 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
Le
Doubs
|
The Doubs stretches from Besançon - originally called
Vesontio - to Montbéliard, the industrial town of Alemanic culture, and includes the mountains of the
Haut-Doubs. Its cultural, architectural and industrial heritage is
multi-faceted, with towns of character, châteaux, parks and gardens, permanent exhibitions, museums and
ecomuseums, craft workshops, businesses, etc.
|
|
|
|
The
Lake of Malbuisson
© Conseil
Général du Doubs
|
Victor Hugo and the painter Gustave Courbet were both born in the Doubs. It is also the cradle of Peugeot Automobiles and the watchmaking
industry. It is a department with an extremely rich and varied cultural, architectural and industrial
heritage.
|
|
Among its main tourist attractions are :
- The Vauban Citadel and its museums (Franche-Comté Heritage
Museum, Museum of the French Resistance and Deportation, Vauban museum, etc.)
;
- The Royal Saline of Arc et Senans - a UNESCO World Heritage
Property - ;
- The Peugeot adventure museum ;
- The Franche-Comté Open-air Museum of Rural Architecture ;
- The Château de Joux, with its one thousand-year
history. |
The
Saut
du Doubs (Sault)
© Conseil
Général du Doubs
|
Besançon :
Center of the French clockmaking and the micro mechanics, Besançon is the birth
city of Victor Hugo.
 |
During his
childhood, are the Roman arenas' vestiges and the Black
Gate (Triumph Ark from 2nd century) which gave him such inspiration. Did he like the
Granvelle’s palace, the Rivotte gate (rest of the city ramparts) or the Pelote’s
tower (16th century), the citadel of Vauban or the Saint-Jean cathedrale ?
|
|
Palais
Granvelle
© Conseil Général du Doubs |
Did he walk along the ramparts to enjoy the panorama of the Doubs River’s
meander or did he prefer the Micaud promenade, the Castan square ?
For those who want just a literary pilgrimage, you can visit the famous writer
house.
Sites you should not miss : Doubs
river’s waterfall, Mont-d'Or’s mountain mass. |
| Le
Jura
Lons-le-Saulnier :
Center of the optic and glasses industry, Lons-le-Saulnier was the ancient princes of
Orange’s city. You ought to see the Cordeliers church, the statue of Rouget de Lisle
(by Bartholdi), the Hôtel-Dieu (hospital) of the 18th century, the Saint-Désiré
Romanesque church. At Saint-Just, you should visit the house of Pasteur .
Do not miss the wineyards of
Revermont :
Arbois, Château-Châlon, l'Etoile. |
| La
Haute-Saône
Vesoul :
Vesoul expanded after the earls of Portois' settlement. They built up here in the 9th
century their castle on the Motte top. Many times devasted, it remains from its
medieval past only few mansions (flamboyant gothic style). In the 18th century, new
edifices enriched the city as mansions, the Saint-Georges church (1732/1745) and the court
house.
You should not miss the castle of Champlitte,
the ancient abbey of Bellevaux, the town hall and the basilica of Gray,
the Haut-du-Them’s mountain. |
| Le
Territoire de Belfort
The territory of Belfort was the
lone part of the Haut-Rhin which remained French in 1871. The German Kaiser order it to
pay homage to the French garisson of Belfort (30 000 soldiers), leads by colonel
Denfert-Rochereau who resisted 130 days to the German army. You should see the castle and
the fortifications of Vauban, the museum, the Lion of Belfort (by Bartholdi) as well as
the tombs and the sarcophagus from the 7th century at Saint-Dizier-l'Evêque,
the mount of Alsace . |