In the footsteps of Henry IV at Fontaine-Française

Starting point: car park on Rue de la Croix Brunot near the old station (now occupied by the technical services).

(S/E) Take the main road D960 towards the village centre.

(1) Just after the bridge, turn right down the path alongside the stream (old mill below the bridge). Cross the road and rejoin the path via a small bridge on the right.

(2) Enter the small island and follow the banks to the Étang Fourneau viewing platform.
Head west along the road until you reach the next street and turn right. Pass two streets on your right and continue to the silo.

(3) Walk past the sewage treatment plant and continue to the canal lock.

(4) Take a round trip across the bridge towards the woods and the meadow to the banks of the Vingeanne.

(5) Return to the bridge.

(4) Turn left onto the greenway until you reach the next bridge over the canal.

(6) Leave the greenway, climb the embankment, cross the bridge, then the small bridge over the Torcelle to the junction. Head slightly north-north-west, pass under a power line and past the ruins of an old farm

(7) At the crossroads of four paths, with the village of Fontenelle to your left, continue on to Étang Fourneau.
Observe the wildlife, then turn left for 100m for a return trip to the ruins of the blast furnace.

(8) Retrace your steps and walk along the pond to the sewage treatment plant, where you will find the path you took on the way there.

(3) Turn left to join the small road running alongside the stream between the two ponds until you reach the road bridge. Turn left as you cross the bridge, then take the first road on the right until you reach the D960.

Turn left twice to rejoin Rue Croix Brunot (S/E).

(5) Halfway along the route, tables and benches by the banks of the Vingeanne

- The 19th-century Château de Fontaine park with its 372 lime trees pruned into an arbour.
- Notre-Dame de la Motte Chapel (17th century) on the D27
- On leaving Fontaine-Française, heading towards Sainte-Seine l’Église on the D960, the Henri IV Fountain, built in 1804, commemorates the victorious battle led by the King of France (a Protestant) against the Catholic League allied with the Spanish army on 5 June 1595, which brought an end to the Wars of Religion
- At the end of Étang Fourneau, a ruined blast furnace, a site of metallurgical activity from the 17th to the 19th century, powered by water (8).
- Rosières Fortified House with a keep to ward off raiders, dating from 1474, already mentioned in the 11th century as a seigneurial barn, belonging to the Sainte-Seine family (5).
- The 224 km Saône-Marne Canal, with 114 locks and 2 tunnels, one of which runs beneath the Langres plateau; opened in 1907 after 27 years of construction: from Maxilly-sur-Saône to Vitry-le-François.
- Phragmites reed beds naturally filter out pollution from hydrocarbons, urban wastewater and nitrates (2).
- In the ponds, visitors can observe birds, fish and the European water vole (2).