Besancon Hotels

City (1990 pop. 119,134), capital of Doubs dept., E France, in Franche-Comté, on the Doubs. An industrial town with metallurgical, textile, and food-processing industries, it is especially famous for its clock and watch manufactures; its watch school is world renowned. Of Gallo-Roman origin, Besançon was an archiepiscopal see from the 5th cent. Although part of the kingdom of Burgundy, it was made (by Emperor Frederick I) a free city, with special privileges for its archbishops. It maintained its independence, with interruptions, until 1648, when it passed under Spanish rule through its incorporation with Franche-Comté. After Louis XIV's second conquest of Franche-Comté (1674), Besançon became (1676) the capital of his new province. Although bombed during World War II, many old monuments remain: Roman ruins, a cathedral (12th-16th cent.), and numerous buildings in Spanish Renaissance style, notably the Palais Granvelle (birthplace of Cardinal Granvelle, now housing a museum) and the imposing town hall. An intellectual center, Besançon is the seat of a university (founded 1422 in Dôle and moved to Besançon in 1691), a music academy (founded 1726), and an international music festival.

Besançon, the capital of a free earldom up to its integration into the French Kingdom under Louis XIV.    Besançon, an old Spanish city dearly loved by Victor Hugo who was born there in 1802.  A city of poets, inspired inventors, with a long list of celebrities ranging from Granvelle to Hugo and including Charles Fournier, Charles Nodier, and the Lumière brothers all of whom have contributed to the fame of the Franche-Comté capital.  A unique treasure, coiled in a bend in the Doubs River, Besançon's exceptional beauty filled Caesar with awe. Located on road to Alsace, between the Burgundy region and Helvetia, Besançon is a European crossroads standing majestically behind ramparts built by Vauban.Both a river city and a spa; as if the city alone were not delightful enough Besançon is also the starting point for historical and nature jaunts. From the Joux Castle to the Vouglans Dam, from the Jura Massif to the Ognon Valley.