Things to do in Besançon
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Besançon
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Green river, best fort paths, calm museums and terraces in full use.
River season at its peak, but heat makes climbs early morning work and some independents close in August.
The best month: music festival and book festival in mid September, with Jura colour following.
Mont d'Or returns, museums quieten and the Osselle caves run their last weeks.
Christmas market around Place de la Révolution and Granvelle, pleasant and regional in scale.
Coldest, quietest and cheapest, with caves closed and short days. The months to choose last.
What's on
- Festival international de musique de Besançon Franche-Comté Usually mid September
One of France's oldest classical festivals, over 30 concerts, with a biennial young conductor competition.
- Livres dans la Boucle mid September
Major book festival bringing authors and readers into the Boucle, in Victor Hugo's home town.
- Marché de Noël de Besançon late November to December
Christmas chalets around Place de la Révolution and Granvelle, regional food and crafts.
Best things to do in Besançon
Citadelle de Besançon
Vauban fortress above the Doubs loop, with rampart views, a zoo and three museums inside one ticket.
Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation
The Citadelle museum reviewers rate highest, telling the war and deportation story of Franche-Comté.
Musée du Temps
Watchmaking museum in the Palais Granvelle, the story of the city that became France's watch capital.
Cathédrale Saint-Jean de Besançon
Free cathedral under the Citadelle, with the famous astronomical clock reached on a guided visit.
Maison natale de Victor Hugo
Hugo's birthplace museum, small and serious, on his writing, politics and fight for free expression.
Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie de Besançon
One of France's oldest public museums, with Egyptian and Roman finds and a major drawings cabinet.
Porte Noire
Roman triumphal arch at the top of Grande Rue, the gateway to Square Castan and the Citadelle climb.
Frac Franche-Comté
Contemporary art in a striking riverside building, best when the current exhibition interests you.
Where to stay in Besançon
La Boucle
first trip, all-round base
Inside the Doubs loop, walkable to every sight, museum and restaurant.
Battant
lively, local and cheaper
Across the river from Grande Rue, with student bars, smaller restaurants and the FRAC nearby.
Parc Micaud and Mouillère
drivers and families
Leafy residential bank with larger hotels, parking and a riverside walk into the centre.
Geneuille
countryside gastronomic base
A mansion hotel in gardens 15 minutes away, chosen for its restaurant and spa, not for the city.
Think twice about
- Planoise
Large estate in the west with a long standing reputation for deprivation and periodic disorder, and nothing a visitor needs. Base in the Boucle instead.
- Viotte station perimeter
Functional streets that are quiet in the wrong way late at night. Use the station for trains and sleep in the Boucle.
- Chateaufarine retail strips
Safe but characterless western retail zone, a drive from every dinner. Fine for a road night only.
Best restaurants in Besançon
Le Manège
Refined seasonal dining room at the Citadelle foot, Besançon's consensus special occasion table.
Le Saint Pierre
Gastronomic classic in Battant cooking market produce into intense, classical modern plates.
Loiseau du Temps
Loiseau group dining room inside the Museum of Time building, the Boucle's grandest setting.
Le 1802
Modern French cooking on the Granvelle terrace, the centre's best all round lunch or dinner.
Le Petit Atelier
Small fusion favourite cooking French technique through Asian flavours, a local palate reset.
Les Gamins
Lively central bistro where students' parents, professionals and visitors all meet at one price.
Le Cercle
Seasonal market cooking in a relaxed local room, the consistent third night answer in Besançon.
L'Alsacien Besançon
Alsatian brasserie on the river for flammekueche and choucroute, fast, generous and great value.
Outdoor things to do in Besançon
Fort de Chaudanne
Woodland hike to the fort facing the Citadelle, for the postcard view over the whole Doubs loop.
Fort de Bregille
Green hill walk through fort woods above the river, surprisingly rural minutes from Grande Rue.
EuroVelo 6
Greenway cycling along the Doubs in either direction, east to Deluz or west to Ranchot.
Vedettes de Besançon
Boat loop through the tunnel canal and locks, seeing the old town as a near island from the water.
Woka Loisirs
Canoe descents on the Doubs from the Avanne base, gentle water with a shuttle back to the start.
Golf de Besançon
Wooded 18 hole par 72 course 14 km east of the city, welcoming visitors with a handicap certificate.
Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans
Ledoux's semicircular royal saltworks, a UNESCO day trip by car, train or bike from Besançon.
Ornans
Courbet's home town on the Loue, for riverside walks to castle viewpoints and a gentle valley day.
Best hotels in Besançon
Hôtel Le Sauvage
Former convent at the Citadelle foot with a park, terrace and spa, the best hotel in Besançon.
Château de la Dame Blanche
Country mansion hotel with gardens, spa and acclaimed restaurant, a gastronomic base near Besançon.
Hotel Vauban
Well run hotel on the river edge of the Boucle, with Grande Rue and the centre behind it.
Hôtel de Paris
Classic central hotel in the Boucle shopping heart, the value pick with real character.
Best Western Citadelle
Quiet, central hotel near the Citadelle foot, with soundproofed rooms and parking arrangements.
Mercure Besançon Parc Micaud
Larger full service hotel facing Parc Micaud, best for families, drivers and easy parking.
Hôtel du Nord
Simple, central budget hotel in the Boucle, proof that cheap in Besançon need not mean exiled.
ibis Besançon Centre Ville
Clean, predictable chain hotel on the Boucle's northern edge, good for a late staffed arrival.
Is Besançon expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €65 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €120 a person |
| Splurge | €280 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Théâtre Ledoux: weeks ahead
- Woka Loisirs: a few days ahead
- Golf de Besançon: a few days ahead
- Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans: a few days ahead
- Hôtel Le Sauvage: weeks ahead
- Château de la Dame Blanche: weeks ahead
- Le Manège: a few days ahead
- Le Saint Pierre: a few days ahead
- Festival concerts and Théâtre Ledoux headline nights in September need weeks.
- Le Manège, Le Saint Pierre and Le Sauvage need days, longer for weekends.
- Book Saline Royale entry, Osselle in summer, weekend golf and July to August canoe descents ahead.
Is Besançon safe?
- Central Besançon is calm and well lit, with student squares lively late in term time.
- Take care on Citadelle and fort paths in wet weather and on riverbanks after rain.
- Emergency number is 112.
Besançon travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The astronomical clock is under long restoration and may be stopped, so check before paying for the guided visit.
- Do not expect a Strasbourg scale Christmas market or a Dijon scale food scene.
- Check the current FRAC exhibition first, the building alone is not a destination.
- Never taste and drive on a Jura wine day, book a tour, take the train, or spit.
Getting around Besançon: public transport and more
- Walk the Boucle and Battant, everything is within 20 minutes.
- Use Besançon-Viotte station in the city, not the out of town TGV station, unless a timing is worth the shuttle.
- The Tourism Pass bundles four headline sites with unlimited Ginko tram and bus travel.
- Park once in the centre or at a Micaud hotel and do not drive again until a day trip.
Who Besançon suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Besançon your trip
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