Ballon d'Alsace in the context of 2005 Tour de France

Belfort (French pronunciation: [bɛlfɔʁ] ; archaic German: Beffert, Beffort) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately 25 km (16 mi) from the Swiss border. It is the prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort.

Belfort is 400 km (250 mi) from Paris and 55 km (34 mi) from Basel. The residents of the city are called "Belfortains". The city is located on the river Savoureuse, on a strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap (Trouée de Belfort) or Burgundian Gate (Porte de Bourgogne). It is located approximately 16 km (10 mi) south from the base of the Ballon d'Alsace mountain range, source of the Savoureuse. The city of Belfort has 46,443 inhabitants (2019). Belfort is the centre of a larger functional area (metropolitan area) with 133,597 inhabitants (2018), between the larger metropolitan areas of Mulhouse and Montbéliard.

The GR 59 Grande Randonnée long-distance footpath in France connects two mountain ranges across relatively low-lying terrain. In the north, it begins at Ballon d'Alsace in the Vosges at a height of over 1000m. It loses height rapidly, and runs south-south-west through the département of the Haute-Saône to Besançon on the river Doubs, in the département of the same name. It then follows a circuitous route, partly along the river Loue (a tributary of the Doubs) to Lons-le-Saunier in the département of Jura. At St-Amour just south of Lons, the GR 9 splits from the GR 59 and takes a more easterly route, near the Swiss border, while the GR59 continues into the regions of Bugey and Revermont in the département of Ain, finally rejoining the GR 9 near Yenne on the banks of the Rhône; the GR 9 then continues to the Mediterranean at St-Tropez.

Towns and villages that the path passes through, with approximate heights and distances from the northern end of the path, include:

The Savoureuse (French pronunciation: [savuʁøz]) is the principal river running through the Territoire de Belfort. Its source is in the Ballon d'Alsace at 1190m altitude. From here, it runs through the city of Belfort to the town of Sochaux where it joins the Allan, a tributary to the Doubs. It is 41.2 km (25.6 mi) long.