The Vosges Mountains: A Hidden Natural Treasure
At the gateway to Alsace lies a mountain range of striking beauty that remains one of France's best-kept secrets. The Vosges Mountains, with their characteristic rounded summits, deep forests of fir and beech, glacial lakes, and high pastures, offer a natural setting of exceptional richness. The Parc naturel régional des Ballons des Vosges, one of France's largest regional parks, forms its beating heart.
The Route des Crêtes: A Legendary Panoramic Journey
The Route des Crêtes, traced during the First World War, winds through the Vosges heights from Cernay to Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines. This ribbon of asphalt delivers breathtaking panoramas over the Alsatian plain, the Black Forest, and, on clear days, the Swiss Alps on the horizon. It is one of France's most spectacular roads, prized by motorists, motorcyclists, and cyclists alike.
Along this route, every stop is a discovery: accessible summits, welcoming farm-inns, and viewpoints embracing landscapes of timeless beauty.
Grand Ballon and Hohneck: The Sentinels of the Vosges
Rising to 1,424 metres, the Grand Ballon is the highest point in the range. From its summit, the panorama extends 360 degrees across the Alsatian plain, the Black Forest, the Jura, and the Alps. The site is also steeped in history, with the vestiges of Hartmannswillerkopf, a major Great War memorial.
The Hohneck (1,363m), the range's third-highest peak, impresses with its vertiginous glacial cirques and sweeping views over the Vosgian valleys. Hikers encounter chamois and Vosgian cattle grazing on the altitude pastures, in a setting reminiscent of the finest Alpine meadows.
Glacial Lakes and Remarkable Biodiversity
The Vosges harbour glacial lakes of striking beauty: Lake Gérardmer, nicknamed the "Pearl of the Vosges", Lac Blanc, Lac des Truites, and Lake Longemer. These mirrors of water nestled in wooded cirques invite contemplation, summer swimming, and lakeside strolls.
The range shelters exceptional biodiversity: the Eurasian lynx, the capercaillie, 2,500 plant species including carnivorous sundew in peat bogs and wild orchids in ancient meadows.
Farm-Inns: The Gourmet Soul of the Vosges
The Vosges fermes-auberges perpetuate a centuries-old tradition of mountain hospitality. The legendary repas marcaire — meat pie, roïgabrageldi (potato galette), farmhouse Munster cheese, and blueberry tart — constitutes an authentic, heartwarming gastronomic experience, savoured against the backdrop of the high pastures.
"The Vosges Mountains offer that rare alchemy of natural grandeur, living heritage, and preserved authenticity."
Four-Season Activities
The range reinvents itself with the seasons: hiking and mountain biking across thousands of kilometres of marked trails in summer, alpine and Nordic skiing at La Bresse-Hohneck, Gérardmer, and Markstein in winter, paragliding from the Grand Ballon, road cycling on legendary cols featured in the Tour de France, and exploring Christmas markets in villages at the foot of the massif in December.
The Vosges with Adopte Une Conciergerie
Adopte Une Conciergerie creates bespoke escapes in the Vosges Mountains for you: private guided nature hikes, farm-inn lunches, Alsace wine tastings in historic cellars, luxury transfers, and accommodation in the region's finest establishments. Rediscover nature with excellence of service.