Free Walking Sightseeing Tour #3 in Besançon, France

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.

Wikipedia: Citadel of Besançon (EN)

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)

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.

Wikipedia: Besançon astronomical clock (EN)

The Château d'eau de la Source d'Arcier, also known as the Saint Jean Reservoir, is a water tower located in Besançon, in the Doubs department of France.

Wikipedia: Château d'eau de la source d'Arcier (FR)

The Fontaine du Doubs is a public fountain located in Besançon in the Doubs department.

Wikipedia: Fontaine du Doubs (FR)

The Veil-Picard family is a Jewish family from Haut-Rhin. The ancestor, Aaron Veil born May 5, 1794 in Oberhagental settled in Besançon where he exercised the profession of banker. He married Pauline Hauser-Picard in 1823; Their descendants will wear the Surname VEIL-PICARD. Aaron died on October 20, 1868 in Besançon.

Wikipedia: Famille Veil-Picard (FR)

The Fontaine des Carmes is a public fountain located in Besançon, in the Doubs department.

Wikipedia: Fontaine des Carmes (Besançon) (FR)

The Buyer hotel is a mansion located in Besançon in the Doubs department. It was built in the 17th century and 18th century.

Wikipedia: Hôtel de Buyer (FR)

The Hôtel de Ligniville is a mansion located in Besançon in the Doubs department.

Wikipedia: Hôtel de Ligniville (Besançon) (FR)

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.

Wikipedia: Musée du Temps (FR), Website

The Clermont hotel is a mansion located in Besançon in the Doubs department.

Wikipedia: Hôtel de Clermont (Besançon) (FR)

The birthplace of the Lumière brothers is the apartment where the Lumière brothers were born in 1862 and 1864, 1 place Victor-Hugo in La Boucle de Besançon in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

Wikipedia: Maison natale des frères Lumière (FR)

The Saint-Quentin fountain is a public fountain located in Besançon, in the Doubs department.

Wikipedia: Fontaine Saint-Quentin (FR)

The Hôtel de Camus is a private mansion located in Besançon in the Doubs department.

Wikipedia: Hôtel de Camus (FR)

The Hôtel Petit de Marivat is an eighteenth-century mansion in Besançon, Doubs, Franche-Comté. It has been listed as a historical monument since 8 July 1942.

Wikipedia: Hôtel Petit de Marivat (FR)

The Franche-Comté Regional Contemporary Art Fund is a regional contemporary art fund created by the Franche-Comté region in 1982.

Wikipedia: Fonds régional d'art contemporain de Franche-Comté (FR)

La Rodia is a French concert hall located in Besançon, in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.

Wikipedia: La Rodia (FR), Website

The fort of Bregille is a fortification located in the French city of Besançon.

Wikipedia: Fort of Bregille (EN)

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.

Wikipedia: Mont de Brégille (FR)