Franche- Comté, time to visit France
Belfort. From the summit of the Ballon d’Alsace, a designated national site to the Belfort Plain to the rolling southern countryside brimming with ponds, discover the Territory of Belfort : the Lion of Belfort, the Citadel, the fortifications made by Vauban, the Fine Art Museum. Listed as a historical monument in 1931, the Lion of Belfort is the sculpture created by Frederic- Auguste Bartholdi. The Lion symbolizes the resistqnce to a 103- day siege which earned the Belfort area the right to remain French while a part of Alsace and Lorraine was lost to Germany.
Besançon. The sity of art and history has so many surprises in store: The conserved centre and Vauban fortifications of town, which are a UNESCO world heritage site. Overlooking the town, with its fortifications listed as a UNESCO world heritage site since 2008, the Citadel of Besançon, is home to other treasures: the Franche- Compé Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Museum of the Resistance and Deportation.
Montbéliard. The town is celebrated for its art and story. The pays de Montbéliard a rich and colourful heritage: Catholic and Protestant religious art, Mont- Bart Ford, Gallo- Roman theatre, Sciences Pavilion, Castle of the Dukes of Wurtemberg, Peugeot Adventure museum. Home to royalty until 1793, the castle of the Dukes of Wurtemberg now houses a museum offering: Georges Cuvier gallery, Gallo- Roman archaeology, a historic tour.
Dole. The town is celebrated for its history and art. Dole is the former capital of the Franche- Comté region. The town is often called the “little Venice of Jura”. As well as its interesting history, Louis Pasteur (1822- 1895) was born there, Dole offers wonderful natural landscapes to discover along the canal des Tanneurs, the Rhine- Rhone canal or the mysterious Chaux forest. Built around 1820, the typical loggers’ dwellings in the Chaux forest are listed as historical monuments. Dole has 48 listed historic buildings: the Notre Dame collegiate church, the town theatre, the Hôtel Dieu, etc.
