Grand Ballon

The Grand Ballon rises to 1,424 metres, making it the highest point of the entire Vosges massif as well as of the Haut-Rhin département. Located some twenty kilometres north-west of Mulhouse, it visually dominates the city and a large part of the Alsace plain that stretches out at its feet.

Sometimes called the Ballon de Guebwiller, after the nearest town, the summit is crowned at its highest point by a radome, a former military installation now converted, which remains visible from many points of the massif. The surrounding landscape of open, treeless high pastures contrasts with the dense forests covering the lower slopes of the Vosges.

The Route des Crêtes, built during the First World War for strategic purposes, lets you drive almost to the summit, from where a few minutes' walk is enough to enjoy the panorama. On particularly clear days, the view can stretch as far as the Bernese Alps, more than 200 kilometres away.

← Other sites in Haut-Rhin