Le Ménil () is a commune in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

department in

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

in northeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is sometimes called ''Le Ménil-Thillot'' to distinguish it from nearby Ménil-de-Senones. Inhabitants are called Guédons.

Geography

The commune is positioned in the southeast of the département, some to the west of the source of the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

Bussang Bussang (; or ''Büssing'') is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in Northeastern France. Known as the source of the Moselle River. See also *Communes of the Vosges department The following is a list of the 506 communes of t ...

. The intervening presence of a 952-meter mountain peak means that for motorists the drive to Bussang covers approximately however. Across the Ménil Pass to the northeast, and approached by smaller roads, is the less well known Moselotte River. The pass connects the seat of the canton, Le Thillot, with

Cornimont Cornimont (; ) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. History A World War II tank battle was fought in Cornimont at Haut-du-Faing on 16 October 1944. Population See also *Communes of the Vosges department ...

and a number of smaller mountain villages. The surrounding mountain summits offer superb views, and tourism has become a defining pillar of the local economy. Registered tourist accommodation exceeds 1,000 beds. The presence of a covered go-kart track in a village with a registered population of barely above 1,000 provides further evidence of the importance of tourism.

History

For a long time Le Ménil was a hamlet controlled by Ramonchamp, but it became a parish in its own right in 1735, and acquired the statute on a commune under the French Revolution.