Travel Guide Territoire De Belfort

It is the smallest department in France, between the Vosges and the Jura, an ideal base camp close to Alsace, Switzerland and Germany. To the north, the Southern Vosges mountains spread out from the Ballon d'Alsace, with its beautiful cross-country skiing area, to the Malsaucy lake for water sports and bathing pleasures. In the south, leaning against the foothills of the Jura, you will discover magnificent viewpoints. This territory of full nature invites you to practice cycling (70 kilometers of cycle tracks with the Coulée verte and a portion of the Eurovélo 6), hiking (700 kilometers of marked trails), nautical activities, flying, running, golf, etc. This territory takes its name from the citadel fortified by Vauban. The emblem of Belfort, the Lion of Bartholdi, a colossus of 11 meters high, symbolizes freedom and the heroic resistance of the Belfort troops led by Colonel Denfert-Rochereau against the Prussian army during the war of 1870-1871. Go in search of the 150 small lions visible in Belfort. They are the work of Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor who created the Statue of Liberty. Belfort, the cradle of industry, is proudly home to the multinationals Alstom, General Electric and PSA, which have major factories on its territory. But it is the heart of the city, behind the star-shaped ramparts according to the architecture of Vauban, that seduces the visitors with its monuments, its stores and its small restaurants.