Circular route starting from Pointre

Park around Pointre Church, on grassy areas. There are no designated parking spaces.

(S/E) Walk down the alleyway alongside the church and cemetery. Look for the Marianne coat of arms on the right at the bottom of this alleyway. Turn left (D15), staying on the right-hand pavement. Walk past the town hall on your left. Opposite the town hall, turn right onto Rue du Lavoir to see the wash house.

(1) Turn around and, facing the town hall again, continue to the right, down the main street (D15) to the Ancienne Fontaine de Pointre.

(2) Continue for 150 m on the D15.

(3) At the village exit, continue straight ahead (D15), cross the bridge over the Ruisseau de Montmirey and continue walking for 250 m. Continue carefully to the right on the D87 until you reach the next four-way intersection.

(4) Turn right onto the tarmac road. View of the unusual bell tower of the church in Frasne-les-Meulières. The tarmac turns into a stone path. Arrive at the edge of the Ruisseau de Frasne.

(5) At the edge of the woods, without crossing the stream, turn left onto the dirt track until you reach the D87. Follow it to the right for 100 m to enter Frasne-les-Meulières from the north.

(6) First cross pattée. Continue through the village, passing the wash house, fountain and bench, and admire the church.

(7) Walk around the church to find the second cross. Look at the weather vane opposite the house next to the church. Return to Rue du Guidon and pass the war memorial followed by the statue of the Virgin Mary. Admire the typical stone houses, which have been beautifully restored. Continue straight ahead on Rue du Guidon until you reach the third cross, to the south .

(8) Turn left onto Rue du Poirier Rond until it intersects with Chemin des Lavottes. At the crossroads of these two roads, above on the left, you will find the fourth cross.

(9) After studying this new cross, take the grassy path that leads back up to the village. At the crossroads of four streets, take Grande Rue on the right for 150 metres.

(10) On the left, slightly set back, towards the village exit, you will find a fifth cross pattée. To find the next cross, retrace your steps and turn right onto Rue Haute until you reach the T-junction.

(11) On the left, you will find the village's sixth cross, nestled in a hedge.
Continue a little further along the white path to learn more about the village and discover Le Chemin du Tacot, a possible walk for the whole family.
Return to the cross and go up Rue du Rougelot on the left to the Chapoutote Funeral Chapel. Then go back down via a gravel path.

(12) Halfway down, you will see a small wooden bridge on your left. Cross it to cross the stream and leave the gravel path. Climb up the path through the woods, following the small stream to its source. Continue along this path, taking care not to slip in wet weather. Ignore the side paths and continue straight ahead.

(13) At the next three-way junction, keep to the right as you descend and wind your way down. Leave the entrance to a rock face on your left. Climb again. At the next fork, turn right, then climb more steeply to the left.
At a T-junction, continue climbing, ignoring the side paths. Follow the GPS track carefully. You will reach the summit of Mont Guérin and pass one of the entrances to the archaeological site (worth seeing). There is a stone marker on the edge; take the path to the left of it. Climb further to reach the top of the prehistoric quarry. Reach a T-junction and turn left. The path widens until the next crossroads. Continue climbing to the Oratoire du Mont Guérin: panoramic view of the Saône plain. Information panel.

(14) Continue along the path, which climbs slightly. At the fork, keep left on a narrower path that descends through a sparse wood. Take care on the descent if it is wet. Leave the path on the right, marked with a yellow cross on a tree, and continue straight down. Decorated fir trees in the forest to celebrate Christmas. Finally , join the D15e.

(15) Follow it, on the left, carefully towards Montmirey-la-Ville. Walk along the castle grounds on the right. Note the cross on the left, at the entrance to the village.
First view of the château visible from the open gates leading to the grounds. The grounds are not open to the public in winter. Please note: the owners of the château allow visitors to enter the grounds, provided they stay on the signposted path: Parc.
Leave the park and take the first right after the park entrance. A small grassy path leads to Rue du Château.

(16) You can see the back of the castle and its outbuildings through the closed gates.
Continue along this path called Montée de la Riotte, cross the Ruisseau de la Brizotte stream, pass in front of a fountain, then turn right onto Rue de Montmirey le Château (D15). Climb carefully, following the castle grounds again, with the guide on your right. You will arrive at the village exit sign at the right-hand bend.

(17) Take the grassy path that leads straight ahead, north-east. Walk along the fields on your left and be careful of mud in wet weather.

(18) Cross the small bridge on the right over a stream and continue straight ahead along a lane between a few houses, Chemin des Vignes de Bardoux, to join the D15. Turn left onto this road to enter Montmirey-le-Château. Take note of the Croix du Souvenir des Déportés 39-45 (Memorial Cross for Deportees 39-45) on the right, as well as some works of art and a wash house on the left. Reach the T-junction, opposite the Virgin Mary statue.

(19) Turn right towards the town hall and walk up towards the church. Go inside to see the murals and ceiling through the railings. Walk along the right-hand side of the church on Rue du Cimetière.

(20) Further up, on the right, behind the church, take the first path on the right (service barriers) to reach the ivy-covered castle ruins and the Virgin Mary statue. Walk around and then descend the shaded path, which then becomes tarmac, turning left in front of the cemetery. At the stop sign, join and turn left onto the D15 until it joins Rue de Champagney towards Champagnolot.

(21) Turn right onto this road. Walk down the left-hand side of the street, which is designed for pedestrians. Leave Montmirey-le-Château and go to the third intersection on the left.

(22) Take the gravel path that branches off to the left. Continue straight ahead, ignoring the side paths. Go around the poplar grove, keeping to the left until you reach a dead end covered in brambles.

(23) Follow the GPS track carefully: turn right through the woods. At the fork, turn left between the fir trees. Follow the edge of the fields all the way along. The path is more or less well maintained. At the crossroads, keep to the right. Cross a stream, turn right and then
immediately left to take the grassy path. At the next crossroads, turn left then right. Cross another stream and continue left along the stream until you reach a T-junction.

(24) Descend to the left and leave the woods via the white path until you reach the next intersection.

(25) Turn right and follow the stony path along the hedges and the Ruisseau de Montmirey. Cross the first bridge over the stream and continue until you reach the junction with the D15, which you passed on the way there.

(3) Turn right, pass the town hall again and then turn right, following Rue de l'Église. Discover the characters and animals that decorate the street. Return to the church and the car park (S/E).

Picnic recommended at the Oratoire du Mont Guérin for its panoramic view of the Saône plain.
Picnics are possible from the sixth cross on the Chemin du Tacot.
Some tricky sections in wet weather. Bring walking sticks.

Frasne-les-Meulières
Crosses (6)
This is a type of Christian cross with narrow arms at the centre and wide arms at the edges, named after the fact that these arms resemble animal paws. There are several variations of the pattée cross.
One of the meanings is that the millstone at the base represents the victory of the cross over serfdom. They are mostly large and placed at crossroads or paths, either to place the village under divine protection against invasions or epidemics, or to exorcise the danger that crossroads have always represented in the collective unconscious.
The Tacot Trail
A picturesque route to Mont Guérin, it partly follows the old tramway line that linked Pesmes to Dole from 1901 to 1933. A beautiful climb up Mont Guérin awaits you.

Montmirey-la-Ville
The village was built over the centuries along the Brizotte, a stream which, after swelling with water from Mont-Guérin, Offlanges and Montmirey-le-Château, joins the Saône at Auxonne. It has a rich history dating back several centuries. Here you can find old stone houses belonging to bourgeois families and winegrowers, surrounding a church first mentioned in the 13th century and rebuilt many times, which tell the story of Montmirey-la-Ville's past.
In 1323, Jeanne, Queen of France and Countess of Burgundy, granted a charter of freedom to the inhabitants of "her castle, her borough of the Town and her place of Montmiray": at that time, the two Montmireys formed a single community. Today, only a few ruins remain of the medieval castle that gave Montmirey-le-Château its name.
The castle
It was built in the 17th century. Part of the Tour de Velleguindry, the only remnant of a pre-existing ancient castle, remains in its outbuildings. Access to the remarkable library of Comtois works and incunabula is reserved for researchers.
Castle grounds
Unlike the castle, the park is open to the public every day of the year, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., free of charge.
(except on certain days in winter)
It was designed in 1880 by landscape architect Michel Brice of Besançon, replacing the vineyard that had been destroyed by phylloxera.
On the road to Moissey, enter through the entrance gate (an 18th-century structure topped with a crown of leaves and flowers, originally from the Château de Valay in Haute-Saône) to discover the grassy or dirt paths, the small bridge over the stream and the flood spillway. There are also some beautiful trees to see: cedars, sequoias, Scots pines, Austrian black pines, a 300-year-old oak, lime trees and silver lime trees. Finally, the pond at the end of the trail beautifully reflects the château.
Saint-Didier Church
It consists of a bell tower crowned with an octagonal spire, a nave with a semi-circular vault decorated with Tuscan pilasters, a choir and an octagonal sanctuary dating from the 15th century, and a sacristy.
Of particular note is an ancient statue of Saint Didier depicted in his archbishop's robes, seated and holding his severed head on his knees. The lords of Montmirey were buried in this church.
Moulin Fountain
This stone fountain was built in 1807 and originally had a roof, which has since collapsed. It is fed by a spring from the cellar next door; the water from the wash house then continues its journey into the Brisotte stream.
Next to it is a beautiful millstone basin, which now contains flowers but was probably used as a drinking trough for cows and horses, as it is located behind the old stables of the castle.
"Müller" wash house and drinking trough
Built in 1806 based on plans from 1793. Once the spring dried up, the inhabitants decided to build another one, fed by other springs. The first wash house was then filled with rubble and earth during work to install running water and sewers in the village in the 1960s. Only a few coping stones are still visible, as well as the sump, which is embedded in the semicircular wall. A four-sided roof was planned to shelter the washerwomen from the rain, but this construction has always been postponed. In June 2008, volunteers from the village undertook to brighten up their village, including this old wash house, with a view to reclaiming the local hydraulic heritage.
Buisson wash house
Opposite the first buried wash house is a second, larger wash house covered with old mechanical tiles, which was built when the first wash house was drained. Although it is impossible to know the exact date, period photographs show that the first wash house was still in use around 1910.

Montmirey-le-Château

• Ruins of a medieval castle dating back to Mahaut d'Artois, sworn enemy of the Lord of Rochefort (early 14th century).
• Church of the Nativity of the Virgin
• Fountains, Rue de Champagney and La Ruelle (on the road to Brans)
• Wash house fountain, Grande Rue
• Town hall, Rue de l'Église
• War memorial, Rue de l'Église
• Statue of Mary, Rue de l'Église