland. The temperatures are ideal for walking: cool in the morning, mild in the afternoon.
The colours
The Jura has no blazing maples, but its beech woods turn gold and copper among the evergreen spruces. In the gorges of the Doubs and the Areuse, the wooded slopes take on warm tones, and the pastures turn yellow in the low sunlight.
Seas of fog
From October onwards, a blanket of fog often covers the Swiss Plateau and the lakes while the ridges of the Jura stay in full sunshine. Walking above this white sea, with the Alps rising in the distance, is one of the great sights of the season.
Désalpes and autumn produce
At the end of September, the herds come down from the high pastures: this is the désalpe, with cows decked in flowers and bells. The best known in the Jura takes place at Saint-Cergue. Autumn is also the season of the grape harvest on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel, and of vacherin Mont-d'Or, a cheese eaten warm.
Our autumn routes
The Grand Traverse of the Jura Crests for the views, the Franches-Montagnes and the Doubs for the colours of the gorges, or the Jura, Lavaux and Geneva combination to add the grape harvest on the terraced vineyards above Lake Geneva.
Bernese, Neuchâtel and Vaud Jura
The Grand Traverse of the Jura crests
Eight days from hotel to hotel, from Chasseral to the Creux du Van and on to Vallorbe, on the Jura's most famous trail. Your luggage is waiting for you every evening.
8 days, 7 nights · Hotel to hotel · moderateDiscover the walk
Franches-Montagnes and Clos du Doubs
Franches-Montagnes and the Doubs gorges, at an easy pace
Six unhurried days, from wooded pastures where horses graze to the little medieval town of Saint-Ursanne, following the Doubs. Your luggage travels without you.
6 days, 5 nights · Hotel to hotel · easyDiscover the walk
Neuchâtel, Lavaux, the Riviera and Geneva
The Jura, Lavaux and Geneva
Twelve days to discover French-speaking Switzerland on foot and by train: the gorges and the Creux du Van, the terraced vineyards of Lavaux above Lake Geneva, an Alpine summit, then Geneva and La Dôle.
12 days, 11 nights · Combined · moderateDiscover the walk
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