The town offers tourists a wide range of outdoor activities thanks to the presence of the river and the surrounding cliffs, making it ideal for white-water sports, fishing, hiking, climbing and cycling.

The birthplace of the painter Gustave Courbet, to whom it inspired many paintings including the famous A Burial at Ornans, it is home to a museum dedicated to the man and his works, which welcomes tens of thousands of visitors every year.

The town also boasts a rich heritage, with twelve listed or classified historic monuments, numerous private mansions and houses whose facades bathed by the river have earned it the nickname of "Little Venice of Franche-Comté".

The historical building, l'Hôtel de Granvelle, now designated 67 and 77 Rue Pierre Vernier,[4] was the birthplace of Cardinal Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (20 August 1517 - 21 September 1586)[5] who was the main minister responsible for Imperial foreign policy over several decades under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (called "Charles Quint" in French), Holy Roman Emperor from 1516 to 1556.

[6] His father Nicholas Perrenot de Granvelle (1484–1550), also born in Ornans, had been Chancellor of the Empire before him and trusted advisor to Charles V from the time he was elected emperor at 19 years of age.