Besancon, France Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

The capital of Franche-Comté, BESANÇON is an ancient and attractive grey-stone town at the northern edge of the Jura mountains, enclosed in a loop of the River Doubs, whose lugubrious meanders define the layout of the old town. The tongue of land it sits on has been protected since Roman times, when it lay on a major trading route; the indefatigable Vauban added the still-extant fortifications and a citadel to guard the natural breach in the river. Once a major centre of French clock-making, Besançon was also the birthplace of artificial silk – or rayon – in 1890. It counts among its … more »