Page 337 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

along the same street are the
birthplaces of novelist Victor A BURIAL AT
Hugo (1802–85) at No 140 and ORNANS
the Lumière brothers at place Artist Gustave Courbet,
Victor Hugo. Behind Porte born in Ornans in
Noire, a Roman arch, is the 1819, led the Realism
12th-century Cathédrale movement. His A Burial
St-Jean. In its bell tower is the At Ornans (1850)
truly fascinating Horloge precipitated a change
Astronomique with its auto- in French art. It depicts
matons that pop out on the the funeral of his great
hour. The stunning Musée des uncle at Ornans with
Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie, unflat tering realism
in the old corn market, houses on an immense scale
a well-curated collection previ ously reserved for
of works by world-renowned significant religious,
artists such as Rubens, heroic or mythological
Fragonard, Cranach, Ingres, scenes. Its debut pro-
Goya, Matisse and Picasso. voked outrage, but
Vauban’s impressive citadel, brought him instant
overlooking the River Doubs, fame. You can now
has great views, plus three see the painting at
museums, including the won- the Musée d’Orsay
derful Musée Comtois, with in Paris (p136).
a collection of local artifacts,
and a natural history museum
with a “wild” insectarium and 34
33 an aquarium. Belfort
Besançon Musée du Temps ! G3 ⌂ Territoire de Belfort
! F4 ⌂ Doubs £ @ n 2 pl ' " ⌂ Palais Granvelle, £ @ ¢ Wed–Sun n 2 bis
de la Première Armée 96 Grande Rue # 9:15am– rue Clemenceau; www.
6pm Tue–Sun ¢ Public hols
Française; www.besancon- belfort- tourisme.com
tourisme.com ∑ mdt.besancon.fr
The symbol of Belfort is an
Besançon supplanted Dole Horloge Astronomique enormous pink sandstone
as the capital of the Franche- ' " ⌂ Rue de la lion. It was built (rather than
Comté in the 17th century. Convention # 9:50am- carved) by Frédéric-Auguste
It began as an ecclesiastical 5:30pm Wed–Mon ¢ Nov, Bartholdi (1834–1904), whose
centre and is now an industrial public hols ∑ horloge- other major undertaking was
one, specializing in precision astronomique-besancon.fr the Statue of Liberty.
engineering. The stately archi- Belfort’s immensely strong
tecture of the old town, with Musée des Beaux-Arts citadel, designed by Vauban
its elegant wrought-iron work, et d’Archéologie under Louis XIV, withstood
is a 17th-century legacy. " ⌂ 1 pl de la Révolution three sieges, in 1814, 1815 and
Behind the Renaissance # 2–6pm Mon–Fri; 10am– 1870. Today this remarkable
façade of the Palais Granvelle, 6pm Sat & Sun (free Sun) array of fortifications provides
in the Grande Rue, is the Musée ∑ mbaa.besancon.fr an inter esting walk and exten-
du Temps, a fine collection sive views of the surroundings.
of time-pieces of all ages – a Musée Comtois The well-presented Musée
tribute to Besançon’s renown ' " ⌂ La Citadelle, rue d’Histoire is housed in the
as a clock- and watchmaking des Fusillés de la Résistance citadel and displays models
centre. An interactive exhibi- # Sep–Jun: 10am–5pm of the original
tion on the third floor invites daily; Jul & Aug: 9am– fortifications,
reflection on the relativity 7pm daily ¢ 3 weeks as well as
of the notion of time. Further in Jan ∑ citadelle.com regional art
and local
artifacts.
The great lounging lion
of Belfort, a magnificent
beast sculpted from
pink sandstone

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