Vaulion has been part of the Parc Jura Vaudois since 2010. The village lies in a landscape with a partly marshy plateau covered in meadows and crossed by the Nozon, opposite a uniformly forested slope. When looking for a holiday apartment in Vaulion, you can plan your days around different experiences: walking trails in the village, a route along the Nozon or longer hikes at the Dent de Vaulion.
Landscape and Village Culture
The village street lies at the bottom of the valley crossed by the Nozon. Houses, farmsteads and factories often stand side by side there, with fountains regularly breaking up the row of buildings. The village combines rural architecture from the 16th and 17th centuries with industrial buildings, most of which were built around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Reformed church dates from 1753 to 1755. The «Pierres fines» factory includes a residential building; both were built around 1910 and extended in 1954/55.
Vaulion is connected with the history of Vaud’s fountains and a tradition of quarrying. There are eight fountains in the village, one in Plâne, three towards Vineuves and Busine, and one in Nidau. Since 1997, a fountain commemorating the 900th anniversary and a bronze bust of C.-F. Ramuz—a copy of a work by Casimir Reymond—have stood in the squares in front of the Hôtel-de-Ville and the church. A craft market is held at Place de la Cantine: more than 30 exhibitors from Vaulion and the surrounding area sell products including cheese, meat and wine. If the market is important to your travel plans, check the dates in advance.
Walking Trails and Themed Routes
Seven walking trails start and finish in Vaulion; they all begin at Place de la Cantine. The trails are marked in different colours, have varying levels of difficulty and pass through the municipality’s natural surroundings. Walking times range from 45 minutes to more than four hours; they also depend on your pace and conditions. This range makes it easier to plan your day: you can choose a shorter loop or a considerably longer hike without treating all the trails as taking the same amount of time.
The Sentier de l'eau et du Vallon du Nozon starts in Nidau, a district of Vaulion, and follows the Nozon from Vaulion through RomainmĂ´tier to Croy. Twelve stops explain the importance of water, and interactive activities add to the route. The route is accessible by public transport. Check the timetable for your journey, as connections may change.
The Sentier des Carriers is one of the seven marked walking trails. It passes through the Ramelet forest to former quarries where troughs were made. Route information from 2024 gives a distance of 6.5 kilometres and a walking time of two and a half to three hours. Ten explanatory panels tell the story of the very hard work done by Vaulion’s quarry workers. Route information and panels may change; check the local route details before setting out.
The Dent de Vaulion and Other Excursions
From the summit of the Dent de Vaulion, the 360-degree panorama extends to eight lakes, the Alps and Mont Blanc. Winter activities at the Dent include a ski lift, snowshoeing and ski touring. A cul-de-sac leads to the Dent de Vaulion, passing the Auberge du Morez, which is open year-round, and ends at the Buvette de la Dent de Vaulion. Other hikes are possible from Vaulion or Vallorbe, including a section of SwitzerlandMobility national route 5, the «Chemin des Crêtes du Jura».
Walks and nature experiences with llamas are also available in Vaulion. As offerings may change, confirm current availability before booking. When choosing where to stay, you can distinguish between excursions by their character: the marked municipal walks, with their wide range of walking times; the water route, with its twelve stops; or the historically themed Sentier des Carriers.
Discover more destinations: L'abbaye, Le Sentier, Mathod, Le Chenit, RomainmĂ´tier-Envy, Yvonand, Bonvillars, Ballaigues.
Back to the regional travel overview: Northern Vaud Jura.
