The Balcons de la Saône circular route starting from Godoncourt

Park in Godoncourt, for example next to the church or the cemetery.

(S/E) Head down towards the village centre, turn left onto Rue de l’Eglise, then right onto Rue du Counot to reach the junction with Rue du Moulin.

(1) Cross the road and take the Grande Rue, then continue along Rue du Paquis. At the next junction, head up to the right into the meadow (follow the signs for Ermitage Chapelle Sainte-Anne). Continue to the junction by the chapel.

(2) Turn left, follow the signs for ‘Ermitage Sainte-Anne’, and continue for about 200 metres to reach the chapel.

(3) Return to the crossroads.

(2) Turn left onto the footpath. Pass the Mervau farm, cross Mont de Savillon, turning right after the bridge over the Saône.

(4) Turn right onto the D460 road, then left onto the first country lane. Continue on to reach Monthureux-sur-Saône.

(5) At the junction, follow the blue triangular signs to the left towards Bignovre and Tignécourt.

(6) Turn left after the Bouvrot farm, keep to the left and continue along the road beside the Darney Forest, always following the blue triangular signposts towards Tignécourt. Watch out for guard dogs as you pass the Bignovre farm.
You’ll reach the junction with the track leading left into the Bigneure Forest.

(7) Continue along the edge of the forest until you reach the Croix Pierron crossroads.

(8) Keep the wide track straight ahead and carry on straight on to reach the pretty village of Tignécourt.

(9) At the first junction, take the road on the left. Once on the D15, turn left for 100 metres, then turn right to reach the Vilain Rupt stream. Cross it and carry on straight ahead to reach Flabémont Abbey.

(10) Turn right, then left to reach a junction not far from the Flabémont forest ranger’s house. Follow the blue triangular signposts towards Saint-Julien by turning left. Walk gently uphill to reach the village of Saint-Julien at the cemetery.

(11) Turn left. At the junction, turn right then left onto the Grand Rue du Craie. Continue along the Rue de la Maladière to finish crossing the village. At the junction with the D15a, follow the red rectangular markers towards Godoncourt until you reach the D460.

(12) Turn right onto the D460 and follow it for about a hundred metres (take care), then turn left off it. Continue along the country lane until you reach the junction with the D15b.

(13) Go straight on, past the pumping station, then carry on straight ahead to reach Godoncourt and the original junction.

(1) Turn right and retrace your steps in the opposite direction to return to the starting car park (S/E).

Bring water and a packed lunch, as there are no places to eat. You could therefore include a visit to a restaurant in Les Thons, the Couvent des Cordeliers or the Auberge Bigneuvre, but you’ll need to check in advance whether they’re open.

(7) You can take a shortcut via a path that runs through the woods for 2 km to reach Saint-Julien via the Bignovre inn and restaurant.

(4) You can also visit the goat’s cheese shop.