Before leaving Besançon this morning we wanted to see some of the old part of the city. We first headed towards place Victor Hugo, where the house he was born in stands. The house has mostly been modernised since then, and converted into a small, but insightful interactive museum about his life, but there are still parts of it that give a peek into how it once would have looked. The receptionist was full of energy, and very keen for us to learn as much as we could about his achievements and beliefs. We only scratched the surface on our visit, but will definitely be delving into some more history about him. I’m wondering if a film was ever made of his life.

Just along from his house is the site of an old Roman theatre. You need a bit of imagination for it, and what is there is quite at odds with the surrounding architecture. They have created a small park on the site, I would imagine it’s a beautiful, cool place to rest on a summers day.

Our walk took us up through the Roman ‘Porte noir’, built around 175 AD to celebrate the emperor Marcus Aurelius, then into the cathedral, which unveiled its very own little treasures.

The first thing that strikes you, high up on the wall and looking somewhat out of place, is an Astronomical Clock which apparently has a very complex mechanism that operates 4 clock faces found all around the cathedral. The grand, stained glass windows provide a rich backdrop to the stark stone walls, along the side of which is the only French example of a circular altar, carved out of white marble. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a circular altar before. Towards the front of the church is a painting of ‘The Virgin of the Saints’, painted in 1512 by Fra Bartolomeo. It’s rather exquisite, and such an unexpected work of renaissance art to discover.

City delights