Over a third of the Haute-Saône is covered by forest and home to the Plateau des Mille Etangs with over a thousand lakes. The area is sparsely populated but its extensive waterways stretch for over 2,000 km.

A fully signed route guides travellers through the département which in many ways feels like an almost secret landscape.

Despite modern, urban sprawl and the Peugeot car factories around Vesoul, there are still some old quarters of the town to explore. A museum of local archaeology and art, Le Musée Garret, and the 18th century Eglise St Georges are both worth a visit before climbing up to Le Château de La Motte, the centre of the medieval town. There are good views across to the Vosges mountains. Less energetic is a walk around the large lake. A carnival takes place every March.

Built on a gallo-roman site, Port sur Saône is now a popular water sports and boating centre. Canal boats and canoes can be hired in the town. The 13-arch bridge across the Saône has an historic inscription on the middle parapet dating from the 1793 Revolution - Malheur à vous, aristocrates.

Plateau des Mille Etangs

In the north of the département, Luxeuil-les-Bains is a spa town with a clutch of renaissance buildings and over 10 thermal springs at temperatures up to the mid 60s. Visitors come for the water treatments (the water is mildly radioactive). Nearby is the market town of Fougerolles which is a major producer of kirsch.

The former miner’s town of Ronchamp has a chapel - although many would disagree and say a sculpture - by Le Corbusier, the Chapelle Notre Dame du Haut .

Built of concrete and finished in 1955 the white chapel’s dramatically fluid form caused a sensation at the time. Some say it is one of the masterpieces of 20th century design. The seemingly random series of openings on the south face only make sense when you’re inside. They combine to make a wall of mini-stained windows that look like a series of projectionists’ boxes in a cinema which the light floods through. It’s a particularly arresting and unusual effect.

Lure is strung out along the N19 between Belfort and Vesoul. In passing, look out for the 18th century town hall.

	Château de Gy

Gray in the south of the département with its renaissance hôtel de ville and Baron Martin museum housed in the 18th century château is worth a stop. The 17th century Paravis tower in the small square is open to the public and the top has stunning views over the Saône valley. For the curious, the town also has the National Esperanto Museum.

Champlitte - set among vineyards in a spectacularly green valley - has a particular atmosphere built up by the succession of squares and fountains you come across giving various views over the Salon valley. The château houses the Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires, which is an eclectic collection of customs and rural traditions. There is also a section on winemaking.

Pesmes has been judged one of the prettiest villages in France. Behind the old ramparts lies a maze of narrow streets and richly decorated houses. Despite the ravages of wars and the Revolution, it is still interesting to walk around the old town to visit Château Rouillaud and La Maison Royale.