UNESCO
Grande Saline
Listed 2009; 165 m 12th-c. gallery
Town · Jura
Salins-les-Bains
A Jura spa town built on salt — the UNESCO-listed Grande Saline with its 12th-century galleries, and a modern salt-water thermal spa.
Brine pump
246 m depth
Still-working; salt made until 1962
Spa
Therma Salina
Salt-water thermal spa (opened 2017)
From Arbois
Rail / ~15 min drive
Via Mouchard
The town
Salins-les-Bains is a small Jura town, rail-served from Arbois (via Mouchard) and about a 15-minute drive away (source: jura-research.md). Its history is salt: the Grande Saline is a UNESCO World Heritage site (listed 2009), with a 165 m, 12th-century vaulted underground gallery and a still-working brine pump drawing water from 246 m depth — the works ran for some 1,200 years, until 1962 (source: jura-research.md).
It is twinned in its UNESCO listing with the 18th-century Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans in the neighbouring Doubs (source: jura-research.md). For a break from wine touring, Therma Salina (opened 2017) is a salt-water thermal spa; above the town, the Mont Poupet viewpoint (850 m) is the Cœur du Jura's highest point (source: jura-research.md).
What to see
- 01Grande Saline de Salins-les-BainsUNESCO saltworks: a 165 m 12th-c. underground gallery and a working brine pump from 246 m depth.
- 02Therma SalinaSalt-water thermal spa (opened 2017) — a relaxing break after wine touring.
- 03Mont Poupet viewpointThe Cœur du Jura's highest point (850 m), with panoramas and a paragliding launch.
- 04Saline Royale d'Arc-et-SenansThe twinned 18th-century “ideal city” saltworks, ~30 min away in the Doubs.
Eat, taste & stay
Visit · UNESCO
Grande Saline
12th-c. salt galleries
Relax · spa
Therma Salina
Salt-water thermal baths
Nearby · base
Arbois
The Jura wine capital
Nearby · Comté
Poligny
Capital of Comté
Our notesSalt, spa and a UNESCO gallery
Salins trades wine for salt: a thousand-year saltworks now UNESCO-listed, plus a modern thermal spa — and it's reachable by train from Arbois, a rare car-free Jura day-trip.
For the salt galleries and the spa.
§From the wiki
Salins-les-Bains is a small town in the Jura, rail-served from Arbois (via Mouchard) and about a 15-minute drive away (source: jura-research.md). Its history is salt: the Grande Saline de Salins-les-Bains is a UNESCO World Heritage site (listed 2009), with a 165 m, 12th-century vaulted underground gallery and a still-working brine pump that draws water from 246 m depth. The works produced salt for some 1,200 years, until 1962 (source: jura-research.md).
The Grande Saline is twinned in UNESCO listing with the 18th-century Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans, Claude-Nicolas Ledoux's "ideal city" saltworks in the neighbouring Doubs, about 30 minutes away (source: jura-research.md).
For a break from wine touring, Therma Salina (opened 2017) is a salt-water thermal spa in the town; above it, the Mont Poupet viewpoint (850 m) is the Cœur du Jura's highest point, with panoramas and a paragliding launch (source: jura-research.md).
On the self-drive route Salins is an easy add-on from the Arbois base, especially for car-free travellers who can reach it by train.