Belfort (Territoire de Belfort)

Belfort sits across the border from Germany and Switzerland between the Vosges and Jura mountains.

Belfort is known as the last stronghold during the 1870 Prussian War, avoiding the fate of neighouring Alsace and Lorraine who were forced to capitulate to Germany.

At the head of military operations was Colonel Denfert-Rochereau who has many streets named after him as well as a Parisian metro station. Besieged in Belfort’s citadel by superior force, this doughty colonel and his men withstood the German assault for 103 days, giving up only after armistice. Their heroism is commemorated by the Belfort lion, a great beast in red sandstone guarding the way up to the citadel and overlooking the workaday town on the banks of the Savoureuse far below.

A symbol to Belfort's heroic past in the form of a pink sandstone lion statue was constructed by Frederic Bartholdi who also designed the Statue of Liberty. Another reminder of Belfort's military past is Vauban's citadel that survived a total of three sieges. The fortifications offer splendid views!  

Belfort became part of the Franche-Comte region in 1921. Belfort is a trading centre for wine and grain and its industries include chemicals, engineering, plastics and textiles. Belfort is also the hometown of Alstom where the first TGVs (Trains Grande Vitesse) were manufactured. As well as GE Energy Gas turbine division.

Regional specialties

The land between Alsace and the Franche-Comté is full of traditions. Here you will hear just as much about Gewurztraminer, late harvest wine, sparkling Crémant d’Alsace, a Munster-based meal, Sauerkraut, Baëckoffe, Munster… as you will about yellow wine, Montbéliard or Morteau sausage, straw wine, Comté cheese, Mont d’Or cheese, Cancoillotte (a melted cheese and garlic dish) or even absinthe.

To complete this gastronomical spread, discover the original creations made by the artisans of the Territoire de Belfort, an expression of their know-how.

Events

• The 20th “Entre Vues” - Belfort international Film Festival at Cinema multiplex "des Quais" - each year, by vocation, the Belfort International Film Festival takes on a daring but necessary challenge: to point out, come across and unearth works of film directors, still unknown, or barely known.
• The FIMU (International University Music Festival) - each Whitsun weekend, the “Old town” of Belfort is in a real state of agitation: 3 days non stop, 3 000 musicians from all over the planet, 15 venue spots in the city of the Lion and dozens of free concerts.
•  The 'Eurockéennes' of Belfort - Rock festival at the lake "Malsaucy". On the peninsula of Malsaucy, some 90 000 people come to celebrate, every first weekend of July, stars and the newly-discovered. The “Eurockéennes” are open to a wide range of styles: rock, reggae, world or electronic.
• The Flea market - the largest flea market in the east of France! From March to december, 1st Sunday of each month. A real paradise for bargain-hunters.

Leisure activities

The Territoire de Belfort is the only department in France to have two mountain chains side by side. This explains the wide variety of landscape and thus a large diversity of sports activities: hiking along the 540 km of marked footpaths, mountain-biking tracks or cycle tracks. The setting also offers full scope for air and water sports, golf, winter sports (cross-country and downhill ski, snowshoe,…), etc.

Climate

500km from any maritime influence, Territoire de Belfort enjoys a central continental climate influenced mostly by its topography. Lying between the Vosges and Jura and oriented south-west/north-east, it can be windy at times. It can be very cold in the winter months.

About the location

Belfort is located in the Territoire de Belfort department in the Franche-Comté region in northeastern France.

Public transport available

Air: The nearest international airport is Basel-Mulhouse, a 40 min journey. The airport is actually in Switzerland but has a direct exit into France so make sure that you go through the French immigration channel on arrival.

Rail: There are direct trains from Paris to Belfort which take about 4 hours.

Road: A36 autoroute, Lyon-Strasbourg.

Tourist information website

http://www.ot-belfort.fr/

Tourist information contact email

tourisme90@ot-belfort.fr

Tourist information switch board number

Tourist information address

Maison du Tourisme, 2 rue Clémenceau - 90000, Belfort, France

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