The Château de Joux will be open from 1st April to 15th November 2025
From 1st April to 4th July 2025, guided visits only
From 1st April to 4th July 2025, the chateau de Joux can only be visited with a guide. The guided tour is in french – Free booklet in English, German and Dutch are available at ticket office.
Visits start at: 10:00 – 10:30 – 11:30 am / 2:00 – 2:30 – 3:30 and 4:15 pm (subject to change according to bookings and available places).
Group numbers: maximum 40 people (guided visits).
Duration: 1h15-1h30
The guided visits of the chateau will introduce you to its highlights. From the underground fort to the dungeon, the main courtyard to the great well, we invite you to travel through ten centuries of the History of military architecture, in the company of a heritage guide.
Hear about Mirabeau’s escapades, Berthe’s tragic destiny, or the fatal imprisonment of Toussaint Louverture.
For visitors with vertigo and/or claustrophobia, the guided visit of the Chateau includes ascending a spiral staircase about 30m high and passing through narrow underground galleries to reach the well.
From 5th July to 31th August, the self-guided visit of the Chateau!
From 5th July to 15th November 2025, the full extent of the guided visit of the chateau will be open for self-guided visits.
Take the time to immerse yourself in 1,000 years of the Chateau’s history. Access the Vauban gunpowder storage room and the interior of the Horseshoe tower, which are both rarely open to the public. The vertical gallery and Vauban’s great well are also open to the public!
From 7th July to 31 August : from 10:00 to 6:00 pm – last entrance : 5:15 pm)
From 1st September to 15th November : from 10:00 to 5:00 pm – last entrance : 4:15 pm)
The Chateau de Joux being on a rocky buttress, access is difficult for people with reduced mobility (steep paths, many steps, uneven ground…). Visits with pushchairs and wheelchairs are possible as far as the parade ground.
And the guided visits, as always
6 guided visits per day from 5th July to 31th August: 10:30 – 11:00 am / 2:00 – 2:30 – 3:30 and 4:15 pm.
3 guided visits per day from 1st September to 15th November: 11:00 am / 2:00 – 3:30 pm.
Activities for all family! Accessible from 3 years old
Only in July and August, enjoy our programme of family events with your children!
Family groups from 3 years old: “Photo-rally at the Chateau” every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:30 am, for about 1h30, by reservation.
Join in with all the family (with your camera or smartphone) to solve the puzzle of the photo-rally. Explore the chateau de Joux in a fun, original way. Keen eyes and curiosity will help you discover the chateau de Joux in a completely new way!
Family groups from 6 years old: “In search of the Bourbaki treasure”, every morning except Wednesday and Saturday, at 10:30 am, duration 2h, by reservation.
1871, soldiers from the Army of the East passed through Pontarlier. In the snow and freezing cold, they advanced slowly towards Switzerland… Legend tells that before crossing the border, they may have hidden their “treasure”. Will you be able to find answers to the clues and find it? Come and solve this mystery with your family!
Please note...
The Museum of military art and history is closed for renovation!
This Museum traces the advances in weapons used by French troops in the 18th and 19th centuries, through the display of 700 items, some of which are extremely rare. Since 2015, museographic and renovation work has been under way to bring a new audience to these collections. These are repaired, cleaned, dusted off and restored.
Until the new spaces at the Chateau de Joux are finished, these collections are conserved and displayed in a storage area that can be visited at the Pontarlier municipal museum and in a temporary exhibition “Two men from the Franche-Comté in Napoleon’s Guard”. They will then be returned to the Chateau, and displayed in a creative, innovative and original layout.
Access, opening times and entrance fees
Ticket office
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