Source de la Saône (Vioménil)

Vioménil

The Saône rises at Vioménil, in the Vôge, at the foot of the Ménamont, highest point of the monts Faucilles (467 m). Wikipedia gives an altitude of 405 metres. The site comprises, according to Wikipedia and a tourist sheet, a wash-house and a watering trough fed by the source, as well as an esplanade offering a panorama, with panels about the river. The commune straddles two basins: the Madon, a tributary of the Moselle, also rises there, at 410 metres, on the Rhine-Meuse side, whereas the Saône belongs to the Rhône basin. The river joins the Rhône at Lyon, at 163 metres, after about 473 kilometres (Wikipedia; 480 km according to the tourist sheet). The Doubs is its main tributary. As for the name, Ammianus Marcellinus, a 4th-century historian, writes that the Gauls call the Arar “Sauconna”; Wikipedia adds that this name would come from a sacred spring at Chalon, which we were unable to verify. No legend linked to the source at Vioménil was found.

Getting there: Rue de la Source de la Saône, at Vioménil (OpenStreetMap marker). Coordinates taken from this marker; precise access and parking not verified.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound