Leaving the Alpes back to Belgium Part 2 Driving through the Jura
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RouteXpert Guy Heyns - Adv. RouteXpert
Last edit: 30-07-2024
Route Summary It is a transit route and you should not expect stardom from a transit route, so a 4 star classification should be sufficient.
Because there are really pleasant passages to be expected on this route and it remains nice and easy-going, although the part in the Vosges at the end can be a nice surprise!
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Verdict
Duration
9h 11m
Mode of travel
Car or motorcycle
Distance
364.50 km
Countries
RouteXpert Review The departure in Vaulx is immediately 'easy going', you drive quietly through the gently rolling landscape in the direction of the Rhône.
Once you have passed the Rhône, you enter the Jura massif and you can enjoy wonderful mountain roads again - albeit in mini format after the journey in the Alps.
The Jura is a mountain range on either side of the border between France and Switzerland. It is an ancient mountain area, the peaks of which extend parallel to each other from north to south. To the west the Jura is terraced, on the east side the mountain range descends with a high, steep wall to the Swiss Plateau. In the south the highest mountain peaks are: Crêt de la Neige (1718 m) in France and Mont Tendre (1678.8 m) in Switzerland. To the northeast the mountains become lower. In addition to mountain passes, the longitudinal valleys are connected by rock gorges (cluses).
Large parts of the Jura (40%) are covered by forests. The most common trees, depending on altitude, are oak, beech (500 - 800 m) and spruce (above 1000 m). The Jura region has strange shapes: striking mountain folds, caves, peculiar water flows and salt formations. But above all, it is a gently rolling mountain range where motorcycling is wonderful and relaxed.
After crossing the Jura ridge you actually drive into the vast valley of the Doubs, a large river that also largely forms the border between France and Switzerland.
The crossing of the 'Doubs' is the start or entrance to the Vosges. The Jura and the Vosges are actually only a good stone's throw away from each other and soon after the passage of the 'Doubs' and a few pinpricks you reach the Forêt Domaniale de Saint-Antoine and the Réserve Naturelle des Ballons Comtois where you are close to one of the unknown 'balloons' of the Vosges – the Ballon de Servance – passes by. You do this after passing the Planche des belle Filles', a romantic legend…
France was conquered by the cruel Swedes in 1635 and those rough Normans had no pity for the French young ladies…. Inès, one of the beautiful damsels of the village led the other girls of the village to a mountain top, away from the rough Swedes. Unfortunately, they discovered the footsteps of the ladies in the hills and – eager for… – the warriors give chase. At the top, Inès and the Swedish leader's eyes met and they instantly fell in love. But the hot-tempered warriors did not give the ladies a moment's respite and before their leader could stop them, Inès had no choice but to throw herself - and with her all the beautiful young women of the village - to their death from the rock into the lake below. The Swedish leader, overcome with grief, could do nothing but write down his love on a board and throw it into the lake in which all the beautiful women had drowned... From the board on which the love was written, there are fairies. who apparently still sometimes visit the houses in the region...
After this romantic passage it is a short distance to La Bresse where - after a final refueling - the hotel can be visited for the last overnight stay.
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Preferably use the route track in your navigation system. More information about the use of MyRoute-app can be found on the website under 'Community' or 'Academy'.
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Grand Est
About this region
Grand Est (French: [ɡʁɑ̃t‿ɛst] (listen); Alsatian: Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/Luxembourgish: Grouss Osten;
Rhine Franconian: Groß Oschte; German: Großer Osten [ˈɡʁoːsɐ ˈʔɔstn̩]; English: "Greater East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine (pronounced [alzas ʃɑ̃paɲ aʁdɛn lɔʁɛn]; ACAL or, less commonly, ALCA), as a result of territorial reform which had been passed by the French Parliament in 2014.The region sits astride three water basins (Seine, Meuse and Rhine), spanning an area of 57,433 km2 (22,175 sq mi), the fifth largest in France; it includes two mountain ranges (Vosges and Ardennes). It shares borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland. As of 2017, it had a population of 5,549,586 inhabitants. The prefecture and largest city, by far, is Strasbourg.
The East of France has a rich and diverse culture, being situated at a crossroads between the Latin and Germanic worlds. This history is reflected in the variety of languages spoken there (Alsatian, Champenois, and Lorraine Franconian). Most of today's Grand Est region was considered "Eastern" as early as the 8th century, when it constituted the southern part of the Francian territory of Austrasia. The city of Reims (in Champagne), where Frankish king Clovis I had been baptized in 496 AD, would later play a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the traditional site of the coronation of the kings of France. The Champagne fairs played a significant role in the economy of medieval Europe as well. Alsace and Lorraine thrived in the sphere of influence of the Holy Roman Empire for most of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and subject to competing claims by France and German over the centuries.
The region has distinctive traditions such as the celebration of Saint Nicholas Day, Christmas markets, or traditions involving the Easter hare in Alsace and Lorraine. Alsace-Moselle are furthermore subject to local law for historical reasons. With a long industrial history and strong agriculture and tourism (arts, gastronomy, sightseeing), the East of France is one of the top economic producing regions in the country.
Read more on Wikipedia
Rhine Franconian: Groß Oschte; German: Großer Osten [ˈɡʁoːsɐ ˈʔɔstn̩]; English: "Greater East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine (pronounced [alzas ʃɑ̃paɲ aʁdɛn lɔʁɛn]; ACAL or, less commonly, ALCA), as a result of territorial reform which had been passed by the French Parliament in 2014.The region sits astride three water basins (Seine, Meuse and Rhine), spanning an area of 57,433 km2 (22,175 sq mi), the fifth largest in France; it includes two mountain ranges (Vosges and Ardennes). It shares borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland. As of 2017, it had a population of 5,549,586 inhabitants. The prefecture and largest city, by far, is Strasbourg.
The East of France has a rich and diverse culture, being situated at a crossroads between the Latin and Germanic worlds. This history is reflected in the variety of languages spoken there (Alsatian, Champenois, and Lorraine Franconian). Most of today's Grand Est region was considered "Eastern" as early as the 8th century, when it constituted the southern part of the Francian territory of Austrasia. The city of Reims (in Champagne), where Frankish king Clovis I had been baptized in 496 AD, would later play a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the traditional site of the coronation of the kings of France. The Champagne fairs played a significant role in the economy of medieval Europe as well. Alsace and Lorraine thrived in the sphere of influence of the Holy Roman Empire for most of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and subject to competing claims by France and German over the centuries.
The region has distinctive traditions such as the celebration of Saint Nicholas Day, Christmas markets, or traditions involving the Easter hare in Alsace and Lorraine. Alsace-Moselle are furthermore subject to local law for historical reasons. With a long industrial history and strong agriculture and tourism (arts, gastronomy, sightseeing), the East of France is one of the top economic producing regions in the country.
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