Pontarlier Hotels

Pontarlier is a commune and one of the two sub-prefectures of the Doubs department in the Franche-Comte region in eastern France. Pontarlier occupies the ancient Roman station of Ariolica, in Gallia and is placed in the Tables on the road from Urba (modern Orbe, Canton Vaud, Switzerland), to Vesontio (modern Besançon). Although the distances in the Antonine Itinerary do not agree with the real distances, French geographer D'Anville recognized a transposition of the numbers. The Theodosian Tabula names the place "Abrolica", which William Smith states as a possible error of transcription. The city of Pontarlier is briefly mentioned in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. It was to this city that convict Jean Valjean was to report for his parole after being released from the gallies. Breaking these instructions is a major turning point in the novel, and also creates some major conflict for Valjean later in the story. Pontarlier was famous for the production of absinthe until its ban in 1915. The distilleries switched over to producing pastis. With the ban partially lifted in the 1990s, distilleries are once again producing absinthe in Pontarlier.