Introducing Besançon
Old town, young heart: that’s Besançon, capital of the Franche-Comté region. One of France’s most liveable cities, Besançon boasts one of the country’s largest foreign student populations and an innovative spirit that finds expression in an old town humming with hip bars and bistros and a blog it can call its own (besanconinfo.blogspirit.com in French). The Battant quarter, originally settled by wine-makers, is the most historic.
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First settled in Gallo-Roman times, Besançon became an important stop on the early trade routes between Italy, the Alps and the Rhine. In the 18th century it was a noted clock-making centre (it remains so), and in the 19th century Victor Hugo (who penned Les Misérables) and the film-pioneering Lumière brothers were born on place Victor Hugo in the old town.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
Thorn Tree forum discussion
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RE: 4 to 6 week trip to Europe
by anillos_de_saturno 17 August 2011
tony_b said on #8: +The problem is that they share a common land border so how are you going to do that?+ I can think of one option:…
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Rules for Train Tickets - France
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First off, my apologies if this has come up before. If it has, my limited searching skills have not been up to the task. Similarly,…
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Re: Burgundy
by happyindijon 23 July 2011
Welcome to my beautiful town cellofellow :) On the way to Beaune and if you have a car, stop in the numerous little villages with famous…
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