Balloon of the Vosges

The Ballon d'Alsace German: Elsässer Belchen (el. 1247 m.), sometimes also called the Alsatian Belchen to distinguish it from other mountains named "Belchen" is a mountain at the border of Alsace, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté. From its top, views include the Vosges, the Rhine valley, the Black Forest, and the Alps.

The Col du Ballon d'Alsace (1,178 m (3,865 ft)) is a mountain pass situated close to the summit of the Ballon d'Alsace (1,247 m (4,091 ft)) in the Vosges Mountains of France. It connects Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle (Vosges) with Masevaux (Haut-Rhin) and Belfort.The Ballon d'Alsace was the first official mountain climb in the Tour de France on 11 July 1905 although the tour had crossed the slightly lower Col de la République (1,161 m (3,809 ft)) in each of the previous two years.