Discover Vesoul: culture, landscapes and lake

Vesoul offers several distinct points of interest to help you plan your trip: art and architectural history in the town, La Motte as a limestone hill of religious significance, and gardens and lakeside destinations. Leisure activities range from a lakeside circuit to cycling and water sports in the surrounding area. You can decide which of these aspects to focus on based on your interests.

Art and architectural history in Vesoul

The Musée Jean-Léon Gérôme is housed in a former Ursuline convent dating from 1680; the building covers 1,200 m². The museum displays paintings and sculptures by Jean-Léon Gérôme and also holds the region’s most important collection of Gallo-Roman funerary steles. For travellers interested in culture, works by a single artist and Gallo-Roman funerary steles are thus presented as two distinct collection areas.

In Vesoul’s Centre Ancien, some houses feature a style based on a medieval model, with rectangular floor plans and small stair towers. Saint-Georges Church adds another perspective on architectural history as an example of religious architecture from the early 18th century in Haute-Saône. Its grand organ has 3,336 pipes. Residential buildings with distinctive floor plans and religious architecture with a specific feature are thus presented as distinct examples.

La Motte and the Jardin Anglais

La Motte is a limestone hill overlooking Vesoul. It is also a pilgrimage site and sanctuary, crowned by the Notre-Dame Chapel. La Motte offers a lovely view of Vesoul. Unlike the Musée, where artworks and funerary steles take centre stage, here religious significance is intertwined with the landscape of the hill.

The Jardin Anglais is in the heart of Vesoul, covers 3 hectares and is home to 850 plant species. It has been awarded the national Jardin Remarquable designation. The garden also includes a rose garden with a pergola and play areas for children. If you are travelling with children, the play areas specifically mentioned may be relevant to your plans; the diversity of plants and the rose garden offer a separate horticultural focus.

Lake, paths and water sports

Lac de Vesoul-Vaivre is an artificial lake covering 86 hectares, located 3 km from Vesoul city centre. A 5 km walking and running path goes all the way around the lake. The two distances answer different questions: three kilometres refers to the lake’s distance from the city centre, while five kilometres is the length of the complete route around the water.

In the area around Vesoul, the Chemin Vert starts in Quincey; the cycling and walking route connects to EuroVelo 6. The Vélorails de Vesoul offer a different kind of route: the flat out-and-back route is 9 km long and takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. When choosing between them, different planning details come to the fore: the Chemin Vert has a specified starting point and connection, while the Vélorail route has an approximate duration and a flat profile. If you are planning a trip, check the latest operating information.

In the surrounding area, the Club Nautique Haut-Saônois de Vesoul offers windsurfing, dinghy sailing, catamaran sailing, canoeing, kayaking and pedal boating at the lake’s western sailing base. The Base de Voile Jean-Marie Savet is on the western shore of Lac de Vesoul-Vaivre. It was founded in 1981 and has borne this name since 8 June 2013.

The club enables people with disabilities to sail in specially designed boats and with appropriately adapted facilities. The base also provides adapted equipment, particularly for people with reduced mobility. If these services are important to your plans, check the current facilities and availability directly with the provider in advance.

Discover more destinations: Marnay, Saint-Julien, Luxeuil-Les-Bains, Bourbévelle, Fondremand, Villars-Le-Pautel, Anjeux, Briaucourt

For the main travel overview: Haute-Saône.