14 Sights in Besançon, France (with Map and Images)
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Explore interesting sights in Besançon, France. Click on a marker on the map to view details about it. Underneath is an overview of the sights with images. A total of 14 sights are available in Besançon, France.
Sightseeing Tours in Besançon1. Mont de Bregille
The Mont de Brégille is a hill in the Jura massif, culminating at an altitude of 447 m, which makes it the fourth highest hill in the city of Besançon, after Planoise, Chapelle des Buis and Rosemont. Located entirely in the commune, bordered by the Doubs river, the hill includes a vast forest area that encompasses it almost entirely, as well as several residential areas forming the historic district of Bregille. Due to its geographical location, Bregille was for a long time a wine estate, thanks in particular to its sunshine which allowed terraced cultivation to flourish, but also a strategic military site due to its domination over the city and Vauban's citadel. Today, Mont de Bregille is a peri-urban site, appreciated by hikers and locals for its preserved and almost wild natural setting.
2. Citadelle de Besançon
The Citadel of Besançon is a 17th-century fortress in Franche-Comté, France. It is one of the finest masterpieces of military architecture designed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban. The Citadel occupies 11 hectares on Mount Saint-Etienne, one of the seven hills that protect Besançon, the capital of Franche-Comté. Mount Saint-Etienne occupies the neck of an oxbow formed by the river Doubs, giving the site a strategic importance that Julius Caesar recognised as early as 58 BC. The Citadel overlooks the old quarter of the city, which is located within the oxbow, and has views of the city and its surroundings.
3. Horloge astronomique
The Besançon astronomical clock is housed in Besançon Cathedral. Auguste-Lucien Vérité fr:Auguste-Lucien Vérité of Beauvais designed and built Besançon's present astronomical clock, between 1858 and 1863. It replaced an earlier clock that Bernardin had constructed in the 1850s that proved unsatisfactory. Besançon's clock differs from those in Strasbourg, Lyon, and Beauvais. The clock is meant to express the theological concept that each second of the day the Resurrection of Christ transforms the existence of man and of the world.
4. Porte taillée
The Porte taillée is a city gate located in Besançon (France). It was drilled in the rock of Saint-Étienne hill by the Romans under Vespasian or Marcus Aurelius, for the aqueduc of Besançon between Vaire-Arcier and square Castan. The passage is redeveloping during the Middle Ages in real city gate, and fortified in 1546 by Vauban under Charles Quint. The Porte taillée is classified Monument historique since 1944.
5. Église Saint-Pierre
The church of Saint-Pierre de Besançon is located in the Boucle district, on the Place du Huit-Septembre, in the heart of the city centre. It is named after Christendom's first pope and apostle of Christ, St. Peter. It is part of the Saint Etienne Pastoral Unit, which includes the churches in the city centre as well as that of Morre.
6. Chapelle Notre-Dame des Buis
The Chapel of Notre-Dame des Buis, commonly known as the Chapel of the Buis, is a Christian building dating back to at least the 17th century, located in Besançon in the district of La Boucle. The site in which it is placed as well as its architecture make it one of the most remarkable chapels in the city.
7. Synagogue de Besançon
The Synagogue of Besançon is the principal Jewish place of worship in the city of Besançon, France. The building is located in the area of Battant, near the old center of the town. It was built in 1869 and was inaugurated on 18 November. Since 1984 the building has been listed as a historical monument.
8. Abbaye Saint-Paul
The Abbey of Saint-Paul de Besançon is a former Augustinian abbey dating from the 7th century in the historic centre of Besançon in Franche-Comté. A prestigious abbey in the Middle Ages, the nave of the fourteenth-century Gothic abbey church is used to this day as a municipal lapidary reserve.
9. Église Sainte-Madeleine
The église Sainte-Madeleine is a neoclassical 18th century hall church in the Battant district of Besançon, France, dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. Antoine-Pierre II de Grammont, the archbishop of Besançon, had it built from 1746 to 1766 to plans by the architect Nicolas Nicole.
10. Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation
The Museum of the Resistance and Deportation of Besançon, labeled Museum of France, is located in the heart of the Citadel of Besançon, a high place of culture and tourism in Franche-Comté. Closed since 2020 for a complete overhaul, it reopened on September 8, 2023.
Wikipedia: Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation (Besançon) (FR)
11. Musée du Temps
The Musée du Temps de Besançon is a history and watchmaking museum located in Besançon in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, housed in one of the most beautiful palaces in the city, the Palais Granvelle.
12. Promenade Micaud
Parc Micaud or Promenade Micaud is a public garden in Besançon located on the banks of the Doubs River. It is named after Jean-Agathe Micaud, former mayor of Besançon from 1835 to 1843, and initiator of the park in 1843.
13. Mémorial Notre-Dame de la Libération
Our Lady of Liberation is a church built in an old fort at nearly 500 m of altitude near the hamlet of Chapelle des Buis, in the outskirts of the city of Besançon, in the department of Doubs, in eastern France.
14. Fontaine des Clarisses
The Fontaine des Clarisses is a public fountain located in Besançon, in the Doubs department. The fountain is located near the entrance to the former artillery school of Besançon at 4 rue Mégevand.
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Disclaimer Please be aware of your surroundings and do not enter private property. We are not liable for any damages that occur during the tours.