Greater Besançon, an exceptional heritage

Spend a weekend discovering the major sites in Besançon and the surrounding area ...

Day 1
Lunch
Access and guided tour of the Citadelle: the genius of Vauban's work can be appreciated from the ramparts, which offer prodigious views of Besançon and its surroundings.
Then take a self-guided tour of the monument, which houses the Musée Comtois, the Natural History Museum, the Espace Vauban, a zoo, an insectarium, an aquarium, a noctarium and the Naturalium exhibition area (on the theme of biodiversity). Discover the immersive multimedia show that takes you back in time and space to discover the key moments in the history of Besançon and the Citadelle.
And don't forget the visit to the Museum of Resistance and Deportation, with a completely redesigned tour route, a temporary exhibition area and the museum's treasure trove finally accessible to all: the deportation art collection, one of the richest in Europe. A museum of history, a civic tool that promotes the desire to learn about and pass on the past, but also encourages visitors to reflect on the issues and challenges facing our contemporary societies.

Check-in at your hotel***. Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 2
Guided tour of the Maisons Comtoises open-air museum in Nancray: over an area of 15 hectares, no fewer than thirty traditional Comtois buildings from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, complete with period furniture, have been dismantled from their original location and reassembled on the site. These houses are furnished and enhanced with events and temporary exhibitions.

Lunch

Guided tour of the Saline Royale: built between 1774 and 1779 by the architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux as a royal factory to extract brine from Salins, and as a unique example of 18th-century industrial architecture, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Afterwards, a free tour of the monument and its exhibitions. Garden festival from June to October...

Guided tour of the Grotte d'Osselle: on a virtually flat route, discover the oldest cave in the world to have been visited (since 1504) through fifteen rooms of the most varied shapes and aspects, with exceptional natural colours ranging from blue to translucent orange. It is considered one of the most interesting caves in Europe.