A weekend or short break discovering the heritage of Vesoul-Val de Saône
Vesoul and its lake, nature, calm, heritage: all the ingredients are there to spend 2 days of relaxation by bike in Val de Saône.
Day 1: Vesoul - Scey-sur-Saône (25km)
You arrive at the SNCF railway station serving Vesoul, designated a Cité Patrimoine, given the town’s rich heritage.
Leaving the station, make for the town centre, its historic heart radiating out from the square in front of Saint George’s Church.
- What to see & do: climb, by bike, in the direction of La Motte, to a car park where you can appreciate a fine view down on the town; then continue by foot up to the Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Motte. Also visit the Musée Georges Garret before looking around the historic centre on foot.
There’s a narrow passageway, going down the hill, leading to the Jardin Anglais, an English-style garden designated a Jardin Remarquable, a place where you can make the most of the refreshing greenery.
Leave Vesoul heading in the direction of Vaivre-et-Montoille Lake (covering 86 hectares). Pause here, maybe ordering a coffee or an ice cream on the shaded café terrace opposite the beach. Then set out on your bike to take a look around the ornithological reserve.
Arriving at the sailing school, make for the former station, riding along the route known as La Trace du Courlis (The Curlew’s Trail). You cycle alongside the vélorail (which uses the old railway line). Then you need to cross the D13 road and follow directions first for Pontcey, then for Chemilly.
- What to see & do: Leave the cycle track on your left to take a right turn in the direction of Montigny-les-Vesoul. You come to the Abbaye des Dames Nobles, founded in 1286, now a listed historic monument. In past times, the abbey’s nuns, who had to be of noble birth on the paternal side of the family, lived in individual houses close to the chapel.
After Chemilly, a pretty village located at the confluence of the Saône and Durgeon Rivers, you leave a little stone bridge with a statue of St John of Nepomuk on your right and get onto the cycle track. At the foot of the château, cross the Saône via a 140m-long footbridge leading you into the parish of Ferrières-les-Scey.
- What to see & do: make a short detour to go and admire St Martin’s fountain and the washhouse, plus the canalized stream and a striking fortified house.
After the footbridge, you ride alongside the Saône up until you have to leave the river to follow a stretch along the D56 road taking you to Scey-sur-Saône, a parish with a remarkable architectural heritage and designated a Cité de Caractère de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (for its former forges, its fountains and washhouse, and its houses with ornate stairtowers).
Day 2 : Scey-sur-Saône – Gray
After three kilometres, you come to a lock-keeper’s house turned bar-restaurant Le Barnayout, upstream of the Saint-Albin Tunnel. This canal tunnel, measuring 681m in length, was constructed in the mid-19th century, under the reign of Napoleon III, to link up two branches of a meander in the Saône.
Riding beside the tunnel and canal, not far off, you’ll spot the Château de Rupt-sur-Saône, a very beautiful building consisting of a 13th-century keep and outbuildings.
- What to see & do: It’s possible to visit the tower, the hunting lodge, the Italian-style farm and more (opening hours for visitors are given at the Tourist Office)
Then you arrive at Ray-sur-Saône, designated a Cité de Caractère de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, its majestic château dominating the valley.
- What to see & do: Visit the magnificent English-style gardens and the château with its keep built over an extremely deep well that still exists today. Guided tours are put on.
Head on towards the Savoyeux Tunnel, not far from the marina. The tunnel dates back to the first half of the 19th century, part of a programme of major works initiated by Napoleon III. This tunnel is 643m in length.
Take a short break at Autet’s beach, overseen by lifeguards in season, where you can go for a dip and get a bite to eat.
Next, head for Gray, designated a Cité de Caractère de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, with its fine quays, gardens and monuments.
- What to see & do: check out the town hall’s Renaissance façade, the theatre, the 15th-century basilica, the Château-Musée Baron Martin and further museums.
Don't miss:
- Vesoul : Heritage City
- Scey-sur-Saône : City of Character of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
- The Saint-Albin tunnel
- Rupt-sur-Saône Castle
- The Château of Ray-sur-Saône
- The Savoyeux tunnel
- Gray : City of Character of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Getting there and back
Day 1 : Vesoul - Express Regional Train (TER) Paris-Belfort
Day 2 : MOBIGO Bus Gray-Besançon or Gray-Dijon (unique price : 1.50 €)
Map
Map
10 Port-sur-Saône / Ray-sur-Saône
