The Vosges · 3 days · from Belfort
The Vosges by bike in 3 days
Three days in the saddle from Belfort: the Ballon d’Alsace, climbed by the Tour de France since 1905, the Planche des Belles Filles, and a flat day on the EuroVelo 6 greenway — the Les Capucins cellar every evening.
The days
- ●Day 1 — Belfort to the Ballon d’Alsace
- ●Day 2 — La Planche des Belles Filles
- ●Day 3 — The EuroVelo 6 greenway to Montbéliard
Day 1 is readable in full below — buy only when you know exactly what you get.
Day 1 — Belfort to the Ballon d’Alsace
Collect the bikes
Vélodom 90, 1 rue Sur l’Eau, 90000 Belfort
30 min
A rental shop in the old town, open seven days by appointment — book the bikes a day or two ahead. Optymo’s self-service bikes are made for short hops (24 hours maximum), not a mountain weekend.
Leave Belfort north
13 km to Giromagny, 45 min
The valley road to Giromagny rises gently along the Savoureuse — 13 km of warm-up before the mountain.
The climb of the Ballon
13.7 km, 4.9% average
From Giromagny the road holds a steady five per cent through the pines — the gentler face of the pass. The west side, from Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle, is 9 km at 6.9%. On Sundays the road fills with motorbikes — start even earlier.
Col du Ballon d’Alsace
Col du Ballon d’Alsace, 90200 Giromagny
1 h at the top
1,178 m. The Tour de France came over it first in 1905 and has crossed it 28 times since. It is a viewpoint, not a lunch stop — carry food, or keep the lunch for the valley.
Back down the valley
About 28 km to Belfort, 1 h 30
The same road down, brakes light, the Savoureuse doing the guiding. From Giromagny, the greenway past the Malsaucy is the quiet way into Belfort — 15 km, mostly cycle path.
The Lion and the citadel
Citadelle, 90000 Belfort
1 h 30
Bartholdi’s lion on red sandstone, and the walk on the ramparts above the town — the day’s second climb, on foot and optional.
Sleep in Belfort — the Les Capucins cellar opens at dinner, and no one has to drive.
Locked until purchase
- Day 2 — La Planche des Belles Filles
- Day 3 — The EuroVelo 6 greenway to Montbéliard
The Vosges by bike in 3 days
€39 — 3 days; the first day is €19, each day more is €10.
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